If a reporter sticks a mic in my face and questions me about my sex life, I'll lie too: "It fourteen cut thick, his name was Brad, and some babe named Angelina filmed the money shot, bee-yotch. Now go find an honest way to make a buck."

It's bad enough having Google track every search and email, so who needs reporters and editors believing everyone's sex life is their own personal feeding trough.

There are certainly many components to all of this. I would bet that sex with Beau is the least reason why so many want Sam gone.

There are likely a few in the community who just don't like gay people, and Sam's relationship with Beau is disgusting to them. There will always be bigots, but hopefully they remain greatly outnumbered.

There are many more who hate that Sam lied. He created an atmosphere of distrust, and set a terrible precedent for other city workers about the importance of honesty. Everyone has the right to refuse comment, but he chose to lie.

Lastly, there are those who disliked Sam before all of this. They see the "beau affair" as an opportunity. They hated his policies, perceived to be reckless public spending toward ill fated projects such as trams, streetcars, convention centers, and sports teams. There is also a real perception by others out there that Sam is in bed (not literally) with developers and investors. True or not negative perceptions are difficult to overcome.

I know there is gaining momentum to get him recalled, but I still think the effort will fail in the end. Not enough big money there willing to support it. Sadly, there are many who I have talked to wanting Sam to stay, only to see the city implode down the road. They see this as the only effective avenue for real change. Let's hope there is a better outcome.

Hey, I'd be willing to change my mind if Sam wants to leave an envelope of cash for me with the receptionist at city hall. We can always bring in the state attorney general to say there's nothing suspicious. We have a Mayor who's about to be way behind in his mortgages, yet he's lending money to Beau just before an investigation of Beau. And Kroger sees nothing worthy of even putting people under oath.

 I tell you if I could write comedy like the Kroger Report, I would be rich.

 But my favorite scene as a comedy writer still involves the two 40-something-year-old guys showing up at Beau's 18th birthday party. Sorry, but I just think that has comedic possibilities.

No one has ever refuted this:

"Sam’s lying has led to him being elected Mayor of Portland. If he didn’t lie he probably wouldn’t be Mayor.",

You can’t recall what you can’t recall.

Best line of the post. Genius.

Mayor Class Act.

Hey dude, your fly is down and your pants are unbuttoned.

So who has Creepy been paying with his mortgage payments?

Another comedic aspect of this for me, derives from Sam's love of appearing on television. This is a man who invited cameras in to record himself having a medical procedure. He makes Gloria Allred look like the shy, retiring type. One of my concerns was that if Sam became mayor, Portland would become a backdrop for his many trips before the TV lights. It would become the "Sam I Am" show. Meanwhile, I was counting down the days of the Bush/Cheney administration. Counting down the days? No, I was counting down the seconds on one of those clock websites. So what happens? We finally make it to Inauguration Day, 2009 - the end of the dreaded Bush Years, but do we Portlanders get to focus completely on that? No. Our new Mayor, who had been lying about Beau for many months, feels he has to rush before the TV cameras THAT DAY, and detract from one of the great political events ever. Sam couldn't wait. Even with everything going on in Washington, D.C. on the mall, it still was all about him.

    The comedic part now is based on a hunch, but I bet his advisors are telling him not to be as visible while the recall process goes on. I picture a natural egomaniac watching old news tapes of himself, just counting down the seconds 'til he can run out to the nearest TV camera and give Portland his real message. Let me sum that message up for you: "Me, me, me, me!"

   And his pious followers nod and say, "Yes, this is exactly what Portland needs! These are tough times, but let's not focus on them. Let's focus on Sam for 3 more years!"

   I tell you, if you look at it from a comedy perspective, it is hilarious.

And then this shows up in the Oregonian: "Ratting out the boss could backfire."

I can just imagine a job application with the question "Did you ever have sexual relations with your male intern, and are you now or have you ever been gay?". Ridiculously bad analogies aside, the whole thing has lost its humor. It looks less and less like an attempt to hold an official accountable and a whole lot more like an attempt to overthrow a democratic election. Frankly, it looks like an attempt by Republicans to replace Sam Adams with a Republican, and that happened as soon as Tom Potter stuck his snout in the mess. This whole thing is PURE political gamesmanship. Adam's "affair" that was officially investigated and thrown out would have had NO bearing whatsoever on his job performance if these people weren't the CAUSE of the problem.
Rudy Giuliani can have an affair and use public property and public funds to fund it, but he doesn't get thrown out and he gets to run for President! But Sam Adams has "an affair" of some sort off the books, and he gets a legion of lunatics trying to hound him out of office? Something smells pretty strange about the whole thing. In any case, the only humor left is the bizarre behavior of Tom Potter in regards to the whole matter.

