As anyone who has driven I-5 south out of Portland during an election season can tell you, from the look of the highway you would never know that Portland and Eugene are overwhelmingly liberal. Typically, nearly every farm along the drive has political signs for the Republican candidates and the conservative ballot measures.

As my husband and I headed to Bandon last Friday morning, driving south all the way to Roseburg, we noticed a very pleasant change. Not a single McCain sign anywhere. Not a single Gordon Smith sign. There were a handful or Erickson signs.. but, not the overload we’ve seen in the past. I didn’t have to grumble to my husband about the ridiculousness of trying to stop people from marrying or giving women the right to make their own medical decisions. It was wonderful!

Now – there weren’t an overwhelming number of Obama signs either, although we did see a few. And quite a few for Jeff Merkely. So I wonder, are the more typically rural and conservative Oregonians just not excited enough about McCain and their other candidates to bother with signs this year? Or has this Zauner guy just gotten old and given up?