Iconoclasty. (the Oregon senate race) (American Survey)

Economist (US), The, October, 1990

OREGON has had its share of political deities: Wayne Morse, who led the fight against the Vietnam war in the Senate, and Tom McCall, he governor who inveighed against the "Californication" of the state, come to mind. But none has matched the sheer durability of Mr Mark Hatfield, a Republican senator running for re-election.

He has been in the Senate since 1966, and before that he had been governor for eight years. Patrician, and conscience-bound, Mr Hatfield has sometimes seemed the embodiment of Oregon's quirky political atmosphere, one of social liberalism tempered by strong ties to the land and a respect for tradition.

Yet after retaining his seat in 1984 by thrashing his Democratic opponent, Mr Hatfield now finds himself in a close race. Mr Harry...