Fortunately, most days on the campaign trail aren't as rough for Jeff Merkley as Thursday was.
Merkley, one of four people vying for the Democratic nomination to challenge incumbent Republican Sen. Gordon Smith, was in a hairy rollover accident on U.S. Highway 20 near Sisters. According to an account in The Oregonian, the Toyota Prius Merkley was riding in skidded on a patch of ice, ran into a wall of hard-packed snow and flipped over, landing on its hood.
Both Merkley and the campaign aide who was driving were wearing seatbelts, and neither was significantly injured. Merkley went on to Redmond for a meeting with the Oregon Education Association, and then to Bend for a meeting with supporters.
Ever the politician, the Oregon House speaker took advantage of the opportunity to zing his Republican rival: "I thought we did a pretty good impression of the economy of George Bush and Gordon Smith, landing belly up like that."
