If somebody had told me six months ago that I would be campaigning in Boise, Idaho during the final two weeks before the election, I would have suggested rest and medication.  But here I am, Monday morning, on my way to Boise, not just for our candidate for Congress, Larry Grant, but the entire Democratic ticket--Jerry Brady for Governor and former Congressman Larry LaRocco for Lt Governor.  They are all managing amazing races and have upset the National Republican Party.  Recent campaign stops from Dennis Hastert, Dick Cheney, and Ken Melman, the RNC Chair are evidence, as is the hundreds of thousands of dollar that the national party never expected to invest.  Cheney is even coming again this week.

The reason is apparent-- we have 3 outstanding individuals with strong private sector credentials, who are smart and committed.  The Republican ticket, by contrast, is distinguished only by its extremism (even for Idaho).  Larry Grant's opponent won the Republican nomination for the Congressional district with only 26%, and the papers have been filled with criticism of him from his own Republican colleagues in the Idaho House.

My day of meetings in Idaho was capped by an evening at the home of Bethene Church, the wife of the legendary Senator Frank Church.   Bethene was not only the late Senator's political partner, but has been the matriarch of Idaho Democratic politics for years.  She entertained an exuberant gathering of over 100 prominent Idaho Democrats, including former Governor (and former US Secretary of the Interior) Cecil Andrus.  It was a special honor for me to be their speaker.  Thirty-five years ago, I testified before the US Senate Judiciary Subcommittee, chaired by Senator Church, to support lowering the voting age.  It was my first appearance before a Congressional Committee, as and remains a cherished memory.

I was able to bring some insight, inspiration (hopefully), and some badly needed campaign resources.  The onslaught of money and negative advertising is daunting...and a theme I encountered throughout the week.

I returned to Portland for a change of clothes, part of a night's sleep and then hopped onto another plane to D.C.  Part of what is difficult about this schedule is the ongoing work as research, speaking and office work continues.  While you try to make up for it on planes and weekends, the crush mounts.  There was a chance in Washington that afternoon to meet with staff and deal with some meetings.  There was also an opportunity to spend time with my favorite institution in Washington: the Library of Congress.  I met with Dr. Billington and some of his top staff about how we prepare about the new Congress and help broaden the awareness of the Library.

As I am traveling, meeting new people, and dealing with the campaign, my thoughts continually drift to how to make the new Session better, not just in the terms of the legislation, but a reflection of our values and what we want to accomplish.  Helping members, new and old, take better advantage of the amazing resources of the Library of Congress is one example.  

I vow to put to writing the advice that I am giving to candidates and some of their advisors about what happens after their elected.  It is startling to recognize how much energy goes into the election - leaving candidates stressed and exhausted with only days to transition to become members.  I am thankful I was that I was elected in special election with less pressure and more time to get up to speed.

It's not just experience with candidates I'm visiting and their staff.  My time in Holiday Inns gives me the opportunity to reflect on things that I have observed, some of which I learned at great cost.  I vow everyday to share a guide for new members, their family and staff.  On this trip I start to write  it.

After my last meeting at the Library of Congress, I dash to the airport to spend the afternoon and evening with Heath Shuler.  We have events scheduled with North Carolina environmentalists, small businesses and local officials.  We begin with a clean water event featuring, small independent contractors and their employees.  They are endorsing Heath because of his commitment to clean water and the abject failure of incumbent Charles Taylor to use his position on chairing the appropriate subcommittee to back up rhetoric with action.  Having worked with Heath now for almost a year, I've watched this bright, talented, young (still not 35) former pro-football quarterback become an articulate, impassioned defender of the environment.  It was Heath, who called me a couple of months ago, saying he was taking his volunteers down to watch Al Gore's movie "An Inconvenient Truth".  His passion was evident at a community forum sponsored by the environmentalist that Heath headlined along with other local candidates.  Little Asheville turned out almost 140 people for the evenings event, equivalent to a Portland crowd of over 1,000.  

I ended the evening speaking with Heath at a fundraising event that featured people from the environmental community.

Heath, like the other candidates I campaigned for, is being subjected to the most vile and distorting campaign ads.  At every stop along the way from Idaho to North Carolina and Ohio, I would take time to surf the television channels.  In some cases, campaign staff would show me their copies of the ads, which are unbelievable.  While the scurrilous Republican ad against Harold Ford may get the front page of the New York Times, this is a reoccurring theme on immigration and law enforcement.  I saw Heath simultaneously being attacked on one hand being a tool of the liberal elite and on the other for not attending the one joint appearance that his opponent had accepted on a Sunday.  It was widely known Heath had made a personal commitment early in the campaign that Sundays were reserved for his church and his family - it did not stop him being attacked.

