This dispatch is from a friend who is in Iowa. Like me, this person supports Sen. John Edwards, but the behind-the-scenes view benefits anyone who’s interested in the race for ’08. (Emphasis mine throughout.)

I am here in Iowa and the new Des Moines Register poll came out:

Obama 28
Hilllary 25
Edwards 23

But –VERY fluid — over half said they are still willing to change their mind

The fav/unfav shows trouble for Clinton — but good news for Edwards:

Clinton — 68 fav, 30 unfav

Obama — 84 fav, 14 unfav

Edwards – 86 fav, 13 unfav

The papers have been covering another angle here — Obama’s strongest support comes from younger, college age supporters. Because of the earlier date of the caucus, the colleges are still closed for the holiday and the dorms are closed. Obama sent a flier to 50k college age kids — urging them to register here (even if from somewhere else) and find somewhere to stay. So a big question — will the Obama supporters show up, or will they be absent like the Dean supporters ? In 2004 only 17% were under 29.

In fact, last night at the forum, some were saying this Des Moines Register poll could not reflect an up tick for Obama — but an over sample of youth. Their last poll (October) had only 9% in under 35 age group, while this one has 14%

But Obama is cutting in to the Clinton women vote — and Oprah comes to town this week.

So in Iowa — it is still anyone’s race, but Obama has some momentum, Hillary is falling and Edwards is holding steady.

This tracks with what I’ve heard elsewhere. Edwards, discounted by many to second tier status with the likes of Gov. Bill Richardson, is often polled in 3rd place. But it’s a strong 3rd place!

Edwards highlights: he is holding steady though being outspent HUGELY on the airwaves. Clinton and Obama are up and up big. It is odd seeing so many political commercials in December. Edwards also has a lead in previous caucus goers — so turn out is key. January 3rd, kids home and not on the campus, Orange bowl, — all a recipe for party faithful — and that is Edward’s strong suit. Also, almost half of caucus goers traditionally have been in rural areas, and there Obama is running solid third

Saw Edwards a 3 events yesterday: Every child matters forum, Heartland forum , and Black/Brown forum — then later a t dinner. He is connecting to folks. WE will see if it is enough. If I had to predict — I would say Hillary finishes third unless she stops the bleeding.

But — Bill has been in town and was at the forum — so it is anybody’s game.

Edwards has an ace in the hole- or several aces- that give him a change to win Iowa, or at least beat expectations. His supporters are reliable caucus-goers. He’s also loved by party faithful. (At my last 36th District Democrats meeting, Edwards got lots of love from the Ballard liberals and former Deaniacs.)

Also, Edwards has the same advantage he did in 2004 in Iowa. The caucus system rewards candidates who are a good “second choice.” If Obama isn’t viable in a precinct, I don’t think they’ll flock to Clinton, who’s bashing the shit out of Obama right now all over the local media. Clinton supporters will be in a similar situation. I wonder where Richardson’s supporters will go if their candidate isn’t viable. In ’04, Kucinich pissed off loads of Dean supporters when he threw his supporters behind Edwards. Could such a thing happen again, but to a different candidate this time? John Edwards could pick up a lot of votes as the result of being the “second choice.”

“Fluidity” is the word of the day in Iowa. Last time, in ’04, four candidates were within a few points, but on caucus day the participants chose Kerry and Edwards and ditched Dean and Gephardt. Caucus-goers can flips the CW on it’s ear at anytime.

“Or you can drive your car!”

I laughed out loud at this comment by one of the flying monkeys over at uSP:

Oh the Nutroots base will definitely screw it up for Gregoire. Those folks are mostly unorganized anarchy.

Yeah, as opposed to that organized anarchy I keep hearing about, right?

Mayor Nickels launched his “Save Santa” campaign, which included the handing out of lots of energy efficient light bulbs the day after Thanksgiving.

The Washington Policy Center made some claims to counter Nickels. They cite “moose farts” as a great threat to the environment. Yeah, “moose farts.”

