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<< Previous   of   Next >>   ADVERTISEMENT   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Sunday, June 29, 2008 14,167 words on Boeing's behalf By Jerry Cornfield, Herald Columnist No politician kept the cause of the Boeing Co. in the air tanker contract dispute in the public eye as vociferously as Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. With no slight intended to the unyielding efforts of others in the state's congressional delegation, none showered the aerospace giant with more syllables of adulation and slammed the Air Force with greater phonetic force than she. The senior senator simply spoke louder and longer than anyone else. Between Feb. 29, the day Boeing lost the contract, and June 18, the day the GAO said the company didn't get a fair shake, this is what Murray did: Made 13 speeches on the Senate floor; Issued 22 press releases; Conducted five committee hearings; Held four news conferences. In that period, Murray delivered 14,167 words on the subject, said her spokeswoman, Alex Glass. Check the text and you'll find Murray repeatedly injected a few words, such as "shock," "anger," "irregularities," "blatant" and "unfair," into her lexicon of almost daily protest. This week, the GAO put out the 67 pages laying out its investigation. Even with redactions, it's a gift that keeps on giving ammo for Boeing, its supporters and Murray. The lady is not done protesting, methinks. No endorsement for Bart Republican congressional candidate Rick Bart endured a snub from some badge-wearing friends and a reality check from some likely voters this past week. Bart is the former Snohomish County sheriff taking on incumbent Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash. But Larsen is the one who picked up endorsements from two organizations serving men and women in uniform and their bosses -- the Law Enforcement Administrators of Washington and the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs. Bart, who was vice president of the administrators' group when he left office, called the endorsements predictable. "It's no shock to me," said the always plain-speaking Bart. "I understand it perfectly. Our policy was to endorse incumbents." Meanwhile, Bart continues to be a heavy underdog to Larsen. He got a sense of how tough a task lies ahead in the results of a new Survey USA poll. Larsen led Bart 56 percent to 38 percent among 544 likely voters contacted June 16 and 17. The poll did not include two other Democratic candidates in the race, Doug Schaffer and Glen Johnson. Amid all those dark clouds are detectable traces of a silver lining for Bart. Bart drew to a statistical dead heat with the congressman among male voters in the poll. And the two political combatants drew nearly even again among all voters ages 18 to 34. Bart has nowhere to go but up. This might help him find a path. Political reporter Jerry Cornfield's blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. He can be heard at 8 a.m. Mondays on the Morning Show on KSER 90.7 FM. Contact him at 360-352-8623 or jcornfield@heraldnet.com.

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