The overflow crowds at area Democratic caucuses tonight showed how eager Kansans were to have a say in this election — and what a mistake the Kansas Legislature made last year in not funding a presidential primary.
Barack Obama’s landslide win in the Kansas caucuses also showed how his message of hope and change resonates with many voters longing to move beyond the partisan politics that have divided this country.
As some national pundits observed, Obama’s win in Kansas reflected his roots in the state: His mother was born at Fort Leavenworth, and his maternal grandparents grew up in Butler County. But the excitement generated by Obama’s overflow rally at Butler Community College boosted interest just a week before the caucuses. And in Kansas and elsewhere, Obama’s appeal to young voters has been remarkable. His unique ability to attract youths to politics could be felt long term, no matter how his contest against Hillary Clinton shakes out.
Bob Dole was a master builder of consensus as Senate majority leader. Now the former Kansan is trying to get radio talker Rush Limbaugh to give John McCain a chance. In a letter to Limbaugh, Dole wrote: “I believe our major candidates are mainstream conservatives and that our nominee will address our concerns by keeping taxes low, reducing corporate taxes, protecting and assisting the vulnerable, strengthening our traditional values, and above all, keeping America strong militarily, whatever the cost. Whoever wins the Republican nomination will need your enthusiastic support. Two terms for the Clintons are enough.â€
At least Limbaugh can’t argue with that last sentence, but a few minutes spent listening to his show today suggest Dole will need an army to get Limbaugh on McCain’s bus.
Here’s why you shouldn’t put much stock in polls today: The final SurveyUSA poll before Super Tuesday had Hillary Clinton winning both California, 52 percent to Barack Obama’s 42 percent, and Missouri, 54 percent to Obama’s 43 percent.
But Zogby, also a respected pollster, gave Obama the edge in both races: Obama 49 percent and Clinton 36 percent in California; Obama 45 percent and Clinton 42 percent in Missouri.
In other words, the polls are all over the map. This race is close and truly up in the air, with a large number of undecided voters who could break either way.
People are predicting big TV audiences for tonight’s coverage of Super Tuesday and talking about the high ratings for recent presidential debates, topped by the 9.4 million viewers ABC drew for the Democratic debate the Saturday before the New Hampshire primary. But to put the high expectations in perspective: Fox’s broadcasts of “American Idol†and “House†both are likely to draw 22 million viewers tonight. Even NBC’s “American Gladiators†draws 11 million on Mondays. For purposes of further comparison, the first debate between President Bush and John Kerry drew 62.5 million viewers in September 2004.
Don’t count out Mitt Romney. But a National Review blog noted that today’s primaries could be rough on him, because the big states that John McCain is likely to win are winner-take-all, and the ones that may go for Romney are proportional. “If New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Arizona were proportional, and Colorado and Massachusetts were winner-take-all, the race would probably look quite different,†the blog observed.
“It’s like when Tony Bennett suddenly became hip again after the kids discovered him,†a Democratic strategist observed about how Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., is drawing large, raucous crowds as he campaigns for Barack Obama.
More than two months after George Kolb announced his resignation, the Wichita City Council will take a substantive step today toward replacing him by approving a recruitment profile for a new city manager. If all goes as proposed, the council could conduct interviews in early May and the new manager could take over from interim City Manager Ed Flentje on July 3. The wish list to be considered today is quite specific, stating a preference for 15 years of management experience in local government or something comparable, and a master’s degree in public administration or a related field.
The seven other bullet points say a lot about the council’s recent experience, not just with Kolb but with longtime City Manager Chris Cherches before him, and reflect a desire to find a manager good for business: starting with “superior communication skills, including listening skillsâ€; calling for the “ability to inspire trust and confidence in government through vision, accountability and transparencyâ€; and concluding with an “unblemished record of personal integrity and ethical conduct.†That sounds about right, and Wichita is right to aim high. But no such wish list can anticipate all the city’s future needs. The challenge to council members is to know the next manager — the right next manager — when they see him or her. Otherwise, they could be going through this challenging process again before they know it.
