WASHINGTON, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- Daily news notes, political rumors, and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
Making an issue out of it -- Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne is the latest political expert to espouse the potential virtue of a last-minute California gubernatorial write-in campaign. Dionne regularly espouses a sort of third-way neo-socialist approach to U.S. public policy in his columns and, as such, is no big fan of GOP nominee Bill Simon.
On Tuesday Dionne helpfully passed along the rumor that liberals inside the state GOP are mounting a write-in campaign for governor of California on behalf of former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan or former congressman and Clinton White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta -- two politicians with agendas more to Dionne's liking.
The real story here, California insiders say, is that the same people who did not want Simon to be the nominee in the first place --- and who are generally anti-conservative -- are the ones chatting up the idea of a write-in campaign. They were also some of the first to hit the lifeboats after the Simon family investment firm --- but not Simon himself -- was hit with a multimillion-dollar judgment in a business fraud case. These same Republicans fear that, in spite of a very bad couple of weeks, Simon may still win the election thanks to the widespread unpopularity of incumbent Democrat Gov. Gray Davis. A Simon win would change the balance of power inside the California GOP --- leaving these liberal insiders out.
Going dark -- The Hotline, the National Journal's daily briefing on politics, is compiling a list of the campaigns placing a moratorium on their advertising out of respect for the memory of those killed and injured in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on New York and Washington. So far, The Hotline says, U.S. Sen. Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., and U.S. Senate candidates Doug Forrester, R-N.J., Jim Talent, R-Mo., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., will go dark on Sept. 11, 2002. The campaign of former Dallas Mayor Ron Kirk, running for U.S. Senate in Texas, says it will go dark on Sept. 1 and stay dark until Sept. 12.
Come together, right now, over me -- Kansas Republicans are anxiously waiting to see if retiring GOP Gov. Bill Graves, a leading party liberal, will endorse his party's choice to follow him into the governor's mansion. State Treasurer Tim Shallenburger, a conservative, says he expects to get Graves' endorsement and is not spending time worrying about it.
After his term ends in January, Graves heads to Washington to become head of the American Trucking Association and to await a much-hoped-for call from President George W. Bush tapping him to be the next secretary of transportation. If Graves doesn't endorse Shallenburger, some speculate his campaign to join the Cabinet may come to a dead end.
Stamp of approval -- The Postal Service has announced that its controversial Eid postage stamp, commemorating important celebrations among followers of Islam, will be reintroduced at the new first class, 37-cent rate. "This is a proud moment for the Postal Service, the Muslim community, and Americans in general as we re-issue a postage stamp to honor and commemorate two important Islamic celebrations," Azeezaly S. Jaffer, vice president for public affairs and communications for the USPS, said.
"The Eid stamp helps us highlight the business, educational and social contributions of the estimated 6 (million) to 7 million Muslims in this country whose cultural heritage has become an integral part of the fabric of this nation." There were some who called for the stamp to be nixed after the Sept. 11 attacks, but the USPS rebuffed calls to pull it. The new stamp will be available beginning Oct. 10.
Stamp of disapproval -- If Monday's mail arrived a bit late in Minneapolis, it may have been because so many members of the American Postal Workers Union were over at the Hilton protesting a visit to the city by Vice President Dick Cheney.
According to witnesses, postal workers from around the nation chanted, "Hey hey, ho ho, Bush and Cheney got to go," in what local media described as "a virtual conga line around the block across the street from the Hilton" during what one wag euphemistically called "their lunch hour." Cheney was in town for a fundraiser for GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Pawlenty. The postal workers were attending their union's national convention.
Will this be on the test? -- In response to what it calls "a growing demand for more meaningful ways to assess school quality," the National Association of Independent Schools has issued five questions parents should ask to evaluate their child's education.
Along with 34 partnering organizations, the NAIS designed the questions as an alternative to Top 10 lists and rankings based on test scores, for parents of school-age children attending public or private schools. The five questions are: Are there high-quality and committed teachers? Is there a low student-to-teacher ratio? Do students feel challenged by their school? Are there strong partnerships among parents, teachers and students? and Does the school have a climate that supports achievement?
"Parents are increasingly focused on the quality of education today. With the many issues parents have to think about regarding educational standards, we wanted to make it easier for them to assess their child's education by providing them with a one-stop list of questions to consider," NAIS President Patrick F. Bassett said.
Got a Capital Comment? E-mail [email protected].
