Edwards' affair: Trite. Hypocritical. Ordinary.

Confession may be good for the soul, but what does it do for a former presidential candidate who was supposed to make a speech at the Democratic convention? John Edwards told ABC News today that, yes, he had an affair and he had lied about it while running for president, but that he wasn't the father of her baby.

According to ABC News' Web site, friends of the woman, Rielle Hunter, 44, said Edwards met her at a New York City bar in 2006. His political action committee later paid her $114,000 to produce campaign website documentaries despite her lack of experience. Edwards told ABC the affair began after she was hired by his campaign. He also said that his wife, Elizabeth Edwards -- whose cancer was in remission at the time -- and others in the family learned of the affair in 2006.

How trite. How tawdry. How hypocritical. And how ordinary.

If American political life were scrubbed free of all men (and women) who'd had extramarital affairs, precious few would serve. Even Charlotte's own Republican Rep. Sue Myrick, a very public born-again Christian, had an affair before she married her current husband, Ed.

If affairs disqualified men for the presidency, we'd have had no FDR, no JFK, no Clinton, probably no Eisenhower. (No Warren G. Harding, either, but almost everyone agrees that would have been a good thing.) Thomas Jefferson wasn't married while he was president, but he fathered children with his late wife's slave (and half-sister).

Edwards' actions were sleazy, and his credibility is probably destroyed. Keep him off the speaker's podium at the convention. Please. But he's not even a candidate anymore. Can't we devote some of that considerable reporting energy expended on the Edwards love child story to some topics that, in the end, will make more of a difference to more people's lives?

-- MARY NEWSOM, ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Tax think tank tags N.C. at No. 20

Here's the latest take on how heavy your state and local tax burden is if you live in North Carolina. The latest annual report by the Tax Foundation ranks N.C. 20th among the 50 states. (50 is the lowest burden, No. 1 is highest, a spot claimed this year by New Jersey, which can now boast it's the Garden State of taxes.)
The report released today, "State-Local burdens dip as Income Growth Outpaces Tax Growth" is notable because it counts the tax dollars people spend in states besides the ones where they live. In other words, the taxes you pay when you travel to Florida to Disneyworld.
Here's some of what today's report said, and the link to read it.

"The nation as a whole paid 9.7% of its income in state-local taxes, down from 9.9% in 2007 primarily because income grew faster than tax collections between
2007 and 2008.

New Jersey residents paid 11.8%, topping the charts. New Yorkers were close behind, paying 11.7%, and Connecticut was third at 11.1%. The top ten were rounded out by Maryland (10.8%), Hawaii (10.6%), California (10.5%), Ohio (10.4%),Vermont(10.3%), Wisconsin (10.2%) and Rhode Island (10.2%)."

The Tax Foundation dates back to 1937 and describes itself as a non-partisan, non-profit. But it has been criticized by liberal-leaning think tanks for how it calculates its annual Tax Freedom Day ranking.
In Daily Views' experience, almost all tax reports done by such non-profits have to be vetted carefully.
Send us links of ones you think are worth paying attention to.
- Posted by Mary Schulken

Take that, white-haired dude - uh, John McCain!

It's a loony world when socialite and would-be actress Paris Hilton brings logic to a presidential issue. But there she was, lounging in a bikini verbally smacking down GOP presidential contender John McCain in a Web video for mocking Democratic contender Barack Obama as nothing but a celebrity - like Paris Hilton.
She gets in some good zingers, positing that by including her in his ad McCain must think she's running for president. To wit she says: "Thanks for the endorsement, white-haired dude. And I want America to know that I’m, like, totally ready to lead."
Then she launches into a surprisingly good detailing of a comprehensive energy policy that taps into the variety of sources needed to gain U.S. independence from foreign oil. Who knew she was even aware of an energy crisis?
The ideas or words in the video aren't likely her own, but maybe there could be a President Paris in our political future - or maybe not. See the video at the site Funny or Die

Alaska to polar bears: Drop dead

You'd think, given the popularity of polar bears as an icon of the dangers of global warming, that Republicans wouldn't want to be on record saying, in effect, oil matters and bears don't.

But in a Republican vs. Republican suit, the state of Alaska has sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne over the recent decision to protect polar bears under the Endangered Species Act.

