It is good that the Air Force is reopening the tanker contract. According to a review by the Government Accountability Office, there were “significant errors” in how the Air Force handled the contract. And without those errors, there was a “substantial” chance that the contract would have gone to Boeing instead of Northrop Grumman and EADS. If Northrop/EADS still ends up winning the contract, so be it. But the competition needs to be fair.
The GOP primary for Johnson County district attorney only looks like a local race. James Dobson of Focus on the Family has endorsed incumbent Phill Kline, praising him in a campaign letter as the only prosecutor since Roe v. Wade to bring a criminal case against Planned Parenthood. “Throughout his career he has never failed to act to protect the most vulnerable and innocent among us,” Dobson wrote.
It’s encouraging that President Bush and other leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations — Italy, France, Japan, Russia, Britain, Germany and Canada — this week endorsed significant reductions in greenhouse gases for their nations: 50 percent cuts by 2050.
It’s still unclear, though, whether the group will finalize any agreement, and critics are right to say the 2050 target is too far in the future. Intermediate goals, they say, are needed to spur nations to take action in the short term — say, by 2020.
One group working on climate change, Oxfam International, called the G-8 agreement “another stalling tactic.”
It should not be necessary to pass a new law ensuring the White House consults with Congress before taking the nation to war. But because a bipartisan study group chaired by two former secretaries of state has concluded it is necessary, Congress should pursue the recommended legislation — to require the president to inform Congress of plans to engage in “significant armed conflict” or noncovert operations lasting longer than a week. Once Congress got that information, it would have to respond within 30 days. “What we aim to do with this statute is to create a process that will encourage the two branches to cooperate and consult in a way that is both practical and true to the spirit of the Constitution,” said James Baker, secretary of state under President George H.W. Bush. Baker co-chaired the study group with Warren Christopher, who was Bill Clinton’s first secretary of state.
Sen. Pat Roberts’ feel-good TV ad blitz seems to be working: The Kansas Republican’s latest poll, conducted by TargetPoint Consulting between June 27 and July 1, shows him with 54 percent support, which is 20 points ahead of Democratic challenger Jim Slattery.
Meanwhile, political (and baseball) analyst Nate Silver gives Roberts a 90 percent chance of winning.
It is good that the Air Force is reopening the tanker contract. According to a review by the Government Accountability Office, there were “significant errors” in how the Air Force handled the contract. And without those errors, there was a “substantial” chance that the contract would have gone to Boeing instead of Northrop Grumman and EADS. If Northrop/EADS still ends up winning the contract, so be it. But the competition needs to be fair.
