Republicans are justifiably complaining about Sen. Hillary Clinton saying during a speech Sunday in Aspen, Colo., that “I sometimes feel that Alfred E. Neuman is in charge in Washington.” There is plenty to criticize George W. Bush about without comparing him to a cartoon character. Besides, it’s not a new joke. The Nation magazine depicted candidate Bush as Neuman on the cover of its October 26, 2000, issue.
Of course, it should go both ways. Many of the same GOP operatives who are complaining about what Clinton said have themselves said much, much worse things about her and President Clinton.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
If you’re willing to bet that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will be the next U.S. Supreme Court nominee, you’re not alone. Hundreds of political junkies turned gamblers — or vice versa — have done just that using the betting Web site Sportsbook.com. Their wagers made Gonzales the favorite as of late Thursday.
Posted by Melissa Cooley
At least one Kansan has been mentioned in the national media (NPR, Slate, USA Today) among possible replacements for Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor: Deanell Reece Tacha, chief judge of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver and a Lawrence resident. A Goodland native, Tacha was nominated to the appeals court by Ronald Reagan in 1985 and became chief judge in 2001. Tacha is worth cheering on, at least in part because there hasn’t been a Kansan on the court since Charles E. Whittaker (1957-62).
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Denis Boyles has an interesting commentary in National Review Online about the school finance case — though it is sometimes over the top and has a few inaccuracies (such as saying the District Judge Terry Bullock ordered the Legislature to increase funding by $143 million). Among Boyles’ criticisms:
“For lawyers, education is the new tobacco, and business is smoking.”
“Consultants like A&M (Augenblick and Myers) are notorious for their methodology — findings are often heavily influenced by simply going to school administrators and asking, ‘How much money do you need’ — roughly akin to asking a meth-head, ‘How much crack do you need?’”
“But studies like the one commissioned for Kansas are seized on by lawyers who follow in their wake and arrive in court armed with bales of data harvested from George W. Bush’s massive, ill-conceived joint venture with Ted Kennedy: The hideous ‘No Child Left Behind’ education plan.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
It was natural for Gene Stephenson to want to follow a dream and return to the University of Oklahoma to become head baseball coach. It turns out, though, that it was more natural for Stephenson to stay at Wichita State University. Stephenson’s indecision made for some drama in recent days, but OU’s loss comes as a great relief to Wichita. Stephenson has more winning to do in the formidable program and classy stadium he made possible.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
