Say hello to Senator-elect, Jeff Merkley, who Right Pundits now
predicts will defeat incumbent Republican Gordon Smith when all
the votes are counted. Smith actually has a slight lead the day
after the election, but a county-by-country analysis of the
outstanding votes show that Merkley will win by about 50,000
votes.  You can view the returns yourself and come to the same
conclusion. Democrats have seldom been ones to count votes
quickly, and Oregon is no exception to the rule. The Democrat
counties have far more outstanding ballots, particularly the
counties of Multnomah and Lane, the largest counties in the
state where barely half the votes have been counted. Hat tip to
the gloaters at Daily Kos for examining the obvious.  Gordon
Smith did nothing to lose this seat. He ran independent of the
Bush administration, which was the right move in this liberal-
leaning state. Those who think Republicans need to be
generically more conservative, ignore the realities on the
ground in states like Oregon and Maine. Ind