Kari, I think this link is broken. I was promised comedy.

Jaybeau, Here's some comedy just for you.

The Imaginary Scene From Beau's 18th Birthday Party

Inside high school students are laughing. Then 2 40-something-year-old guys arrive from Portland. They go inside.

Beau's Mom: "And who is this, Beau?"

Beau: "This is Sam. He's...ummm... in one of my classes."

Sam:"Yeah, they held me back a few years. Darn high school."

Beau's Mom: "Oh, I see...and what class do you take with my son?"

Sam: "Algebra." Beau: "History." Sam: "I meant History." Beau: "I meant Algebra." Sam: "It's actually the History of Algebra. You know. How it developed, where it came from."

Beau's Mom: "Oh, I see. Well, welcome to the party. Would you like some cake?"

Set the bar as low as Rudi Guiliani? Now that is COMEDY!

The only redeeming thing about Guiliani is that he did it all out in the open. as I understand he did not lie about it to the voters.

But hey, pass the popcorn, those of us in the rest of Oregon (and probably parts of WA) are enjoying the show.

still waiting for the comedy...

gregb, Darn it, you got me. You people are sharp on this site. This isn't about being funny, is it? It's about using comedy to highlight what you see as something wrong. It's the same way I got a "joke" into Time Magazine questioning the Iraq War. It wasn't "ha-ha" funny either. It was there to make a point.

  Here's what I thought reeked about this: The cash envelopes in city hall. The reporter who was hired because of her "smarts" who actually came out and said she wasn't one of the million and a half planners or whatever in this city.

  I have no agenda here. I'm not trying to overthrow democracy. This isn't a Republican thing. Me and my co-host, the late great James Shibley did 4 years of shows on cable access bashing President Bush. We did it because we thought there was something wrong and you either speak out or you don't.

  I think there are aspects of Sam's case here that merit a recall. Forget Beau. Look at the use of power to avoid accountability. Look at cash envelopes in city hall.

  Okay, this was never designed to be funny. You got me. This was designed to speak out about some serious BS in our city. That's what comedy writers do. We detect BS and we try and comment on it in a joke. Half the time you're just putting it in play, because you don't want to live in a world where the powerful get away with stuff, and nobody says anything.

Okay, so this wasn't funny. But would you agree that cash envelopes in city hall, a reporter hired without qualifications to a cushy city job, things like this....would you agree that at least they smell funny?

Torridjoe, To quote you from a few comments ago, "Read the news sometime."

I have a hard time believing anyone would pay you actual money to write comedy. This is forced, long-winded, and pointless. I think the idea that you were paid to write comedy is more suspicious and suggestive of corruption than anything going on at City Hall.

Mr Porter: "...but, IMHO, he has a unique vision for Portland's future and the energy to strive for it."

I gotta ask... what, exactly, is this "unique vision"?

Michael B, That's my favorite comment ever. Thanks. ---Bill McDonald PS If I ever write a book, that comment is going on the back cover.

  Tell you what...why don't you take some time to sort through your feelings some more, then if you decide you really don't like the piece, please check back later.

"The part of Adam's vision for Portland, as I understand it, that I like relates to his efforts to attract and keep creative, knowledge workers as the key to economic development..."

Does that vision include issuing city debt the equivelent to Junk Bonds at 9%? Thats economic leadership Portland does not need.

but he chose not to say "None of your damn business"...

And Kari, therein lies the 'comedy'. Many, if not most of us could have respected that response. Instead, Adams lied. Instead the state and region get to watch this pathetic issue play itself out on the front pages.

Hey, the whole PGE Park boondoggle alone would be worth my recal vote if I lived there, but I don't.

Whatever happened to the Wally Week reporter who got the cushy city job in return for NOT digging any further and reporting?

One question never asked or answered regarding the money left at the City Hall desk:

Why leave cash in an envelope? Why not a check. A check would at least document the transaction, which Adams has claimed as a loan.

I too am not a PDX resident, but I have family back east that is always asking about what is going on in Beaverton's backyard. The details never seem to make it; only the headlines.

