The great Portland comedian Dwight Slade told me something once that I have never forgotten. We were around a year out from the election for what turned out to be George Bush's 2nd term, and I said that I couldn't even contemplate what it would be like if W got reelected.
He said, "Bill, it's a win/win situation."

I loved it tonight when one TV reporter was talking to Jefferson Smith, and tried to say, "You're here celebrating with all your supporters" and Jefferson immediately corrected her to clarify that this wasn't all his supporters.

He then realized that his inner dick was showing and switched to a lame joke. The downside of Jefferson Smith beating Eileen Brady is that his campaign goes on, but maybe the extra time will give the less perceptive Portlanders out there a chance to figure out what a loser the guy really is. Then maybe he'll lose in November in a way where he never runs for office in Portland again. That would make tonight a tremendous win.

Meanwhile, Charlie Hales represents a type of Portland spending frenzy that could go away on its own. It could be overtaken by events, and he could have no choice but to serve Portlanders rather than Homer - pictured tonight in the shorts. Incidentally, that's a famous garment he was wearing. Usually it's Portland taking it in the shorts, but tonight Homer was actually parading around in them.

The win part could be that Charlie becomes Mayor and has an epiphany based on changing circumstances. I think in times like these you take the adult over the problem child.

I, personally, will go on lobbing my humble jokes across America. I had one on national TV tonight about California, and that felt good. Tomorrow I will rise and write a bunch more for the radio.

I refuse to be down about Portland events for too long. Jack Bog's Blog has to be primarily a fun place for me and I do enjoy the comments. I think everyone's elevating their game lately, and it's a real treat.

I'm going to focus my worries about the future on the national and international stage. That's the scary stuff. Jefferson Smith is a problem for sure but he's not on the level of Fukushima. And Charlie Hales' spending projects are not on the level of Greece.

I think this Greece exit from the Euro Zone is the beginning of some kind of unraveling. I don't know who will pay but the cost is estimated to be 400 billion off the top. I'm guessing we're involved, but of course the Fed won't tell us.

We are entering the action phase of the movie. Rather than feel despair I am taking Dwight Slade's approach. This is a win/win situation. Sleep tight, everyone.

Portland has the best politicians that money can buy.

Sadly, they never want to pay for the shiny new toys their overlords require them to build: instead, they sell more municipal bonds, so the next generation picks up the tab (with interest) on whatever Homer and his ilk can steal.

The good news is that no matter which of these clowns actually ends up in office the supply of jokes will be endless. Congratulations Portland, you've done it again. Wow, sometimes it just takes your breath away - truly amazing.

Some suggested the 3 mayoral candidates should be applauded for keeping things so positive during the race. Well guess what? There was nothing much to argue about. Sure, they each had some questionable behavior in the past and chose to leave it alone. But overall, they were all working off the same sheet of music with variations of the same message.

Even though a candidate taking a hard line approach to spending would never have stood a chance here, it would have been much more interesting to see someone challenge all the silliness that is Portland. Can you imagine a vocal Portland mayoral candidate firmly opposed to mass transit, UR districts, bi-monthly garbage, new bike lanes (and the like) in an charged debate against any of the three chosen ones? Wow, now that would have at least been worth listening to. This isn’t a race or a contest; it’s simply a process with a foregone conclusion.

Thanks Bill, your perspective is enlightening.
"All politics is local", that is why Portlandia and Greece have so much in common!
I remember the 1st time I saw Homer in his clam digger shorts and one of his gazillion dollar silk shirts, about 20 years ago, and I thought, "WTF, that's him?"

"I'm going to focus my worries about the future on the national and international stage."

Bring it, Bill.

Many topics to choose from.

Any jokes about Barack or Biden today?

How about the French guy?

Or even G W Bush? I love reruns.

IFC picks up Portlandia for another four years -- Woo Hoo!

Bill, thanks for the perspective - hey, that puts the JP Morgan 2 billion loss as just a half percent of the potential losses related to the collapse of the Euro. And, JP Morgan will still probably make 3-4 billion in profit this quarter. Makes Belotti's PERS pensions look like pocket lint.