Strange trip through Washington State- (No Obama bumper stickers) [View All]

We just made a drive through Washington state, stopping at Olympia, spending a day in Seattle and hanging out several days Bellingham, with side trips to Mt. Baker and the North Cascades.

As one might expect, there were plenty of the usual military folks and defense folks with fundie stickers slogans like "piss off a liberal: work hard & be happy" "mean people kick ass" etc. (that you won't see much in NorthWest Oregon), but what surprised us is that- unlike Oregon, where Obama stickers and signs are damn near ubiquitous, we saw not a single one.

We also saw saw numerous cars sporting McCain 08's and a couple of Hillary stickers, whereas I've never once seen a McCain sticker. Not one.

My guess: the drawn out primary- and late season relevance in states like Oregon account for much of the difference here.

Having Obama troops on the ground -along with rallies and events not only gave people the opportunity to purchase "gear" but reved up their enthusiasm AND dampened the Republican spirits.

Washington had a stupid caucus months ago that left more people disengaged- which favors Republicans and their pre-existing networks.

As others have mentioned, having the race continue onto June looks to me to be net positive for Democrats in many places- both at the presidential level and for candidates and progressive issues down the ticket.