Fortunately for Adams, he did not leave the cash in the refrigerator. See William Jefferson conviction today.

Yo torridjoe, it's supposed to be a comedic thread. Enough with the spin doctoring.

In the unlikely (sigh) event that the recall referendum ever makes the ballot, I look forward to an advertisement featuring a snoozing hound next to a snoozing Sam Adams, with the obvious message "let sleeping dogs lie". Or maybe just "sleeping dogs lie".

Torridjoe You write, "I'm asking what you're talking about with the wild, unsupported and suggestive accusations you're making."

  The Amy Ruiz situation, quoting from Willamette Week about developments in the story:

"The first happened on Dec. 22, 2008, when Adams hired Portland Mercury City Hall reporter Amy Ruiz to be his adviser on sustainability and strategic planning. Ruiz, 28, acknowledged in a Jan. 15 interview that she has no experience in sustainability, planning or government. 'This town has a million and a half urban planners, and I’m not one of them,' she says. Ruiz’s new salary—$55,000—is substantially more than she made at The Mercury."

 Where's my wild allegation on that? I said she wasn't qualified but so did she. Oh, and one other fact: Sam was helping Beau get a job in the same basic timeframe. You can argue that Sam's just a wonderful person, but it could appear that Sam was doing both these moves getting both these people jobs for his own interests in protecting himself from this scandal. It certainly sounds less ridiculous than a Mercury reporter beating out a million and a half urban planners - as she puts it - for a job.

  But here's my favorite part: Attending the WW interview with Sam on January 15th about the impending scandal was....wait for it....Amy Ruiz.

The interview which I believed still featured Sam in denial mode required the presence of his new hire. Apparently the job was for BS sustainability.

  It would have been interesting getting Amy under oath here, but we're trusting people, and that wouldn't have been polite.

  The cash envelopes at city hall: This refers to money Sam reportedly loaned Beau to move, that was delivered to Beau by a receptionist and security guard at city hall.

 Once again, you could argue Sam is just such a wonderful guy that - despite huge financial strains ahead - he would lend money just so Beau could move. And maybe he didn't lend it in person because he's too shy.

  Other more cynical people would suggest that weeks before Beau was interrogated by Sam's people, he was being bought. Or at least kept in line. It's certainly a theory anyway.

   The other wonderful person here is Kroger. He was able - after a career of dealing with shady types back East - to look at these details with cash envelopes and jobs and see Sam as a truly noble person. So lovely to see Kroger keeping his idealism alive through it all.

    Either that or he just didn't want to follow the stink. Could that be? Maybe people in power get special treatment by other people in power back East, but not here, or do they?

   How can something smell bad in the City of Roses? Well, maybe there are a lot of roses because there's lots of manure.

RE:

"How can something smell bad in the City of Roses? Well, maybe there are a lot of roses because there's lots of manure."

Reminds me of the story of the Egyptians inventing perfume! Or was it the French?

One of the things that Sam has done which is not so funny is his high school drop-out committee. His campaign promise of cutting the drop-out rate in PDX by 50%, yet refusing to look at the inequities in the school system itself, thus satisfying his West Hills supporters, has set up a stalling movement which so far has guaranteed little progress on this serious problem.

For all those supporters who think his programs are so forward thinking I can only say, it is easy to laugh off the drop-out problem if your kid is off to an ivy league college. Not so easy if your kid should be a high school sophomore, but is working at a fast food place in the mall.

The biggest problem I have with Sam is his unwillingness to listen to people holding disparate views from his own, let alone consider they might have something to add to the equation. I am not laughing.

"His lawyers who are defending him from this nonsense, instead of setting up a legal defense fund. Read the news sometime."

Torrid, How do you know how much Creepy has PAID his lawyers?

hey bill,

glad you recognize your post in the comment section about sam at beau's b-day bash which you said would be comedy was not one of your best efforts. good for you. my personel belief is comedy is meant to be funny as in ha-ha no matter the subject.

The point I got from your comment post addressed to me is that a comedy writer who openly offers a 'Comdedic Look' can put in play a serious subject he/she feels needs a light shined upon and not be held to the ha-ha standard.

I disagree.

to your point that the whole sam adams mess smells funny is valid but smells don't make me laugh. Satire and jokes do and when someone offers a 'Comedic Look' that what i expect. Trust me, i'm not the drunk heckler at the bar. i'm over at the table waiting to have a good chuckle.

