While the presidential race swirls on as close by as Montana [1], Idaho has been pretty much devoid of presidential race news since the Democratic caucuses in February.
So what do we write about?
If it were up to the Idaho Democratic Party, we’d write about how John McCain may have been a great soldier once but he has no plan for Idahoans whose homes have been foreclosed.
Idaho Republicans write better headlines (think Wayne’s World), but offer even more tired news hooks in their press releases.
From the Idaho Republican Party, dated March 27: OBAMA VOWS CHANGE – FOR YOUR TAXES.
Neither of these press releases from the state parties generated any news that we can find.
And here’s why. Neither Republicans nor Democrats in Idaho are clever enough to come up with their own spin. They just take daily emails from their national spin doctors at the Republican and Democratic national committees and try to trick Idaho reporters into writing them up.
The Idaho Democratic Party asked in a press release: “Does Senator McCain realize that 10,170 families in Idaho were delinquent on their mortgages in the fourth quarter of 2007? Does Senator McCain have a plan to address those delinquencies?”
The question is not attributed to any particular member of the party and is left without an answer.
Idaho Democratic Party spokesman Chuck Oxley told me he gets daily talking points from the DNC and occasionally he tries to localize them for Idaho.
Idaho voters on the verge of losing their homes are not looking to November for relief. They are probably looking for a job.
Idaho Republicans cite an Obama vote on a tax increase and then quote Idaho GOP Chairman J. Kirk Sullivan: “It looks to me like he’s changing the definition of ‘tax break’ to mean ‘tax hike,’ and the definition of ‘middle class’ to mean ‘rich.’ That’s something every voter ought to ponder as the economy struggles and tax day [April 15] approaches.”
Nathaniel Hoffman is an independent journalist in Boise, Idaho. His online home is PaleoMedia.org.
And it looks like Sullivan is changing the definition of ‘ponder’ to mean ‘file an extension’.
A little Google searching turns up a piece [2] from the Republican National Committee citing the same themes against Obama.
Sid Smith, executive director of the Idaho GOP, said that he sent out the release because Idaho voters already know Sen. Clinton, but still need to be “educated” about Sen. Obama.
“There’s a lot of voters in Idaho that really don’t know anything about Sen. Obama,” Smith said.
Idaho reporters are guilty of their own form of laziness. At least none were lazy enough to copycat this spoon-fed news.
But having settled the Clinton-Obama debate fairly decisively on Feb. 5 and with Romney calling it quits, there’s not much to cover here.
It’s a damn shame, but perhaps the presidential race in Idaho is already over. Except Ron Paul is still on the ballot.
And then, we’ve got 13 people running for Sen. Larry Craig’s seat, so there should be plenty to write about.
Editor’s note: Nathaniel Hoffman's weekly blogs are part of a feature on PoliticsWest called "Diary of a Mad Voter." The group blog, published in partnership with NewWest.Net/Politics [3], is intended to give a glimpse into the hearts and minds of several independent-minded voters and thinkers in the Rocky Mountain West in the 2008 election year.