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Bill’s last Oregon ride
Former President Bill Clinton will make a swing Tuesday through Southern Oregon in support of presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton, with stops in Roseburg, Grants Pass and Klamath Falls.

Julie Edwards, spokeswoman for the Hillary Clinton campaign in Oregon, said the locations of the events hadn't been determined. Check online at www.mailtribune.com for updates on the former president's schedule.

The Roseburg appearance will be at 9 a.m., Grants Pass will be at 11:30 a.m. and Klamath Falls at 2:45 p.m.

This is the last leg of Bill Clinton's campaign three-day visit to 13 communities in Oregon. The last time the former president came to Oregon he stopped in seven communities, including at North Medford High School on March 30.

Clinton closed a speech Sunday to about 125 labor union members in Portland with what sounded like a plea for continued faith in his wife, even as more superdelegates move to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's column, potentially tipping the race his way. (Damian Mann, Mail Tribune)

Sunday, May 11

Obama turns energy on alternatives – and McCain
BEND -- On a sunny central Oregon morning, Sen. Barack Obama had energy -- and Republican Sen. John McCain -- on his mind Saturday as he toured a solar plant and spoke to about 2,000 at a high school.

The Illinois Democrat said he would put a higher tax on companies that pollute and use the money to invest in wind, solar, geothermal and other alternatives to oil. He said he wouldn't rule out nuclear energy as a future source of power, if problems of waste storage and safety can be resolved.

Individuals, he said, must take responsibility as well. (Harry Esteve, The Oregonian)

Stand by your man, but back off a bit
Sometimes it's hard to be a politician's better half, to stand idly by and watch the love of your life get trashed.

Just ask Karin Hansen, spouse of Portland Mayor Tom Potter.

Hansen, who is one of Potter's most vocal supporters, has started her own blog, a sharply worded collection of opinions on daily life at City Hall that isn't likely to help the mayor's already ragged relationship with the rest of the City Council.

In recent posts, Hansen has accused others on the council of "character assassination" regarding her husband. She's called city Commissioner Sam Adams, one of two major candidates to replace her husband, a liar. She's blamed the media and a "Do-Nothing Portland City Council of Mean White Boys," for undermining Potter's efforts to change city government.

There's nothing wrong, of course, with self-expression, particularly of the political sort. Hansen, a former teacher, is an avid reader of Portland's hopping political blogs and hasn't been afraid to defend her husband when she thinks he's been wronged.

She's also taken her own stands: She endorsed Sho Dozono, Adams' chief opponent, weeks before Potter did. And she was a strong proponent of renaming Interstate Avenue after labor leader Cesar Chavez.

But self-expression comes with some risks, particularly in the rough-and-tumble world of city government. (Anna Griffin, The Oregonian)

Bill’s coming back for more
Former President Bill Clinton will visit Portland again Sunday, underlining the importance of Oregon’s May 20 primary election in the Democratic Presidential election.

Clinton will appear at a union event in support of his wife in the afternoon after visiting several other Oregon cities earlier in the day.

U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton is also expected to visit Oregon again before the election, although details have not yet been announced. (Portland Tribune)

Saturday, May 10

Democratic divergence
Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both campaigned in Oregon on Friday, but they seemed to be competing in different contests.

Obama, bolstered by growing support from superdelegates, opened the day with a withering attack on Republican Sen. John McCain as he sought to make his nomination appear inevitable.

Clinton, who toured Doernbecher Children's Hospital, focused resolutely on the primary contest as she once again described Obama's health care plan as inadequate and said she would compete hard in Oregon's May 20 primary.

While the candidates' simultaneous presence in Oregon demonstrated how their extraordinary battle seems destined to continue, many of the key developments in the Democratic contest Friday took place outside the state. (Esteve, The Oregonian)

The lightning round
Portland has never seen an election like the one to fill the City Council seat that Sam Adams is leaving. And no one quite knows how to handle it.

The race has six strong candidates, all seemingly qualified and able. Five of them have $150,000 to run their campaigns, thanks to the city's public financing program. The sixth, Mike Fahey, has raised $17,000 and served two terms in the Legislature.

That full menu forces the candidates to work extra to separate themselves from the pack. It also means more work for voters, who have to mark their way down a crowded ballot just to reach City Commissioner No. 1. (Andy Dworkin, The Oregonian)

Discomforting questions
Friday night, during a candidate forum in Milton-Freewater, a man stood up and asked Sheriff John Trumbo, who is currently running for re-election, a question.

"Mr. Trumbo do you know me?" the man asked.

"No, I don't," Trumbo said.

"Have you ever seen me before?"

"Possibly, but not that I remember," Trumbo said.

The man standing was Jeff Fusselman. In Nov. 2005, his son, Byron, went missing. His truck was found at Harris Park one evening and the last person to see him was his grandmother, Edith Fusselman, around noon that day.

At the forum, Jeff Fusselman said his son was "murdered."

"Mr. John Trumbo does not know me he has never spoken to me," Fusselman said, aiming his comments to the other 40-some people in the room. "Less than one week after my son went missing, he called the search off and he chucked it off to a lost hiker. I'll tell you right now people, my son was not lost and he was not hiking." (Samantha Bates, The East Oregonian)

With the PolitickerOR.com Wake-Up Call e-mailed to your inbox, phone, Blackberry or PDA first thing in the morning, you can get a rundown of Oregon's top political headlines. Sign up to get the Wake-Up Call delivered every morning.