Torridjoe, The credibility of the charges being made? No, Torrid, it was Kroger's job to determine if any charges should be made. If the credibility issues with Beau were enough to sink the underage stuff, the State Attorney could have filed charges relating to abusing a public office for personal reasons. Using city employees to pass cash to the subject of an investigation reeks. I thought there was enough there. You have a mayor mysteriously facing foreclosure, while envelopes of cash change hands at city hall. It stinks. You have a reporter who was supposedly not hired because of the scandal but she is present at the interview about the scandal. That stinks too. You must be able to see that. Are you a city employee? Is that what this is about?

Quite a day yesterday. I had a blog for awhile during the Bush years and it felt like that. You start out feeling up about it, then it wears you out. By the end you want to buy a cabin in the woods and go off the grid completely.

I'd like to thank Kari and the other Blue Oregon people for allowing this post. I think it's democracy in action, and they deserve respect for allowing it here. There are plenty of Democrats who believe as I do, and they deserve a voice.

 It's about democracy. If we adhere to free and fair elections, I have complete faith that America can remain great. In fact, it is the only chance we have to avoid tyranny.

You know, that's what bothered some of us the most here. You had Sam viciously smearing another man named Bob Ball, who happened to be thinking of running for Mayor.

 Yet, to call Sam for his arrogance of power and assault on the democratic process, gets turned around and spun as an attempt  to overturn an election. Interesting.

 The recall would just lead to another election - one that Sam could win. Wouldn't he want to earn his win the right way - not with some Nixonian dirty tricks against another potential candidate?

 This has nothing to do with whether you think Sam is spending us into oblivion - if you love South Waterfront, the Paulsons, or all the rest. Those are policy moves that the voters put him in to do. It would not be right to recall him for policy decisions or political gamesmanship.

 But the arrogance of power? The dirty tricks to defeat an opponent? It didn't work for me when Richard Nixon was doing it. It didn't work for me in Florida in 2000 when George W. Bush's team - led by his brother - was getting thousands of voters purged from the system, and it doesn't work for me now with Sam Adams.

  He is on tape talking to the Oregonian editors about Bob Ball's vulnerability with underage sex. It is a shocking example of "whatever it takes" ambition and if we don't correct Portland's situation now, we will go on paying the price for years.

I oppose the recall because I refuse to get in league with bigots of any stripe.

I oppose the recall because I and all of Portland knew Sam's proclivities before we voted overwhelmingly for him.

Most importantly I oppose the recall because I am sick of the bitchy/prissy, hyper-accusative tendencies of many Portlanders who claim to be so sophisticated and progressive. But reduced to their whiny little psyches they are their grandmother's standard issue tattle-tales and self righteous hypocrites.

The recall will be defeated. The effort is being drowned out by it's own collective snore.

Then maybe we can get beyond sex politics on the next election and just vote on what Sam achieved or failed to accomplish.

For christsake, Let the man do his job.

Kari, your site is showing an error that says "no entry_xid in request" over and over, tho the id stuff is entered as always. New issue?

I am honestly not so concerned about Sam cozying up with an underage Beau (be honest, men on this blog, how many of YOU have cossetted an underage and delectably desiring young one in your time? Be honest for pete's sake - the difference is your heterosexuality, not her/his desiring of the contact nor your indulgence) nor even his lying about it when I range it up next to the lies and smokescreens of other politicos local and national, wannabe or actual; I'm more concerned about his pursuit of dinstinctly fatuous lines of business such as the stadium bullshit....

Jamais Vu - so you support high school boys who are fearful in their own burgeoning sexuality verbally abusing someone just for being gay? That is what it sounds like. As if that is a reason to not support the anti-dropout activities: H.S. boys are going to hiss and catcall.... that's no reason! The lying is more the issue in my eyes.

I do understand that those of us who fall outside of the strictly mainline sexual orientation points may be more-vulnerable when coming to maturity - more manipulable in our learning about ourselves and the development of our psychosexual dynamic... and so that is troubling viz Breedlove's situation. However, get real: the volatility here really does seem to be around an undertone of "pederast homo" stuff. Not seeing the same shock value on Edwards and others I know of, even local hopefuls.

I DO think smearing another candidate with that which belonged on his own shirt collar... business as usual.

