Since moving to the Sacramento area to cover state government for The Star, I have lived in the nearby university town of Davis. Among my neighbors is a member of the Legislature, Assemblywoman Lois Wolk, who lives on the same small residential block.

Since I had written a story yesterday about the campaign issue being made of Sen. Tom McClintock's acceptance of per diem pay even though he lives just 14 miles from the Capitol and does not keep a residence in his district, I decided to check the odometer on my trip to work this morning.

From the intersection nearest Wolk's house, it is 18 miles to the Capitol.

Then, I checked to see how much per-diem pay Wolk had taken in 2007. Zero.

McClintock, who commutes to the Capitol from four miles closer, accepted $36,012 in tax-free per-diem pay.

It was a graphic illustration as to why McClintock's congressional opponent, Doug Ose, believes he can make this an effective campaign issue.