www.covingtonreporter.com • www.maplevalleyreporter.com
Vote online: Are you relieved that Shell is abandoning plans for drilling in the Arctic? maplevalleyreporter.com covingtonreporter.com Last week’s poll results: Should the government cut funding to Planned Parenthood? Yes: 33% No: 67%
REPORTER
What makes a good president
Americans are having a debate over what makes someone a good leader, according to George Friedman in a recent Stratfor article entitled, “The Crisis of the Well-Crafted Candidate”. The current debate over whether business experience matters much in politics was reinforced in A Christian Science Monitor article by Pieter Grier called, “Does Carly Fiorina’s Business Experience at HP Matter?” The current pool of presidential candidates demonstrates there is change in voter attitudes about what makes a good president. On the right we see the rise of “The Donald” Trump. He’s outrageous with his statements, but polls show many voters are looking for honesty rather than political craftsmanship. Trump has come out with nonconservative views favoring single-payer health care – meaning big government. He also supports ending tax breaks for hedge fund managers. He’s demonstrating that personality and character “trump” policy positions. The search for authenticity explains why Hillary Clinton has dropped in the polls while Sen. Bernie Sanders, the openly socialistic candidate, is rising. Clinton once did a poll to determine which vacation spot would make her family more popular with voters. Sanders comes across as more sincere, more bipartisan and less calculating. Sanders, leading in the polls in Iowa and Vermont, his home state, had the audacity to go into enemy territory by speaking to conservative evangelicals at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. He knew his left-leaning views on abortion, women’s rights and gay marriage were not popular, but he thought that the common concerns of wealth inequality and decline of the middle In Focus
Question of the week:
O D I D Y O U K N O W ? : Oil has been used by people for more than 5,000 years. It was once used as a medicine for treating ailments such as gout and frostbite.
RICH ELFERS
COVINGTON MAPLE VALLEY
OPINION
[4] October 2, 2015
COVINGTON | MAPLE VALLEY | BLACK DIAMOND
class might unite liberal and conservatives; the future of the nation is at stake. His search for common ground was both bold and refreshing and is appealing to voters in this time of political gridlock. Authenticity was the word Friedman used in his article to describe the shift in American attitudes. This is because many Americans have come to the realization that policy positions are not something presidents can actually carry out in regard to increasing jobs and improving the economy. Neither can they bring about change because most of the power to do so lies in Congress, not the presidency. Congress controls the purse strings. Grier, in his article on Fiorina, discusses whether business experience influences voters. While Fiorina and Trump both tout their business acumen, these skills do not matter much in government where the bureaucracy may not
obey orders from their president as they do in the business world and congressional leaders may not cooperate and cannot easily be fired. One of our greatest presidents, Harry Truman, was a flop as a businessman, while Herbert Hoover, a business success story as an engineer, failed to motivate the nation during the Great Depression. Jimmy Carter, a peanut-processing businessman is found low in the esteem of the country as president. George W. Bush, with a master’s of business administration, was not aided in his presidency by his degree. My own experience in government has shown that being successful in business does not make for success in the political sphere. Government plays by different rules and has differing goals. Dr. Ben Carson, a retired brain surgeon, has risen due to his clear Christian values and honesty, while it is patently obvious that he has [ more ELFERS page 11 ]
A Division of Sound Publishing
425-432-1209 ext. 1050 Dennis Box editor: dbox@soundpublishing.com 425-432-1209, ext. 5050
Rebecca Gourley reporter rgourley@maplevalleyreporter.com 425-432-1209, ext. 5052
Sarah Brenden reporter sbrenden@covingtonreporter.com 425-432-1209, ext. 5054
Advertising 425-432-1209 Classified Marketplace 800-388-2527
Letters dbox@maplevalleyreporter.com dbox@covingtonreporter.com
27116 - 167th Pl SE, Suite 114 Covington, WA 98042. For delivery inquiries 253-872-6610 or e-mail circulation@maplevalleyreporter.com
The decision of state Sen. Andy Hill to not take on Gov. Jay Inslee in 2016 forced the Democratic Party attack machine to brake hard and return to the shop. Its operators had invested much time into manufacturing salvos to launch at the Redmond Republican who they presumed would be the Democratic governor’s opponent next fall. In recent months, these Democratic operatives even test-fired a few in Hill’s direction. Now they need to restock and reload for what appears to be a battle with a man they’ve mostly ignored - Bill Bryant, a mild-mannered and widely unknown member of the GOP mainstream who is an elected Seattle port commissioner. As elated as the Democratic muscle is with not having to tackle Hill, it’s hard not to imagine they (and maybe Inslee too) are suffering a bit of a letdown as well. They expected the governor would face as tough an election in 2016 as he did in 2012. Yet one-by-one, those with the seeming potential to mount such a challenge have chosen not to do so. Jerry Cornfield
pshepherd@kentreporter.com
Democrats and Republicans surprised by early governor’s race The Petri Dish
Polly Shepherd publisher:
Rob McKenna, who lost to Inslee in 2012, signaled he wasn’t seeking a rematch. State Sens. Bruce Dammeier of Puyallup and Steve Litzow of Mercer Island have also said no. Congressman Dave Reichert is still talking himself up for the race but seems unlikely to talk himself into it. If Bryant winds up the Democratic Party’s chief target it means he’s also the Republican Party’s torchbearer. That’s going to take some getting used to for GOP leaders. Unseating Inslee is a top priority but they, much like Democrats, had kind of counted on having a better known personality taking on the governor. Republican leaders must decide how much the state party will invest in a Bryant bid. There’s a risk that anything perceived to be less than all-in will be deemed a concession they don’t believe Bryant can win. In 2012, the party contributed $2 million directly to the McKenna campaign and another $500,000 of in-kind contributions, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Public Disclosure Commission. Nearly all of that arrived in the general election so there’s plenty of time to watch how Bryant’s campaign evolves and political events unfold.
Meanwhile, those guiding the Republican Governors Association are hashing through the same kinds of questions. In 2012, the RGA made its presence felt in Washington when it shelled out roughly $9 million in ads and mailers against Inslee. RGA officials have yet to signal a willingness to expend that much again. They too want to see if Bryant’s campaign can raise money and build an organization capable of taking on – and taking down – an incumbent governor in a state that hasn’t elected a Republican governor in 35 years. Bryant on Monday picked up the endorsement of Dan Evans, a former three-term Republican governor. Backing from another venerable Republican is due to be announced next week. Bryant’s aides say the campaign is exactly where it is supposed to be at this stage. Still this is not how leaders of the Grand Old Party envisioned the campaign would be playing out. Neither did the Democrats.
Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet. com and on Twitter at @dospueblos