Fireslayer, You wrote, "I oppose the recall because I refuse to get in league with bigots of any stripe."

   That's one of those really noble sounding statements that's actually idiotic.

   You must never have voted in any election - maybe you haven't. If you have you were in league with lots of unsavory people.

   But you don't get to declare why individuals decide Sam should go. That's for them to do. Declaring it's a result of bigotry ties it all up for you in a nice little story line, but the real world is a more complicated place than that.

  I see Nixonian arrogance and abuse of power here. Not everyone who opposed Nixon was a bigot, although some undoubtedly were. Should the rest of us have not joined in the effort to remove him, simply because of that?

   The Fireslayer Doctrine is as dumb as the Bush Doctrine, and all your bluster can't change that.

Sheesh, Bill - Sam Adams elevated to "Nixonian"?

I feel he is such a silly little man, besotted by those who seem rich and powerful, I shudder to hear such grandiousity attached to him. Can you find a less-grand parallel? But then, I guess it does fit. Both of them nerdy boys in awe of the Beautiful. And dying to be in league with them.

:)

And, Bill: hang on a sec buddy! You comedians break ALL the roolz. Yer spozed to just sit Up There and watch the sweaty, ill-wrought scrum you start, not moderate, punctiliate and otherwise take part!!!

Hey, I'd prefer if the people who are getting paid to figure this out would do their jobs, but if Kroger can look at all the moves Sam made and not sense a problem, then I have to speak out. That's the code. Comedy writers are BS detectors and this thing reeked.

And all the counter-accusations are just part of the process.

 I'm not suggesting Adams is on the level of Nixon. That's like comparing Merritt Paulson to Henry Paulson and the damage done by Goldman Sachs during the lawless era known as the Bush administration.

  If I had to search my heart for any sign of bigotry on this, I will admit to some sexism. I'm being honest here, and that's always a dubious move.

  If Sam had been calling a 17-year-old high school girl and showering her with attention before nailing her after she turned 18, it would have bothered me a little. I actually don't care about Sam and Beau.

   I already said I thought the scene where Sam shows up in his 40s to an 18-year-old's birthday party was funny. Perhaps not being bothered about it at all where I would if it had been a girl is sexism, and I'll admit to it. None of us is perfect - even the pompous windbags who write in here pretending they are.

 But  what bothers me about this case is the reporter-hire aspect, and the cash envelopes at city hall. I don't believe that Sam was acting simply as a nice guy there.

  I'll tell you what: As a comedy writer I found it hilarious that Kroger could look at that and not sense a potential problem. And the guy's from the East Coast?

   I thought this was the powerful protecting the powerful. That does happen, you know. I thought it was arrogant and definitely abused the trust we placed in these people. Criminal? I bet it was, but I can't prove it. But I've seen and heard enough from Sam to detect a Nixonian politician and I say let's toss him out. When he says he's working hard to regain our trust, it's just a laugh line to me. As if!

   Listen, he didn't write that letter of resignation because there was no way he deserved to go.

Richard, is there a way you can comment without falling back on Jack Bogdanski's presumably copyrighted set of insults and pejoratives? I mean, no love for Adams from me either, but geez louise, some creativity please.

I was teasin' ya, Bill. You know: chaffin'.

Ehhhhhhh.

bex

I was teasin' ya, Bill. You know: chaffin'.

Ehhhhhhh.

bex

I was teasin' ya, Bill. You know: chaffin'.

Ehhhhhhh.

bex

JDWalls: Louise is my middle name! Please o please don't perjoratate my monicker!

Adams: wonder if his inevitable career will survive this? He is being smirched handily - and the really sad business here is that more than likely, it will not disturb his trajectory in pubic... erm... public life. We have many others to gaze upon to see this proven out. And many who did not necessarily even make enough of a difference, ultimately, to be forgiven for being drattedly human.

Sigh.

I'm late for the party! It's not at all fun.

An awful blog. That's free speech on Blue Oregon.

No one mentioned the amount of money Sam Adams loaned Beau and the amount that they each testified to-although there was alot of reference to "money":

$750.00 That's $750.00

That's a lot of ... what ...? bribe?

$750.00

Has anyone watched the movie "Choose Connor" and compared pothe politics with Neil and Sam? Skeletons in the closet are not only great for puppeteers but can work mutually. My hope for a recall is less Cronyism in Portland. Oligarchs Rule!