That reminded me of one of my favorite Ronald Reagan lines:

“Trees cause more pollution than automobiles do.”

Fascinating. Not to be outdone, civic ass-pimple Ken Schram decided to give the Mayor an award of his own. A Shrammie:

So, for seizing the moment to mesmerize yourself with the sound of your own voice; for verbally wagging a political finger at some folks who were just looking to get into the Christmas spirit and for conjuring up the inane idea that you should lead the charge to save Santa by handing out energy efficient light bulbs, take a bow Mayor Nickels, because this “Schrammie” is for you.

Ken Schram tries to work in a reference to “secularism gone wild” whenever he can because, well, that’s all he’s got. I don’t think the Mayor should take it too hard, since getting a Schrammie means, at the very least, that you’re not Ken Schram.

That said, did you know that the “Full of Shit” Schram is supposed to be the liberal counterbalance of John Carlson’s new show, “The Commentators”? With friends like The Schramster, who needs enemas?

Erica C. Barnett was a guest on The Stranger’s “Dear Science” podcast, which is hosted by Jonathan Golob, who was himself a guest on “The David Goldstein Show” just recently.

Here’s my transcript of the clip.

ECB:

But the downside of [light rail developement from Seattle to Tacoma] is that in Tacoma, the rail line they were takiing about building was going out to relatively undeveloped area. And so, then you’re kind of spuring sprawl. Is it a good thing that your spuring sprawl that’s served by rail? Or would it be better to go to somewhere that’s marginally developed and build that up? Which is what’s happening in the rest of Seattle. Tacoma is south of Seattle, and that’s the part of the project was controversial.

Erica did get one thing right. Tacoma is south of Seattle.

Jonathan Golob continues:

Yeah, it was a long extension through semi-rural areas.

Do these people even live in Washington state? Do they read maps? Do they get out of town much?

SW King County is inside the Urban Growth Boundary, which means that it isn’t- by definition– rural. Carnation is rural. Eatonville is rural. Federal Way is fuck-all else, but it ain’t rural.

Listen to the podcast. Besides this, Golob does a good show and it’s worth listening to.

Even if he’s never been to Federal Way.

…die by the density sword.

Boo fricken’ hoo.

So the scribes at The Stranger are density-a-go-go, but then bellyache when developers want to tear down a series of low-slung, one story buildings that just happen to house their favorite bar. All of this in a part of town that’s in high demand for housing.

Yawn.

You can’t lecture people to accept density and then, uh, not accept density just because they’re tearing down your favorite bar.

So to help them through these tough times, give the staff at The Stranger some suggestions for their next hip booze joint. Put ’em in the comments.

Mom’s oven was broken, so no turkey for me. To take the edge off, I prescribed myself a quart of whiskey mixed with milk, and this video. Enjoy!

Share your favorite lines from the video in the comments!

Please note: When riding an escalator, there are rules to be followed. While folks from actual “big cities” understand escalators and their proper use, folks in Seattle have managed to avoid learning escalator basics. Here we go…

If you want to stand still on the escalator, stand on the right side.

If you want to walk on the escalator, please do so on the left side.

Now that the Seattle Transit Tunnel has reopened, I’m finding the exact degree of “cluelessness” that exists. On some of the longest escalators in Seattle, I’ve been hung up behind balloonheads who don’t seem to understand that yes, I’d like to get where I’m going faster than this steel horse, all by itself, will take us.

The folks who will reply with “why are you in such a hurry? blah blah blah”… Look, the rules exist to make things run smoothly. I’m asking for basic courtesy. I don’t like getting the stink-eye when I politely ask, “can you please step aside?”

Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has Santa’s back:

SEATTLE – Mayor Greg Nickels today launched “Operation Save Santa” to help protect the North Pole from the ravages of global warming. The mayor will enlist helpers in Santa hats to hand out 2,000 free energy efficient light bulbs prior to the tree lighting celebration at Westlake Center at 4 p.m.