The next morning I met with local officials and activists on livable communities, development, affordable housing, and transportation.  There was great interest in the Portland experience and a desire to have an exchange between our two communities.  I have not been in Asheville before, but it was an amazing experience with very sophisticated and committed local officials, business people and activists.

As I returned to Charlotte to catch the next plane, I marveled at the unappreciated sacrifice on the part of many.  When Heath is elected, the 300 miles from home to DC will require an hour plane trip and over two-hours driving each way.  He is thinking about making the weekly commute in some sort of mobile office so that he can travel and maintain his own schedule and still spend times with his wife and small children.

After the two-hour drive, I jumped on a commuter jet to Cincinnati.  This would be my first "three district" day.  I was going to Cincinnati to support John Cranley, a young city council member in a bruising campaign against incumbent Steve Chabot, with whom I crossed swords on the egregious legislation which would send local land use disputes to Federal Courts.  Below is a link to a Cincinnati Enquirer article that gives a flavor for the debate and this terrible bill opposed by 36 Attorneys General including the Ohio Republican Jim Petro: http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll article?AID=/20061015/NEWS01/610150363-1/CINCI

Cranley is committed to the environment, transportation and affordable housing.  We had a great meeting with local activists, including an old friend, who served with me on National Civic League Board right out of college.  David Altman, a brilliant attorney and committed environmentalist, has been deeply involved with civic affairs and hosted a great round-table discussion with John.

Along with the round-table, we filmed an interview on the egregious Chabot legislation, spent time working with Cranley's staff on becoming better acquainted with the situation in Ohio.  Then it was off to a house party, staged in a huge home in one of the tonier suburbs.  It was a sharp contrast with some of the depressed areas of Cincinnati that we had toured.  The people were clearly committed to John, a progressive breath of fresh air in Ohio politics.  

At each stop in Ohio, I encountered people who were extraordinarily frustrated with the scandal-plagued Ohio Republican leadership, from the Governor to Congressman Bob Ney and beyond.   The sense of change in the air was palpable.  It appears, if the voting machines actually work, that Ohio is poised to elect a Democratic Governor, a Democrat to the US Senate, and win in each of the three Ohio districts where I have campaigned.  Coupled with the likely replacement of disgraced Congressman Bob Ney by Democrat Zack Space, it appears the complexion will alter dramatically.

The last stop was for Doctor Victoria "Vic" Wulsin.  Vic was amazing; high energy, engaged, and bright.  Her commitment and work in public health not just in this country, but in Africa, would add such an important dimension, especially to the work my office has done in seeking to bring safe drink water and sanitation to poorer countries.  I would have supported her even if she wasn't running against "Mean Jean" Schmidt.  

Congresswoman Schmidt earned her national notoriety with her attack on Congressman Jack Murtha.  Her efforts to insult him literally brought down the House.  I will never forget the reactions of outrage, not just from Democrats, when she tried to lecture Jack, a decorated Marine veteran, on cowardice.  Even though she was eventually forced to apologize, the damage was done and she is hopelessly tarnished within her own Party.  She received the lowest re-election total of any Republican incumbent in this year's primary and is fighting for her political life.  I was happy to make that fight a little more difficult.

At each stage, it was interesting to watch how the vicious media attacks encouraged and energized the campaigns.  It is also clear that the final stretch is all about turnout.  While last minute resources are still being sought, ads placed and public appearances being fulfilled, the hard work is in turnout.  It was a message that I took to each and every community, as I met with staff and volunteers discussing techniques for engaging voters.  

The majority clearly wants change.  In every campaign I visited, Republican voters were defecting to support Democrats, Independents were breaking 2-1 in favor of the Democratic challengers and Democrats themselves were charged up.  What remains to be seen is whether that potential actually translates to reality as the voting process becomes more difficult, the political atmosphere becomes more toxic and the vastly superior resources are spent by Karl Rove's vaunted 72-hour machine.

I returned to Oregon encouraged by what I saw and ready to meet a conference of national transportation leaders for a speech and a discussion--whew!  

I returned more energized and optimistic than when I left, but with a clear realization that the final ten days are going to be even harder than I thought.  Now the TURNOUT ground game begins in earnest.