Barack Obama didn’t take the safe route and simply denounce some inflammatory statements made by his pastor. In a bold, moving and, frankly, grown-up speech today in Philadelphia, Obama went much further in discussing the racial divides in our country, their causes and the hope for continuing to make our nation a more perfect union. He discussed how issues and people, including his pastor, are more complicated than caricatures being pushed by those on the right and left, and how ignoring wounds won’t make them heal. He argued that we have a choice: We can continue to accept “a politics that breeds division and conflict and cynicism,†or we can come together and realize that we share many of the same challenges and aspirations.
“In the end, then, what is called for is nothing more, and nothing less, than what all the world’s great religions demand — that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us,†Obama said. “Let us be our brother’s keeper, Scripture tells us. Let us be our sister’s keeper. Let us find that common stake we all have in one another, and let our politics reflect that spirit as well.â€
Big surprise — President Bush intervened to lower the Environmental Protection Agency’s new smog standards, according to agency documents. EPA scientists had wanted stricter standards for ozone levels to help protect the “public welfare,†but Bush and the White House Office of Management and Budget objected, the Washington Post reported. But even though the new pollution standards aren’t as high as the EPA wanted, they could still present a significant challenge for Wichita, which for years has hovered on the brink of violating federal rules.
John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton agree on at least one thing: Congress needs to curb its appetite for earmark appropriations for home district projects. But getting Congress to agree won’t be easy, regardless of who becomes president. The Senate last week voted overwhelmingly against a one-year ban on earmarks. Kansas Republican Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts were part of the majority opposing the ban. McCain was not happy. “This may be the last bastion in America where they don’t get it,†he said, “that Americans are sick and tired of the way we do business here in Washington.â€
As the Wichita City Council makes appointments today to its citizen committee to screen applications for the city manager’s job, here’s hoping members give some thought to ensuring the committee reflects the community and, frankly, the diverse council itself. Last time, in 2004, the 21-member search committee included only one woman. Coincidentally, or perhaps not, the top six finalists for the manager’s job were all men. Such panels are a valuable tool for grooming leaders in the community. Their membership should make it clear that all of Wichita has a seat at the table.
