The nation and the world face real problems and Democratic candidate for Congress Darcy Burner gets herself caught in a silly fight over the nature of her degree from Harvard. The folks behind incumbent Republican Dave Reichert use the opening to run ads that coyly suggest her Ivy League credential might be suspect, not whether it was in economics or computer science.

In another hotly contested race, Democratic Gov. Christine Gregoire is supposed to be impugned by a highly cinematic commercial that features a man pouring gasoline on a theatrical mound of cash and tossing a lighter to ignite a Hollywood-style conflagration. I cannot recall what the point was other than prefers GOP.

My Friday column is a search for a safe haven from this nonsense, and I find it in the extraordinary work of Global Partnerships, a Seattle charity that works in Latin America funding small loans to destitute borrowers who turn their ideas and hard work into huge gains for themselves and their families. For a Q&A podcast about the column, please click below:

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