Democratic National Convention

While Republicans were trying to ridicule Gov. Gregoire last week for attending the Democratic National Convention the week before, the Gregoire campaign gave Rossi some grief for skipping the Republican National Convention by way a of a web video.

Implying that Rossi was aligned with President George W. Bush in skipping this year's RNC in an attempt to, in Bush's case distance himself for the party's sake and in Rossi's case distance himself for his own sake, the Gregoire camp uses the video to try to further tie Rossi to the unpopular Bush.

 "What else do they have in common?" the video asks, then lists a number of mainly social issues where Rossi and Bush have similar stances.

"On every issue George Bush and Dino Rossi are the same," the video claims. "We deserve better."

Check back next week to view my Convention Sketchpads from the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

U.S. Rep. Rick LarsenDENVER - Congressman Rick Larsen (D-Arlington) sees the results of his "top two" primary race as good news for local Democrats in Northwest Washington. Larsen led the four candidate field with just under 55 percent of the vote, leading his general election opponent Rick Bart (R-Arlington) by seventeen points. Two other Democratic challengers, Doug Schaffer and Glen S. Johnson, received five and three percent of the vote, respectively.

"I feel good about the results of the primary," Larsen said, adding that it felt like vindication for the work he had done on behalf of veterans in his own race.

Besides that, he was also very confident about a lot of the legislative district races in the northwest corner of the state.

"I want to mention a few," he told PolitickerWA.com earlier this week. "Liz Loomis in the 44th is a targeted seat by both parties. Having a good Democratic turnout is important for her and she came out ahead in the primary."

DENVER - Here in Denver, the Democrats have been busy. Not just schmoozing, voting and listening to speeches, either. U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Arlington) has been using some of the time to get ready to go back to Congress.

"The main job is to nominate Barack Obama," Larsen said of the convention, "but I've been able to actually get some work done, too."

DENVER -Beginning Friday morning, Washington state will have its newest superdelegate. Lona Wilbur of LaConner is Lona Wilburcurrently a Democratic National Committee Member-elect until she takes over for Wenatchee's Pat Notter tomorrow morning.

Wilbur has experience from both 2004 and 2008 as elected delegate from the 2nd Congressional District, for John Kerry and Barack Obama, respectively, but in 2012 Wilbur will be an automatic delegate, better known as a superdelegate, by way of her election to the DNC.

 But long before 2012, Wilbur will have her hands full working in politics, and more specifically working on raising awareness about voting. As a Democrat, Wilbur sits on both the executive boards of both the 10th Legislative District and Skagit County Democrats, and has been blanketing her neighborhood with signs for Barack Obama. She is also a member of the Swinomish Indian Tribe, and will be one of just four Native Americans on the DNC.

U.S. Rep. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver): Getty Images PhotoDENVER -Taking a moment to switch gears from the hoopla of the national convention to the nuts and bolts of state politics, Rep. Brian Baird (D-Vancouver) predicted that Southwest Washington would pick up a few seats for Democrats in the state House and Senate this November.

"I think we have a real shot at picking up a seat in the 17th," Baird said. "I think Tim Probst is going to win that seat. I think we have a great shot in the 18th. I like our candidate there VaNessa Duplessie, running against [Rep. Jaime] Herrera who has never been elected herself, really has hardly been in the district the last ten years. Vanessa is hard working, sharp, articulate, a real go getter."

Baird was also pleasantly surprised to see David Carrier running relatively close to Sen. Don Benton in the 17th District, and Jon Haugen within ten points of Sen. Joe Zarelli in LD 18.

U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks: Getty Images PhotoDENVER --The dean of Washington's congressional delegation who has served the 6th District since 1977, Norm Dicks, gave his take on the Democratic presidential race from an insider's perspective.

First off Dicks, who was an early supporter of Hillary Clinton, gave the Clintons their due.

"I gotta tell you," he said to a standing ovation, "Bill and Hillary Clinton did what they had to do to unify this party and we should be proud of them. We should be proud of the Clintons for what they did. And by the way, George W. Bush is the worst president we've had in the history of this country."

Gov. Chris Gregoire and U.S. Sen. Joe Biden: Politicker PhotoDENVER - "Oh my God, mom, it's Joe Biden! Can I get a picture with him?"

That is what Michelle Gregoire told her mom, Chris, when she was at the governor's roundtable discussion Tuesday. The elder Gregoire had to remind her daughter that she was there on staff. But even professionals like Michelle, 22, who is a field organizer for her mom this year, get starstruck at conventions.

Stories like that dominated Gregoire's speech to the delegation breakfast this morning. After retelling her undelivered nomination speech, Gregoire focused on the shared memories and emotions she felt with the delegation, who she had stood among for much of the past three days.

Gregoire, an Obama supporter since February, acknowledged that there was some anxiety earlier in the year about how things would go at this convention, full of a significant number of staunch Hillary Clinton supporters in addition to the majority Barack Obama delegates.

DENVER - The speaker that arguably received the best audience reaction at the State Democratic Party Convention was a little-known elected official from a state far away from and with very little in common with Washington.

His name was Mark Parkinson, the lieutenant governor of Kansas, and he wowed the crowd last June with his story of turning from a ranking Republican state legislator into the Democratic right hand man to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.  But it wasn't the changes that he went through, Parkinson said, it was the changes the Republican Party went through.

Parkinson decided not to give the same speech this time around, but in the same self-deprecating manner peppered with stories of nobody knowing who he was, the Kansan implored Washingtonians to make history, not watch it.