Merkley: Hand-shaking his way to the Democratic nomination

Merkley Best Candidate to Handle Gordon Smith

The Speaker shakes hands at a fierce clip, outpacing his Democratic opponents

Portland – At his U.S. Senate campaign headquarters, Speaker Jeff Merkley sought to draw important distinctions between himself and his opponents for the Democratic nomination. With the primary at hand, Jeff enumerated the reasons why he is best-equipped to go mano-a-mano with Gordon Smith in November.

"Our campaign is in great shape," said Merkley, gesticulating wildly. "We're raising money hand-over-fist, and we're building the largest grassroots movement in the history of the world. We'll prove that Oregonians won't stand for somebody who has consistently stood by and clapped for George Bush. "

The Democratic primary has been heating up in recent weeks, with the Novick campaign growing more and more negative, and beginning to resort to desperate attacks on the Speaker.

Nevertheless, Merkley took the high road.

"Steve's a good man, but it's important to recognize that we're different candidates with different abilities," said Merkley. "I feel that I owe it to the voters of Oregon to highlight these distinctions. There are real differences between us."

"Indeed, perhaps the most important part of politics is talking with voters in large event settings. A strong candidate must respect voters enough to move quickly through a crowd and shake hundreds of hands. This is a storied American tradition, and the Democratic nominee for US Senate must use it to his full advantage this fall."

"However, having just one hand, Steve's hand-shaking pace lags significantly behind mine. This raises serious and legitimate questions about the credibility of Steve's candidacy."

"I would be disrespecting hard-working, bi-handed Oregonians if I didn't highlight this critical difference. It is a simple fact that over the course of the primary campaign, I have been able to shake thousands, if not millions, more hands than Steve."

Additionally, asked Merkley rhetorically, "If Steve can't out-shake me, how can he possibly hope to compete with Gordon Smith, an extremely skilled politician with extremely skilled hands?"