front page of the C-J this morning

From Lesley Stedman Weidenbener in the C-J...

For Hill, who has served in the seat for eight of the past 10 years, it's about pragmatism, about getting things done...Sodrel, though, is driven more by his conservative fiscal and social philosophy....

An interesting opening: Sodrel bragged about "getting things done for us", but Hill gets credit for "getting things done". Sodrel gets credit for relying on his "conservative fiscal philosophy", but his failure to adhere to that is one of the top reasons I entered the race in 2006.

This is Hill and Sodrel's fourth straight battle, with Hill winning twice and Sodrel once. Libertarian Eric Schansberg is joining the fray for the second time.

But even though the match-up has been considered one of the nation's most intense, this year's race hasn't had the feel of those in 2004 and 2006 when attack ads and commercials from outside interest groups dominated the conversation...."This is a much cleaner campaign than 2006 and I think that's frankly because Baron's got a large lead and a lot more money," Schansberg said.

Indeed, recent polls by Survey USA show that Hill has opened a double-digit lead on Sodrel, with Schansberg gaining a bit as well....

Schansberg is one of the state's most active Libertarians. He participates in candidate forums, advertises on television and tells voters that he is the real choice for change.

"We've voted ourselves into all kinds of problems with the two-party system the last 100 years, and I think it's time for a real change," he said.

Schansberg is also a conservative. He opposes abortion and all federal funding for Planned Parenthood. He wants to reduce the size of the federal government and constrain it to stricter constitutional bounds. And he supports eliminating the federal income and payroll taxes in favor a single sales tax.

But he also labeled himself the race's "strongest defender of the poor and those in the middle class."...

Sodrel is also a conservative....

This is a bit unfortunate since it gives the impression that I'm a more conservative version of Sodrel, feeding an erroneous stereotype. Our differences on Iraq (a sin of commission) and his failure to speak to issues impacting the working poor and middle class (sins of omission) separate the two of us.

I wish Iraq had made into her article since I outflank Hill on that issue as well. If people want a congressman who will work hard to bring home the troops, there's only one choice.