Gov. Sarah Palin, who’s being touted as a possible veep candidate for John McCain, and other Alaska officials contend the listing will cripple offshore oil and gas development. They say Interior didn’t take into account that polar bears had survived previous warming periods.

The lead author of the petition that led to the listing – Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, said Alaska’s “head-in-the sand approach to global warming only helps oil companies, certainly not Alaska or the polar bear.”

Dole home for the holidays ... or home for the campaign?

It’s official. Elizabeth Dole, North Carolina’s senior U.S. senator won’t be attending this year’s Republican nominating convention in Minnesota. In years past she’s been a high-profile GOP star, landing prime spots on the speaking agenda. This year she’s up for re-election, and The New Republic had this to say about her absence:

“According to campaign spokespeople, it's because the Senate has a break - and
Dole likes to spend her breaks among her constituents in the Tar Heel
state.
Um, ok. Likely story.
News that Dole will be a no-show came amid
what has already been an awkward few weeks of media coverage for the senator.
Her Democratic challenger is gaining in the polls, she was lambasted for trying
to rename a new AIDS relief bill in honor of the late Jesse Helms, and she
purged $10,000 worth of campaign donations received from recently indicted Sen.
Ted Stevens.”

Interesting. When she sought a Senate seat in 2002, Sen. Dole hadn’t lived in N.C. for three decades. And one frequent complaint heard in Tar Heelia is that she’s not here, not tuned in and spends time pursuing party interests rather than local ones.
Maybe re-election changes priorities.

Tired of political BS? Try this

Tired of political BS? Here's a slightly different take on the same subject:
Cow patty bingo.

What do you think? Could this be the answer to campaign finance reform?

Honor Helms' AIDS legacy? No way

So, the $48 million AIDS relief bill that passed the U.S. Senate won’t be named for the late Sen. Jesse Helms R-N.C.
Good.

What in the world was Sen. Elizabeth Dole thinking?

Helms, the conservative who died July 4, spread public fear and misunderstanding about the disease in America by making statement such as this one:

“There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in
origin to sodomy.”

He inflamed prejudice against homosexuals by blaming AIDS victims for its development and spread of saying it was a punishment sent from God for their disgusting behavior.
Late in his life he joined in the effort to help stop the disease’s spread in Africa, and direct U.S. funds to ease sufffering there. Yet he never developed compassion for victims here, or tempered his hate-filled statements about homosexuals.
That’s Sen. Helms' legacy on AIDS, and nothing will erase it. It was wrong for the country then, and it’s wrong now to try and honor it.

Bush: 'The marketplace works'

In his news conference today, President Bush proclaimed, "The marketplace works." He was referring to the high price of gasoline inspiring people to drive less and to drive vehicles that get better fuel economy.

But we wonder how the people defrauded by mortgage brokers and subprime lenders, who are facing the loss of their homes, feel about the president's much-revered "marketplace"? It seems to us that a good part of the foreclosures and bad credit debacle could have been avoided if the government had decided to rein in the marketplace as it was building the financial house of cards that is in the process of collapsing. For instance, many of the subprime mortgages were made by lenders who didn't have to follow the rules that apply to banks. It was a free-for-all in the marketplace. And it doesn't look to us as if that free-for-all has worked out very well.

Offshore drilling? Symbolism vs. reality

President Bush today announced he is lifting a White House ban on offshore drilling to try to drive down soaring energy prices. This is, by all accounts, an empty symbolic gesture that won't have any short-term impact on high gasoline costs.

Congress banned offshore drilling in 1982 and the ban continues. Oil companies already control 68 million acres that they aren't drilling on. Further, even if drilling began tomorrow, it wouldn't lower gas prices for years, and even then, only a few cents.

The president just wants to beat up politically on the Democrats, who control Congress, by bludgeoning them for not wanting to expand oil drilling offshore or allow it in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

We're always up for beating up on politicians, but we'd have a more welcoming attitude toward Bush's symbolic efforts if he showed as much concern for energy conservation, by pushing for better fuel economy standards for cars, and more money for mass transit, for instance. He should be working to develop long-term alternative energy solutions that don't cause the food shortages and rising grocery prices resulting from Washington's beloved but increasingly problem-filled corn-for-fuel program.

Instead of meaningless symbolic gestures, how about some real leadership for a change?