A friend from Oregon sends along this report of Obama's stop east of the Cascades, making him the first major presidential candidate to do so in 20 years. (Jesse Jackson was there in '88.) In Pendleton, OR, Obama said he was looking forward to the city's annual "Round-Up rodeo"--but then added a note of self-awareness:
“If we can be in Oregon sometime in September, that round-up sounds pretty fun. But let me tell you, I will not be riding a bull. You will not see me on a bull. I had enough trouble bowling.”
I also liked this, about the nearby contaminated Hanford Nuclear Reservation:
“Here's something you will rarely hear from a politican, I am not entirely familiar with the Hanford site. And so I don't know exactly what's going on there.”
--Michael Crowley