In 2000, I was impressed by the campaign that Maria Cantwell ran — from the point of view of a political technician, a Dick Morris if you will.  There was much about it that I disliked, even despised, but it was effective.

That's why I find her giving a job to her primary "opponent", Mark Wilson, discussed here and here, so curious.

Let's review.  Cantwell has (courageously or stubbornly, depending on how you want to look at it) taken a position on the war in Iraq that displeases many in the Democratic party.  Wilson was running against her because he disagreed with her on that great issue.  Then they have a secret meeting.  He comes out of the meeting with a job, and she comes out of the meeting with an endorsement.  This makes both Cantwell and Wilson look terrible.

To be blunt, the most obvious explanation is that Cantwell bought Wilson.  This implies that Wilson never believed what he said he did about the war, or at least didn't believe it strongly enough to resist the cash.  And it also implies that Cantwell will bribe people — when she thinks it politically advantageous.  It probably isn't a bribe in the legal sense, but it will look like one to the ordinary voter.

Another possibility is that Cantwell told Wilson in the meeting that she would change her position on the war, making American defeat her goal, thus joining many on the left.  (Not that she would have put it in those words, of course.)  That would mean that her public and private positions on the war now conflict.  The ordinary voter won't like that, either.

There are other possible explanations for this curious agreement, but I am unable to think of one that makes either Cantwell or Wilson looks good.  Curious, indeed.