As each of the 10 GOP presidential candidates tried again to find ways to stand out from the pack in Tuesday night’s debate in New Hampshire and reaffirmed their values bona fides, they were newly willing to criticize the Bush administration for its handling of the Iraq war, Hurricane Katrina and especially illegal immigration. "I think we were underprepared and underplanned for what came after we knocked down Saddam Hussein," Mitt Romney said on the first issue. Even Tommy Thompson (in photo), a former member of President Bush’s Cabinet, was pretty harsh. The Ronald Reagan name-dropping continued. This time, though, the elephant in the room was Fred Thompson, who launched a campaign Web site Tuesday and appeared after the debate on Fox News channel.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Rudy Giuliani says he is personally opposed to abortion but doesn’t want to impose that view on others. To which Thomas J. Tobin, the Roman Catholic bishop of Providence, R.I., responded: "I can just hear Pilate saying, ‘You know, I’m personally opposed to crucifixion but I don’t want to impose my belief on others.’"
A question for Giuliani about the bishop’s criticism provided the best moment of Tuesday’s debate, when his answer coincided with lightning and thunder. "Look, for someone who went to parochial schools all his life, this is a very frightening thing that’s happening right now," Giuliani said, as other candidates moved away from him in mock fear.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
The Eagle is doing a feature Sunday keying off President Bush’s planned visit to Wichita next Friday. We’re asking various people what they think should be included in Bush’s top priorities during his remaining time in office. What are your thoughts?
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Obscenities uttered by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are examples of why the Federal Communications Commission shouldn’t go too far in fining TV and radio stations, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The FCC had started fining stations for broadcasting certain obscenities, contending that the words implied that sexual or excretory acts were carried out, the New York Times reported. But the court ruled that sometimes such words are just "fleeting expletives" used to convey frustration or excitement and don’t convey a broader obscene meaning, and it cited Bush’s and Cheney’s high-profile swearing as examples. "In recent times even the top leaders of our government have used variants of these expletives in a manner that no reasonable person would believe referenced sexual or excretory organs or activities," the court said. No #@!!*#!!
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are neck and neck with 37 percent and 36 percent, respectively, according to the new USA Today/Gallup pollof Democrats and independents about the Democratic presidential candidates. Among Democratic voters, Clinton still registers 5 percentage points ahead, and — it always bears saying — it’s really, really early. But with rumors that Obama’s second-quarter fundraising number is going to be huge, this tightening of the race has to have Clinton on edge.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Here’s hoping President Bush can take another look into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s eyes this week, during the Group of Eight summit in Germany, and see a means to better communication over the planned U.S. missile defense shield and other issues. "The Cold War is over," Bush keeps saying. The problem is that Bush’s credibility isn’t what it used to be, undermining his assurances that the missiles we’re worrying about are Iranian or North Korean. Another factor underlying this spat: Bush’s approval ratings are 10 to 20 percent in Europe and 28 percent at home, while Putin’s approval rating in Russia is a baffling 81 percent.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Lindsay Lohan, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton are role models for many young women around the globe. But as columnist Karen Heller noted on Tuesday’s Opinion pages, it’s unclear "why lovely girls want to mimic vapid strumpets whose greatest talents are for trashy behavior, tabloid portraiture, rehab and perp walks."
On Sunday night at the MTV Movie Awards, host and comedian Sarah Silverman laid the humiliation on Hilton. Shortly after the ceremony, Hilton checked in early for her jail sentence. Maybe more public humiliation is what these bimbos need.
Posted by Angie Clum
