By the way, you're not invited. When the President is in town for two hours and you find yourself without a few million dollars in your pocket or an 'R' next to your name on the ballot, your invitation gets lost in the mail.

President Bush touched down in Seattle today:

Bush will attend a private reception this morning in Medina to raise money for the re-election campaign of Republican Rep. David Reichert, who represents the suburban 8th District.

The midmorning reception, the president's only stop in this state, will be at the 8,000-square-foot, $10.3 million mansion of Peter Neupert, a Microsoft Corp. corporate vice president and former chief executive of drugstore.com Inc. Proceeds from the $1,000-a-head reception will go to Reichert, who is facing an aggressive challenge from Democrat Darcy Burner, a political newcomer and former Microsoft manager.

I know it's odd, but Bush flying in to help out Reichert feels a bit like his Baghdad Green Zone cameo from a few days back. Slip into hostile territory unannounced, surrounded by friendlies, then get the hell out before anyone noticed what the hell happened.

I know what you're thinking- NO, that doesn't make Darcy Burner a terrorist, necessarily. She's just one more part of that great liberal insurgency conspiracy.