“Everyone agrees that something major must be done. But Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion rescue plan is demanding extraordinary power for himself — and for his successor — to deploy taxpayers’ money on behalf of a plan that, as far as I can see, doesn’t make sense,” wrote columnist Paul Krugman.
He concluded: “Paulson insists that he wants a ‘clean’ plan. ‘Clean,’ in this context, means a taxpayer-financed bailout with no strings attached — no quid pro quo on the part of those being bailed out. Why is that a good thing? Add to this the fact that Paulson is also demanding dictatorial authority, plus immunity from review ‘by any court of law or any administrative agency,’ and this adds up to an unacceptable proposal.”
Barack Obama is still having trouble closing the deal with about a third of Hillary Clinton supporters, even though Clinton supporters say they trust Obama more than John McCain to handle nearly all the top issues. A new poll found that 58 percent of those who backed Clinton during the primaries now support Obama. That’s the same percentage as in June, despite Clinton’s strong endorsement of Obama. As a result, McCain has greater support from his party than Obama, with 87 percent of Republicans backing McCain and 74 percent of Democrats saying they will vote for Obama.
“It seems apropos that Banned Books Week begins next weekend,” wrote columnist Leonard Pitts, reflecting on the reports of how Sarah Palin asked the Wasilla, Alaska, librarian three times about removing controversial books from the shelves. The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom “reports that since 1990 it has seen 9,700 ‘challenges’ — a challenge is defined as a formal written request to remove a book from a library because the content offends or is deemed inappropriate,” Pitts wrote. “Chillingly, the office suggests that’s probably an undercount. It estimates that for every challenge reported, four or five are not.
“So Palin has company, to say the least.”
John McCain, in Congress for 26 years to Barack Obama’s four, has the longer record of producing bipartisan alliances on tough issues. He has bucked his party again and again to do just that — on immigration, federal judges and campaign finance, to name three.
Obama has a much thinner record of bucking his own party. With the exception of tough fights for ethics reforms in the Illinois Senate and in Washington — where he angered Democratic colleagues by insisting on the disclosure of lobbyists who bundle campaign donations — Obama has rarely challenged party dogma on the sort of big, contentious issues he’d face as president.
None of this is to say Obama couldn’t turn into a consensus-building, party-challenging president.
Based on their records so far, though, it takes a greater leap of faith to believe that of him than of McCain.
— USA Today editorial
In Illinois, I reached across the aisle to put $100 million in tax cuts into the pockets of hard-working families. And I opposed members of my party to pass the first major ethics reform in 25 years, ending the outrage of politicians pocketing campaign contributions for personal use.
I’ve bridged the partisan divide in the Senate to bring about change. With Sen. Dick Lugar, I fought to keep nuclear weapons out of terrorist hands. With Sen. Tom Coburn, I helped end the abuse of no-bid contracts and made government more open by putting every contract, every grant and every dime of federal spending online.
My opponent speaks of bipartisanship. But you cannot claim independence from your party when you vote with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time. You cannot end partisan divisions when you embrace the Karl Rove politics that’s polarized this country for so long. It’s time to reject the cynicism that treats bipartisanship as little more than a slogan.
— Barack Obama’s response in USA Today
In June, three Wichita Police Department officers were suspended with pay for allegedly making racist and sexually graphic comments at a party. Over the summer, the stated reason for the department’s silence about the suspensions was that an investigation was ongoing — leading anyone to expect more information would come once the investigation was complete. When that day finally came Friday, though, a six-sentence statement from Police Chief Norman Williams (in photo) added nothing to the public’s understanding of the incident or the resulting discipline. “This thorough investigation demonstrates the Wichita Police Department’s commitment to integrity and community trust,” the statement concluded. Well, that wasn’t worth the wait — or sufficient to reassure some in the community that the officers involved were held accountable.
“Everyone agrees that something major must be done. But Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s $700 billion rescue plan is demanding extraordinary power for himself — and for his successor — to deploy taxpayers’ money on behalf of a plan that, as far as I can see, doesn’t make sense,” wrote columnist Paul Krugman.
