No surprise — or regrets — about Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., reportedly ending his presidential campaign. He never got out of the low, low single digits in polls, and lacked his congressional colleague Ron Paul’s fundraising magnetism. Still, one wonders if the top GOP issue would have been illegal immigration without his candidacy. As he put it during one debate, “all I’ve heard is people trying to out-Tancredo Tancredo.†Unfortunately, there seems little chance that rhetoric will end with Tancredo’s campaign.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t a bad choice for Time magazine’s “Person of the Year†— given the selection criteria. As the magazine explained, the selection is not an endorsement but a “recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world — for better or for worse.†In picking Putin, Time noted that “at significant cost to the principles and ideas that free nations prize, he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power.â€
Runners-up were Al Gore, J.K. Rowling, Hu Jintao and Gen. David Petraeus.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
Bloggers: We’re aware of the problem with the hyperactive spam filter on Typepad, and have registered our concerns with them. Here’s Typepad’s response as of this morning:
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Some conservatives mocked Hillary Clinton’s recent “bedraggled†photo. Matt Drudge titled it “The Toll of a Campaign,†and Rush Limbaugh questioned whether “this country want(s) to actually watch a woman get older before their eyes on a daily basis.â€
Superficialities and sexism aside, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd took the photo flap as an opportunity to wonder why we’re still not sure who Clinton really is.
"Back in the ’92 race, Clinton pollsters devised strategies to humanize her and make her seem more warm and maternal. Fifteen years later, her campaign is devising strategies to humanize her and make her seem more warm and maternal. The public still has no idea of what part of her is stage-managed and focus-grouped, and what part is legit.â€
Posted by Kristin Mehler
Sedgwick County district attorney Nola Foulston is the latest contender to say she’s not interested in being Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ pick as the next Kansas attorney general. It pays less than her current job, for one thing. But Foulston says she’s never been interested in the post.
That’s not true of Kansas Securities Commissioner Chris Biggs (in photo), who seems to be the odds-on favorite. After all, he has some name recognition, having campaigned effectively for the job in 2002 and lost by a mere 4,000 votes to Phill Kline. He said that, “If I get a call from somebody, I’ll go through the process of thinking about it and discussing it with my family.â€
In politics, that sounds like a “suit me up†statement.
Meanwhile, Steve Boyda, husband of Rep. Nancy Boyda, D-Topeka, says he is interested in the job.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Former Mayor Carlos Mayans is campaigning on behalf of GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney, in part, he said, because of Romney’s hard-line stance upholding long-standing economic sanctions against Cuba.
But Rep. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and other farm belt lawmakers rightly have been working to ease the outmoded boycott, which does little to undermine Castro’s regime while hurting American farmers and the Cuban people.
A few months ago, the U.S. International Trade Commission said in a study that U.S. agricultural exports to Cuba could double if current restrictions were lifted. “All agricultural commodity sectors would likely benefit†from the change in policy, it concluded.
Posted by Randy Scholfield
Congratulations to Ed Flentje in being named interim Wichita city manager. Flentje, the director of the Hugo Wall School of Urban and Public Affairs at Wichita State University, has a wealth of knowledge and experience in public administration and should help provide a smooth transition between outgoing city manager George Kolb and the next manager. Thanks also to WSU President Donald Beggs for agreeing to the appointment and again showing his and WSU’s commitment to serve the community.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
