In local news....

It's truly remarkable! One week before the election, and I've seen the first advertisement related to my own congressional race. It was a mass mailing extolling how my representative stands for Republican virtues. But when you're in as solidly a Republican district as I am, you don't need to do much to win in November once you've won in May.

On the other hand, the Mike Sodrel-Baron Hill battle number 3 is attracting a lot of commercials here. Some of these ads for Democrat Baron Hill mention prominently that Mike Sodrel is a millionaire. That's not going to be a profitable angle.

Of the following attributes, which would be worst for a potential legislator? Millionaire, pot smoker, lifelong politician, child of the previous officeholder, lawyer?

Ask yourself: what is wrong with being a millionaire? It's not like Mike Sodrel attained his wealth by inheritance, like Ted Kennedy, or by marriage, like John Kerry. He attained his wealth by founding and building a family business. If more Congressmen had that experience, I think Congress would make better laws.

One effective ad in this race points out how Baron Hill went from Congress to a lobbying job, almost as if he expected to win back his seat in the 2006 election. But I think a significant number of voters look down on that, staying in Washington culture and detached from the people you represent.