Sen Ben Westlund came to Drinking Liberally last night the Lucky Lab here in Portland, and I got to have a long talk with him. I had the beer (thanks TJ) and Ben had ... gum?

Not sure what it was, but he popped three of these big suckers into his mouth, maybe four. Nicorette? Anyway, he didn't have anything to drink, but he would barely have had time, because boy howdy, can he talk! And it's talk worth hearing, because he moved between impassioned advocacy and hilarious storytelling. I had a great time.

But it was all informal, off-the-record, and besides, I'm not exactly Mike Wallace. But we talked about what his plans might be (and he explained how being State Treasurer could be an exciting job, and he convinced me). He recalled some of the events surrounding SB1000 in 2005, including a fabulous public forum in Albany that I had attended. We both raved about Sara Gelser, my friend and a colleague that I can clearly tell Ben is in awe of. And then there were all the former campaign staffers of his who showed up, one of whom I recruited for the Obama campaign in Bend!

He also put a big fat quash on one particular rumor, but it's not for me to report that here.

Thanks, Ben, it was great to meet you and here's wishing great good luck for the future. But I don't think you need such wishes; you seem to be able to make your own.