The presidential election made history by electing Barack Obama as the first African-American president and opting for a strongly Democratic Congress. Obama’s victory affords him the responsibility for two costly wars and what seems like an insoluble financial crisis. Now, he must reconcile the gap between what he’s promised and what the nation will have the resources and flexibility to do. There’s nothing easy about the job he just landed.
An independent agency investigator has exonerated Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in the “Troopergate” business. Like an earlier legislative probe, this one said she was within her rights to fire Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan. But the new report, which benefited from three hours of Palin’s sworn testimony, went further in saying she did not violate state ethics law or abuse her power. Meanwhile, Palin wouldn’t say today whether she voted for Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, despite his conviction last week on seven felonies. Interesting scenario: If Stevens wins re-election today but gets expelled from the Senate by his colleagues, Palin would appoint his temporary successor. If the vice presidency proves elusive today, might she appoint herself?
The local and state economies have seemed more well-positioned than most to ride out the financial crisis. But the layoff announcement at Hawker Beechcraft is another worrisome indicator of how connected Wichita’s economy is to Wall Street and the world after all. The cuts will affect 5 percent of the work force at Hawker Beechcraft, despite its record $7 billion order backlog. The ripples from the layoffs, on top of the impact of the recent Machinists union strikes at Boeing and Hawker Beechcraft, are sure to be felt throughout the Wichita area. For its part, the Commerce Department said today that factory orders dropped by 2.5 percent from August to September, far more than the 0.8 percent decline expected. At least October’s tax collections in Kansas were on track with expectations.
Think there’s no stone left unturned in the presidential campaign? Not so, according to Politico, which compiled this list of “10 of the top missing documents from campaign 2008″: The cases on which Barack Obama worked as a Chicago attorney over parts of 11 years. Sarah Palin’s e-mails. Joe Biden’s earmark requests prior to fiscal 2009. The McCains’ full tax returns. Obama’s state Senate records and schedules. Palin’s college transcripts. Obama’s Columbia University thesis. All four candidates’ medical records. Obama’s small donors. John McCain’s flight records for campaign use of a Cessna Citation Excel owned by a company controlled by his wife.
Could Wichita’s on-again, off-again courtship of the 2011 United States Bowling Congress Championship still have a happy ending? Wichita should do whatever possible to see that it does – no small task, given the numbers of bookings now in place for Century II during the tournament’s time period of January to July 2011. But events involving 60,000 visitors and an estimated $100 million in tourism dollars to the city don’t come along every day. Having won the 2011 tournament in 2004, lost it in 2007 over contractual hassles and then lost out to the Orlando, Fla., area in the rebidding late last year, Wichita should seize this rare opportunity to get the bowlers back.
On his HBO show, comedian Bill Maher hit some highlights of the 2008 presidential campaign:
– “Americans were so sick of Bush that seven years after 9/11, they said, ‘You know what sounds good? A black guy with a Muslim name.’”
– “We learned that Barack Obama sat in a pew of Trinity United Church of Christ every week for 20 years, which proved he was a Muslim. And that John McCain didn’t go to church at all, which proved he was a Christian.”
– “The Republicans, who had three candidates who proudly said they did not believe in evolution, which became ironic when their campaigns quickly died off in favor of stronger, fitter campaigns.”
The presidential election made history by electing Barack Obama as the first African-American president and opting for a strongly Democratic Congress. Obama’s victory affords him the responsibility for two costly wars and what seems like an insoluble financial crisis. Now, he must reconcile the gap between what he’s promised and what the nation will have the resources and flexibility to do. There’s nothing easy about the job he just landed.
