There is still a GOP push to draft Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as John McCain’s running mate. Rice, although she denied any political ambitions last year, is said by some sources to be encouraging the speculation. McCain, responding Sunday to the rumors, called Rice a “great American” but said he didn’t know that she was interested in the position. Rice herself dismissed the talk Tuesday, saying that she planned to return to Stanford University after President Bush’s term. McCain’s team probably thinks that’s a good idea. Rice, for all her personal appeal, would bring a heavy load of Bush baggage to the race, including her participation in key Iraq war decisions and foreign policy failures. Her performances as national security adviser and secretary of state have been more criticized than praised. So what exactly would she bring to McCain’s ticket?
Wichita’s clean-air ordinance was once forecast to pass the City Council before the end of 2007. Council members reluctant to take a stand on the contentious issue should take a cue from Kansas City, Mo., where voters Tuesday gave smoke-free workplaces, including restaurants and bars, their 52 to 48 percent approval. The ban begins in 60 days. “This was citizen-led. This wasn’t government-sponsored,” observed Cathy Jolly, a Kansas City councilwoman and cancer survivor. Why not put Wichita’s ban — preferably a clean, rather than convoluted, clean-air ordinance — on the November ballot?
Sen. John McCain spent more than a year trying to get the endorsement of the Rev. John C. Hagee, a conservative religious leader from San Antonio. And when he got it in February, McCain said he was “proud and honored to have his support.” So why isn’t McCain mentioning the endorsement now? It’s because of statements Hagee has made that many consider anti-Catholic and anti-Jewish, such as saying the Catholic church is “the great whore” and a “false cult system.” McCain has since repudiated Hagee’s remarks, but will he get the same nonstop scrutiny that Barack Obama got over the Rev. Jeremiah Wright’s remarks?
Meanwhile, check out a pop quiz in the Washington Post called “who would you renounce?”
It’s fine that Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton will talk about “faith, values and other current issues” at Messiah College near Harrisburg, Pa., on April 13 — but so far they’ve declined invitations to take part in ScienceDebate 2008, a proposed election-year debate on science issues ranging from climate change and space travel to energy policy and America’s technological leadership.
These are complex, substantive issues that have received too little media attention in the election cycle but that will affect America’s future far more than Colombian trade policy or the candidates’ bowling scores.
The next best chance for a science debate appears to be in early May before the Oregon primary.To learn more about the effort, check the ScienceDebate 2008 Web site.
It takes nerve to misuse a government-issued credit card, no matter where the card holder works. But it’s worse when Veterans Affairs employees do it, spending taxpayer dollars that could be serving the nation’s warriors. It’s hard to see how some of the 3.1 million charges for fiscal year 2007 detailed by Associated Press could be justifiable — $26,000 at Las Vegas casino hotels, $21,000 on movie tickets, $8,000 at Sharper Image and $6,000 at Macy’s. And why do 14,000 VA employees need credit cards in the first place? “It’s all being looked at,” said Belinda Finn, the VA’s assistant inspector general for auditing. Taxpayers can hope so.
There is still a GOP push to draft Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as John McCain’s running mate. Rice, although she denied any political ambitions last year, is said by some sources to be encouraging the speculation. McCain, responding Sunday to the rumors, called Rice a “great American” but said he didn’t know that she was interested in the position. Rice herself dismissed the talk Tuesday, saying that she planned to return to Stanford University after President Bush’s term. McCain’s team probably thinks that’s a good idea. Rice, for all her personal appeal, would bring a heavy load of Bush baggage to the race, including her participation in key Iraq war decisions and foreign policy failures. Her performances as national security adviser and secretary of state have been more criticized than praised. So what exactly would she bring to McCain’s ticket?
