Who is Meanspirited, the Columnist or the Candidate?

Today Rocky Mountain News Columnist Mike Littwin writes about spending some time traveling with undeclared presidential candidate Tom Tancredo on Tancredo's RV called "Secure America Now". Littwin is one of the most virulent ridiculers of Tancredo's anti illegal immigration campaign. On the trip Tancredo shares with Littwin very personal truths about his childhood. Tom does not have access in his memory to many happy moments from his childhood. His father was an alcoholic who was apparently quite mean at times.

Littwin gleefully now has his story. He thinks he has Tancredo all figured out. "Wall off the problem. Keep down the demons. Shout down those who have no voice. If you do get heard, then you are surprised. Maybe if you believed someone was going to pay attention, you might have thought harder about what it was you were going to say."

Littwin should heed his own words. Though he tries to portray Tancredo as meanspirited, it is he who is the meanspirited one. As Tancredo's mother lies dying in a hospice in Colorado, he shares deeply personal emotions with Littwin, who then misuses those very personal confidences to attack this very gracious man who sincerely wants to secure the boundaries of America, a country he dearly loves. You just do not get any lower than Littwin.

"President Ford" Does Not Want a Litmus Test

I just listened to Senator Arlen Spector ramble on about why he is supporting the nomination of Judge Alito. He stated that in the presidential campaign Senator Kerry said that if he were to be elected, he would appoint a pro choice person to the Supreme Court, while "President Ford" said he would require no litmus test. Will someone please wake up Senator Spector and tell him that George W. Bush, not Gerald Ford, is President of the United States?

Should Protecting America From Terrorists Be a Priority for Our Elected Leaders?

There is a column in the January 3, 2006 Rocky Mountain News by University of Colorado law professor Paul Campos that ridicules political leaders who advocate for making our nation's security a top priority. Campos says such political leaders "tremble before the threat of terrorism." This, of course, is the kind of thinking that prevailed in the Clinton White House, and directly led to the attacks on our country throughout the world in the 1990s and in America on September 11, 2001. Terrorists attack when and where they sense weakness. If our law students at the University of Colorado are buying Campos' absurd, mocking attempt at logic, we really do have reason to be fearful for our nation's future!