Other Newspapers’ opinions: Smith’s new opportunity
Monday, November 17, 2008 10:32 AM PST
Life closes doors and opens others. In defeat, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith has a new opportunity.
Many in rural Oregon will interpret the electorate’s narrow rejection of Smith as something more than it was. Smith is not the first United States senator from Eastern Oregon to serve briefly. Robert N. Stanfield Jr., who gave his name to an Eastern Oregon town, served one term (1921-27) until he was defeated in the Republican primary by a Pendleton lawyer named Frederick Steiwer, who resigned midway through his second term to join a Washington, D.C., law firm. Steiwer’s Senate years were 1927 to 1938.
It has always been a challenge for an Eastern Oregon politician to gain statewide prominence. With so much population concentration in the Willamette Valley, it has become exceedingly difficult.
Was Gordon Smith’s defeat the rejection of a rural politician? Was it part of a national antipathy for Republican candidates? Or was it something else?
Not all Republican senators fell at the hands of Democratic challengers Nov. 4. Look at Sen. Susan Collins of Maine as an example of a brand that withstood the anger toward President George W. Bush.
Gordon Smith came to his re-election with too little accomplishment and too little goodwill in his political bank account. His defeat was not a rejection of the culture of Pendleton or Eastern Oregon. In fact, if you ask around that region, you will find that Sen. Ron Wyden is quite visible. For instance, Wyden is eager to re-establish the Amtrak Pioneer, whose route from Portland passes through Pendleton on its way to Salt Lake City.
Unlike other defeated senators, Smith need not demean himself by becoming a lobbyist. With the insulation of personal wealth, Smith could become a leader in attracting new investment to Pendleton and Eastern Oregon. That work desperately needs doing. It represents a wonderful, beckoning opportunity if Smith will take it.
— The Daily Astorian
