Bubba knows a thing or two about legal bills. That's why he was in Seattle last night, yukking it up at a fundraiser for Rep. Jim McDermott to help the Congressman pay the $600,000 he owes after losing numerous appeals in the now decade-old case brought against him by John Boehner (background here and here).

Clinton also headlined an event for embattled Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, raising an estimated $500,000 for her campaign. But Cantwell's problems have almost nothing to do with money, and the roughly twenty protesters gathered outside the event were a reminder of exactly what those problems are. Cantwell has struggled to manage a disgruntled and divided base, and she's been criticized from all quarters for essentially going AWOL from her own campaign while Republican Mike McGavick has been out and about on his Open Mike tour, earning free media and winning rave reviews.

All that being said, however, Cantwell did get a nice bump in the lastest poll: a Rasmussen Reports survey released yesterday shows her leading Republican Mike McGavick by eleven points, 48-37. Rasmussen attributes the 7-point spike to the launch of Cantwell's first statewide ad campaign (you can view the ad here). We'll have to wait and see just how long the bounce lasts.

(Photo: Scott Cohen, Seattle Times)