I'd written in September about how the Oregonian anointed four of the thirteen candidates for David Wu's seat as the "major candidates," apparently basing its decision on their ability to raise funds, or possibly on their support for the $4 billion Columbia River Crossing project, rather than on their campaign efforts. Then last week the Whimperer increased its tally of major candidates to six of the thirteen, three in each party.
I'm sorry to report that the Whimperer has backslid. In this article in today's print edition, Harry Esteve of the Oregonian disposed of five of the Democratic candidates altogether. He started his article thusly: "Anyone looking for clear differences among the three Democratic candidates in the race to replace former Oregon Rep. David Wu probably came away disappointed after Tuesday's televised debate," and again referred to the Democratic race having only three candidates -- actually, only three polite candidates -- later in the article.
In the unlikely event that Mr. Esteve or another Oregonian reporter might stop by, the other five Democratic candidates are Saba Ahmed, Dominic Hammon, Robert E. Lettin, Todd Lee Ritter, and Dan Strite. I don't know whether they are polite candidates, but they were brave enough to file and shouldn't be denied continued existence simply because corporate America hasn't rallied behind them.