I drove around in my adopted hometown of Lynden, Washington, this morning, looking in vain for a Dino Rossi yard sign. There were quite a few signs for his Republican primary opponent Clint Didier and a few for Paul Akers, but for Rossi? Not a one.

This is significant because, as Rossi said to me in the chit-chat before his RCP newsmaker interview, Lynden is the sort of place where he expects to do very well. He also said a few other things that might help explain the lack of yard signs. First, he basically admitted that because he started so late, his campaign organization is currently in a mad dash to cut into Senator Patty Murray's huge fundraising advantage. Yard signs can wait, I guess. Second, he said that this was a "top two primary" between him and Murray and declined to take his Republican opponents seriously.

He's probably right that he can win the primary on August 17 by running against Murray and not Didier or Akers, but I wonder by how much. When he ran for governor the last time, a few "re-elect Rossi" amateur yard signs spontaneously appeared in Lynden ("re-elect" because many Evergreen state residents believe the Democrats stole the previous election). This time, nothing -- either official or spontaneous. It doesn't bode well.

Sherman Frederick, the publisher of the conservative-leaning Las Vegas Review-Journal, is no fan of Harry Reid. Last week, on the Fourth of July, Frederick took Reid to task for his infamous 2007 comment that the war in Iraq was "lost," and questioned how he could possibly support Obama in an identical scenario with Petraeus in Afghanistan just three years later.

Brian Greenspun, the editor of the left-leaning Las Vegas Sun, responded yesterday by saying:

Last week, Sherm stooped to a new low — even for him — when he attacked Nevada's senior U.S. senator, Harry Reid, by accusing him of being unfaithful to the men and women of the U.S. armed services and less than supportive of the United States' efforts in Iraq. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the truth is that Sherm knew it.

Greenspun dismisses Reid's originial comment by saying Reid "is not perfect," that Reid was "was right, but he just said it wrong," and that "malapropism is one of Sen. Reid's endearing strong suits." Read the two pieces for yourself and judge who you think gets the better of the argument.

Meanwhile, Jon Ralston interviewed Reid on Friday and asked him about the comment in question:

David Petraeus: Reid had essentially called the general a liar three years ago when he also made those “war is lost” comments. But the majority leader embraced Obama's decision a couple of weeks ago to put Petraeus in charge in Afghanistan.

Reid said his comments were “blown way out of proportion,” pointing out Petraeus said the war in Iraq could not be won militarily. Then this: “It wasn't won militantly. It was won politically, diplomatically and with the surge.”

I assume it'll be news to most Nevada voters that Reid either didn't know the surge was a military operation or, perhaps worse, that he considered it part of a broader overall strategy for victory but voted against it anyway.

Jesse Jackson proves once again why he's one of the most odious figures in current public life. Lebron James, who prior to last week was the most revered athlete on the planet, makes a grand spectacle of shopping his talent and winning hundreds of millions of dollars as a reward, is like a "runaway slave?" That's not just a stretch, it's quite literally insane.

Jason Whitlock drops the hammer on Jackson for playing the race card far more effectively than I can:

Yep, it's the card. LeBron James and his kiddie handlers screwed up, staging an image-damaging public-relations disaster, and now some African-Americans want to change the subject by changing the argument.

NBA owners and their $100-million contracts are slave owners and King James is Kunta Kinte escaping on the Underground Railroad to Miami's Tootsie's Cabaret, where he'll make it rain.

It's stupid. Dan Gilbert's rant was certainly immature, but it wasn't remotely racist. [snip]

From all reports, James knew months ago he was going to Miami with Wade and Bosh. His interviews were a farce. He invited white billionaires to grovel at his feet. And Jesse Jackson wants to call Gilbert a slave owner. Please.

Lord knows Jesse Jackson played an important role in the Civil Rights struggles that helped the country come to grips with the horrendous legacy slavery left in America. But long ago Jackson turned the noble cause of Civil Rights and anti-discrimination into a one man profit industry for himself, his family, and his friends. And in the process he's become an unserious huckster and a caricature who twists every scenario - no matter how implausible or far fetched - into a replay of the segregated South in the 1960's.