The mayor kicked off the campaign today with an open letter to Santa. Concerned by the record ice melt in the Arctic Ocean this summer, Nickels reassured Santa that Seattle and 728 other U.S. cities are making progress protecting their communities, the planet and the North Pole from global warming. As he pointed out when he launched the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement in 2005, Nickels is convinced that in the absence of federal leadership, cities must take action together.

“Some say that if we don’t do something to cut greenhouse gas emissions soon, the North Pole might be ice-free in summer as early as 2030. That’s why we’re launching ‘Operation Save Santa,’” Nickels wrote in his letter.

Nickels asked Santa to recognize that Seattleites should be on his “nice” list for all of their efforts to conserve energy. They helped make Seattle the first city in the nation to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 8 percent below 1990 levels. And they continue to make a difference through Seattle Climate Action Now, a grassroots campaign to help people reduce climate pollution at home, at work and when making transportation choices.

“I’m really proud that Seattle is making progress on protecting our climate. I know a few light bulbs won’t fix the ice maker at the North Pole, but it’s a start. And when we all work together, we can make a difference,” Nickels wrote.

It might be too late:

Earlier, I wrote:

Really, what the fuck are we doing even considering putting ferries into Lake Washington when King County’s South Park Bridge is deteriorating before our eyes?

I had the chance to chat with Dow Constantine’s legislative assistant Chris, and he explained the ins and the outs of the new King County Ferry District.

Like I said before, I like the Water Taxi and the Vashon-Downtown Seattle passenger ferry service. Since the state of Washington doesn’t want to provide this service anymore, King County has to find the money. Since the property tax is county-wide, the benefit has to be county wide. That’s why they’re studying all those extra routes. Some of them may never become permanent, but some may. The Kirkland-UW route has great promise considering 520 may be severely constricted for years during construction.

Using waterways for transit is something that’s done in many other big cities. The right-of-way is free! King County is right to explore it. Ferries won’t “solve” our transportation situation, but they’ll help move people.

Is anybody else getting bored with the Times super congratulatory coverage of “Media ownership crisis! 2008!” because frankly, I am. In my circles, dissing the whole “indymedia” thing is akin to saying that Radiohead is underrated. (And they are! OK Computer was the last thing I listened to and liked from them.) Today, I looked at the Times homepage and was overwhelmed:

Read about it here…

and here…

here…

and here.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for the Times anti-media consolidation stance. But it’s reeks of “people who own newspapers covering things that are important to people who own newspapers.” There’s this “eat your vegetables” vibe to the whole thing that is starting to bug me.

If the Times put half the effort into having a basic understanding of light rail instead of that stuff above, I’d be happy.

I saw this at Washington Outsiders.

…and he’s not excited about paying for a ferry in Kirkland either:

Cook is a South Park computer geek who, through her front window, has a commanding view of what ought to command the attention of King County: the South Park Bridge.

It’s a drawbridge over the Duwamish. It’s 77 years old and feels twice that. With a safety rating of 4 out of 100, it’s the most dangerous road around (the Alaskan Way Viaduct is a 9). Twenty thousand cars and trucks cross it daily.

King County owns this bridge. Engineers say they will shut it in a few years if nothing is done. Money to fix it was in the Roads and Transit plan that failed last week. Now the county has no plan for what to do.

“We aren’t going to be able to come up with the money for that by ourselves,” says Dow Constantine, the councilman who represents South Park.

So it rankles Cook that there the council was Tuesday, approving new taxes for ferries. For flood levees. For mental-health services. Worthy causes all, she said. But what could be more basic, more utilitarian than a neighborhood bridge?

“I don’t understand their priorities,” she said. “How can they just abandon a bridge?”

You know, it’s not like the county hasn’t seen this coming for years. It’s all a matter of setting funding priorities. King County should shelve the ferry to Ballard/Kirkland/Des Moines, cancel plans to remodel Seattle Center (which isn’t their’s to remodel in the first place) and focus on the South Park bridge.