The administration isn’t likely to take the advice of Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del. Nor that of New York Times columnist Tom Friedman. But both have been suggesting that the president and vice president roll up their sleeves and get more deeply engaged in keeping the sectarian forces in Iraq from waging all-out civil war.
Biden, on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, said “the president, instead of deciding to make a series of speeches here at home, should be on a plane. He should get on a plane and be dealing with world leaders to try to generate an international consensus to put international pressure on the parties to make the concessions that are needed. I can’t imagine if this were Reagan or Kennedy or FDR, they wouldn’t be on a plane. We don’t have to convince the Americans, but you’ve got to convince these folks to get together.”
And Friedman said in a column last week: “We need to bring together all the newly elected Iraqi leaders for a national reconciliation conference — outside Baghdad. We should lock them in a room and not let them out until they either produce a national unity government, so Americans will want to stay in Iraq, or fail to produce that government, which would signal that it’s time to warm up the bus.
“Those choices need to be put to the Iraqis in the most frank, tough-minded way by the most nasty, brutish and short-tempered senior official we’ve got — and that is Dick ‘Darth Vader’ Cheney. Mr. Veep, this Bud’s for you.”
Posted by Rhonda Holman
FYI: Gary Pruitt (in photo), CEO of McClatchy Co., the newspaper chain that is buying Knight Ridder and The Eagle, was asked by USA Today if he expects the editorial opinions at the newspapers he is acquiring to reflect his views? “No,” Pruitt said. “That’s not how we operate. We will respect the editorial legacy of the papers.” That was also the policy of Knight Ridder. I’ve never received any corporate order or request that The Eagle take a particular position on an issue or endorse a particular candidate.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., no doubt wants to stand out among Democratic presidential hopefuls. That surely has something to do with his proposal, made Sunday on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos,” that the Senate censure President Bush over the warrantless wiretapping of Americans. “This conduct is right in the strike zone of the concept of high crimes and misdemeanors,” he said. Of course, if Feingold seriously thinks this GOP-controlled Senate would do such a thing, his judgment is in question. But in the unlikely event that the Democrats win enough seats in November to take control of the Senate, the House or both, the winners may feel emboldened to pursue censure and even impeachment.
For those attracted to the latter idea, I have two words: President Cheney.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
What a thrill Monday to see the beautifully restored Keeper of the Plains sculpture hoisted atop its massive rocklike pedestal overlooking the Arkansas River.
What’s immediately clear is that Blackbear Bosin’s artwork — 30 feet higher than before — will be much more visible and powerful in effect. Its gracefully arched shape and uplifted hands can now clearly be seen by motorists driving by on McLean Boulevard.
Judi and Leon Krob of Wichita, who were among the scores of onlookers braving the chilly winds to watch the historic raising, said they came in part because they attended the first Keeper of the Plains dedication decades ago.
“It’s finally making good use of the river,” said Judi Krob, who added, “It ought to be a tourist draw.”
Wichita needs to plan a big community celebration when the new setting — including two pedestrian bridges and a ring of boulders spouting flames — is finished in a few months.
It’s easy to imagine how dramatic the Keeper will look at night. How many communities would love to have such a recognizable and meaningful icon for their city?
This is going to be a tourist magnet and a point of pride for Wichitans.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wasn’t present at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference gathering in Memphis, of course, but nevertheless had a big target on her back. One button bearing her scowling face asserted, “HILL NO, You Won’t Be President.”
Among Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s jokes: That Clinton wants to allow ex-felons to vote so “all the Clintons’ former business partners could vote.” That Sharon Stone would play Hillary in a TV movie and that “President Clinton has volunteered to play himself.”
If she runs, stay tuned for much, much more.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The world is a better place now that Slobodan Milosevic has left it. He died of a heart attack Saturday in his cell in the Hague, the Netherlands, putting an anti-climactic period on his reign of terror over the Yugoslav federation. Regrettably, it means that Milosevic’s four-year, $200 million trial will not reach an end, and that he won’t be brought to justice on 66 counts of war crimes and genocide in Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo involving the slaughter of more than 250,000. Milosevic may be another global thug who escaped accountability for his crimes against humanity, but authorities should continue to seek and prosecute his minions, notably Ratko Mladic and Radovan Karadzic. (Oddly, Milosevic’s death also demonstrates the danger of prescription drug interaction.)
Posted by Rhonda Holman
