Rudy Giuliani had the biggest moment in the GOP debate in South Carolina Tuesday night when he broke in to challenge Ron Paul’s statement that America’s involvement in the Middle East was partly responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Visibly incensed and in high moral dudgeon, Giuliani called Paul’s comments "absurd" and demanded a retraction.
The crowd loved it. Giuliani shrewdly seized the moment to wrap himself once more in Sept. 11 glory, his strongest suit.
Mitt Romney was smooth and presidential-looking as usual, but he failed to stand out on anything, and John McCain inflicted damage with a comment about Romney’s opportunistic flip-flops on issues: "I haven’t changed my position in even-numbered years or . . . because of the different offices that I may be running for."
McCain repeated the old joke about Congress spending like drunken sailors. But Mike Huckabee topped him with the night’s best laugh line: "We’ve had a Congress that’s spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop."
Sam Brownback mainly stood out when he defended his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape and incest. That may give even some pro-lifers pause.
The top three candidates continue to struggle to establish their conservative credentials, trying to explain away past votes and positions. They weren’t very convincing.
The Fox News team, led by Brit Hume, did a fine job of hosting the event, asking sharp, tough questions and follow-ups that forced the candidates to reveal themselves and stake out differences.
Overall, a pretty good debate.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
A Kansas City Star editorial opposes the U.S. Army’s efforts to restrict online blogs by soldiers, calling it a "misguided move" that will have the effect of shutting down blogs.
As the Star argues, "military blogs provide the public with valuable accounts of the firsthand experiences of our troops. These stories can do much to build support and respect for our armed forces."
What do you think? Did the Army overreact? There’s an obvious need for security guidelines. But I’m not aware of any cases of Army bloggers posting information that compromised operations or endangered troops.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
A USA Today article quoted Kansas State University professor Richard Goe as being among the first to dare suggest the politically incorrect: that there might be reasons Greensburg shouldn’t be rebuilt.
Goe, who studies rural development, pointed out that Greensburg could more easily consolidate with neighboring towns, which have ample roads, utilities and schools. On paper, at least, that might make more fiscal sense than rebuilding.
“The money that’s reinvested in rebuilding it, is it going to provide any economic return?” Goe asked. “Probably not.”
The article also pointed out the reality that some of the town’s many elderly residents probably will leave. A rebuilt Greensburg likely will have younger and fewer residents.
Still, many Greensburg residents say they’re committed to maintaining family and community ties, which often go back generations. Those might be more powerful reasons to stay than any academic ones.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
The collapse of Iraq is creating a refugee crisis for the region, the New York Times reported. An estimated 2 million Iraqis have fled their country since the war began. And the exodus has gotten worse as sectarian violence has increased — about 50,000 people a month are now leaving Iraq.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Russian President Vladimir Putin apparently both want to ratchet down the trash talk between the two countries. “The relationship needs to be free of exaggerated rhetoric,” Rice said in Moscow Tuesday. But hard as it is to overlook Putin’s words, such as seeming to liken the United States to the Third Reich in a recent speech, it will be harder to overlook Putin’s increasingly authoritarian actions.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Kansans should be proud of the resilience and hope displayed by Greensburg residents and of how others reacted so quickly and generously to the tornado. But as Eagle columnist Mark McCormick wrote, we shouldn’t try to build ourselves up by making false comparisons between the Greensburg tornado and Hurricane Katrina, as some Opinion Line comments and Reader Views letters have tried. The scale and circumstances of disasters aren’t comparable. Not even close. And as much as we might enjoy the myth that Kansans pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, the reality is that the federal government is playing a big role in Greensburg, just as it has done on the Gulf Coast.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