Interesting, isn't it, that not long after blogger Dave Weigel was gently shown the door at the Washington Post, he was back reporting on the right for its sister publication Slate? On Friday, Slate published a piece by Weigel looking at the growing solidarity between tea partiers and the GOP. Turns out attempts to launch independent “tea party” ballot challenges in November have been met with ridicule and lawsuits by tea party activists.

Take, for instance, Nevada's Scott Ashjian, “a shady and unknown businessman who got onto the ballot as the 'Tea Party' candidate” opposite Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican challenger Sharron Angle. Weigel writes that Democrats “want to believe” Ashjian “will scoop up thousands of votes and let Reid squeak by.” Cue the cold water:

Not likely. Local Tea Party activists got the jump on Ashjian, using a listserv to coordinate attacks on him, spread facts about his business and legal problems, and get as many people as possible on the record denouncing him. In short order he plunged from 18 percent to 5 percent in statewide polls. "We neutralized him pretty quickly," says Eric Odom, a Tea Party activist who relocated to Nevada, in part, to help clobber Reid. "We bought the Web address he was advertising on his Web site and pointed to StopAshjian.com—that only cost, like, $100. We traded talking points. We kind of shoved him into the spotlight, and it destroyed him, because he wasn't ready for it."

Weigel went out of his way – as is his practice and habit – to let actual tea partiers explain why they're locking arms with the GOP against a purported “tea party” candidate. One example (there are others in the piece):

"I was registered Libertarian," shrugs...Odom. "I voted for Bob Barr in 2008. So that third-party option has already been tried. Doing that doesn't outweigh the benefits of beating Democrats.”

The Slate story came a day after the magazine's media critic, Jack Shafer defended Weigel's journalism in a column. Shafer explained, “Weigel's jerkiness on a private listserv doesn't bother me much at all. If you were to purge the Post newsroom of every reporter who had been a jerk sometime in his career, you'd be facing an acre of empty desks.” Shafer said that if somebody could point him to shoddy journalism by Weigel, then maybe he could understand the firing. Until then, he'll remain firmly convinced that “Nobody should be sacked to pacify the nitpickers.”

Weigel's defenders keep coming back to his journalism because it is that good. When I was editing Labor Watch, I organized a conference that Weigel covered for the Washington Independent and The Economist. He got it bang on. Many people in many conservative organizations – from tea partiers to think tankers – had told me the same thing about his coverage before the scandal of his comments on the private journolist listserv broke.

Now Weigel is likely to transition to a more generalized politics beat, to the detriment of all conservatives who would like more reporters who try to understand and explain to readers what the right is actually thinking and doing. Score one for the zombie critics who seized this as simply another example of “ME DI AH BI ASS!” to kick the “EM ES EM!” (Which reminds me, watch this zombie interview with Tom Woods.)

But don't his semi-private opinions matter? Yes, they can. Our opinions affect what stories we cover, and how we cover them. Liberal bias is often most manifest in what doesn't get talked about. That largely wasn't the case here. Take the press's coverage of the tea parties. Weigel went out of his way early on to point out that they were worth covering, and to do so. He also went out of his way to represent tea partiers accurately while so many of his colleagues went for easy mockery.

There's also the little-discussed fact that Weigel just isn't all that liberal. Full disclosure: I've known and been good friends with him for several years now, and he's expressed an ever-shifting kaleidoscope of views during that time. He is that rare man (well, rare in DC) without an anchoring ideology, and thus chock full of contradictions. The real Dave Weigel is that annoying guy mouthing off on journolist, true. He's also the rare reporter who is more concerned with understanding what other people have to say.

On RCP, John Ellis discusses Sarah Palin's possible path to the 2012 GOP presidential nomination.

On RCM, Louis Woodhill argues that the Obama administration's stimulus package actually destroyed jobs, and Bill Frezza implores President Obama to eliminate the corporate income tax. On Forbes.com, RCM Editor John Tamny details how Safeway provides some valuable economic lessons.

