Daily Archives: Oct. 21, 2006

Open thread

Oct. 21, 20061:04 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (66)

Hill and Bill for 2008?

Oct. 21, 20061:03 a.m.

width=”100″ height=”126″ border=”0″ title=”Clintonbillhillary_3″ alt=”Clintonbillhillary_3″ src=”http://blogs.kansas.com/weblog/files/images/clintonbillhillary_3.jpg” /> It’s by no means a foregone conclusion that Sen. Hillary Clinton will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008, but that hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating about running mates, from Barack Obama to Al Gore.
Or now, her loving husband, Bill.
A story in the Washington Post has fun with the concept, consulting various legal scholars to determine whether the Constitution would allow Bill Clinton to return to the White House as vice president. The conclusion, which seems somehow fitting: It depends how you parse a certain word.
While the 12th Amendment seems to unambiguously bar from the vice presidency anyone who’s ineligible to be president, the 22nd Amendment says, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice." So some scholars conclude that Clinton could be vice president because he is only barred from being elected president a third time, not from serving as president.
It’ll never happen, of course. But if you follow the link, be sure to note Bill Clinton’s own thoughts on the subject at the end.
Posted by Dave Knadler

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Presidential race | Comments (19)

Barnett: ‘I believe in evolution’

Oct. 21, 20061:01 a.m.

GOP gubernatorial candidate Jim Barnett met with The Eagle editorial board Tuesday and tried to clarify where he stands in the state school board evolution controversy.
"I believe in evolution," he said. And the physician says he has no problem reconciling evolution with his religious faith.
"I am not a kook," he added, objecting to any efforts to paint him as one.
He went on to say that some of his campaign comments, which have followed the "teach the controversy" rhetoric of intelligent design advocates, were merely meant to support open discussion in classrooms and letting kids make up their own minds.
His awkward straddle of this issue, though, shows how Barnett’s efforts to satisfy both GOP mods and conservatives is sometimes a stretch.
Watch an video excerpt of Barnett talking about evolution that is posted on our Opinion page.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (83)

Foley’s molestation claim appears to be true

Oct. 21, 20061:00 a.m.

The sleazy saga of disgraced former Rep. Mark Foley keeps introducing characters we really don’t want to know.
Such as this retired priest (in photo), and his revelationsthat he had intimate contact with an underage Foley in the mid-’60s. The apparently unrepentant priest described his relationship with the 12-year-old altar boy as "light touching" and a bit of nudity — except for that time when booze and tranquilizers got the better of him, which he really can’t recall.
The priest, now living out his golden years on a Maltese island, also noted wistfully that issues such as molestation and sexual harassment are "in the eye of the beholder." Right. The priest and the altar boy: just another May-September romance.
Posted by Dave Knadler

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Uncategorized | Comments (46)