Finally, on RCS, Jeff Neuman writes that things are looking up for the LPGA after Paula Creamer's impressive win at the U.S. Women's Open on Sunday.

A new Gallup poll on the Justice Department's decision to sue Arizona over its immigration enforcement law is not good news for the Obama administration. Gallup found 50 percent opposed, 33 percent for, and 17 percent undecided.

Absent a successful PR blitz, don't expect many of those undecideds to break in favor of the lawsuit. Gallup explained  that the "margin of opposition to the lawsuit is highest among those who are following news about the law most closely." No kidding: those following it "very closely" disapproved  by 64 to 31 percent.

It's still technically an open question as to whether there will be a special election in West Virginia to replace Robert Byrd, and it's still technically an open question as to whether Governor Joe Manchin will run for the seat.  But he sure sounds like there will be one, and that he will be running.

All of the incentives are for Manchin to run this year.  He's popular, and he's a frontrunner.  Rasmussen finds him leading Representative Shelley Moore Capito 53%-39%, and former Secretary of State Betty Ireland 65%-26%.  While the President' job approval in the state is 35%, Manchin's approval rating is 77%.

This puts him in the position of a sophomore basketball player who has an outstanding NCAA tournament and is faced with the decision of whether to go pro.  If he's a lottery pick, it's a no-brainer.  Sure, he could stick it out another year and jump a few points in the draft, but he could also have a career-ending injury, as one West Virginian recent learned.  With the economy like it is, there's a real chance that Manchin could suffer such an injury, and he'll have a problematic teammate on the ticket in 2012.

Manchin faces one real risk this year, and that is the interim Senator he appoints.  Republicans will doubtless treat that Senator as a stand-in for Manchin.  If that Senator votes the national party line -- and as the 59th Democratic vote, the pressure on him will be tremendous -- a lot of that will be transferred to Manchin.  But Manchin is going to have to appoint a Democrat regardless, and there will be a whole lot more votes between now and 2012 than between now and 2010.  For Manchin, there's probably no better time than the present to go pro.

Democratic Polling firm Democracy Corps (D) has a new survey out that should send chills up the spines of Democrats.  Like the recent NPR survey, there's really no good news there for Democrats.  Among the findings of the poll of likely voters:

• 62% believe the country is on the wrong track, and its rising.  This is similar to 2006.
• Republicans have a higher "thermometer" rating than Democrats.
• Republicans lead by 6 in the generic ballot, 48%-42%.
• On the issues, Democrats lead on the environment and (barely) raising middle class living standards.
• President Obama's approval is under water, 45%-51%.
• The health care bill still appears to be a net drag.
• The President's personal attribute ratings (strong leader, etc.) have all slid.
• 55% think the label "socialist" describes the President well.
• A plurality believe he's done nothing to help end the economic crisis.
• A narrow majority believes that the best way to improve the economy is to cut taxes, rather than spend.

About the only good news for Democrats is that former President Bush is still viewed as being mostly responsible for the state of the economy, though that too has narrowed.   Expect to see his face in a lot of Democratic ads this fall.

The octopus oracle picked Spain to win the World Cup final.

But wait:

While Paul is no doubt the world's most famous animal oracle these days, he is facing competition. In Singapore, Mani, a World Cup-forecasting parakeet, predicted a different outcome of Sunday's final match.

Creeping out of his small wooden cage and choosing between two white cards - one hiding a Dutch flag, the other Spanish - the bird predicted the Netherlands will win its first World Cup championship, setting up a Mani-Paul showdown for Sunday.

In South Africa, Spanish defender Carlos Marchena, said he wasn't putting too much stock in Paul.

"It's only an octopus," he said.

On RCP, David Paul Kuhn argues that the public doesn't share the media establishment's pessimism about America's future.

On RCW, Theodore Couloumbis, Bill Ahlstrom and Gary Weaver argue that Turkey can play a meaningful and constructive role in the Middle East.

On RCM, Torgeir Hoien discusses how to exit liquidity traps.

On RCS, Art Spander wonders whether or not soccer's moment has arrived in America. Finally, check out RCS for all the fallout from LeBron James' decision to join the Miami Heat.