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an independent newspaper EDITORIALS
Mr. O’Malley for governor Having governed well, he deserves four more years.
ted state revenue and forced extensive spending cuts. In his first year, he took tough, decisive steps to close those deficits, rallying state lawmakers to revise and raise taxes. Had he not done so, the re- ductions in state programs, services and payrolls over the past four years, already painful, would have been draconian and the state’s fiscal health imperiled. Now, as he approaches the end of his term, he can justifiably say that Maryland has withstood the recession better than many states, although like most it faces further cost-cutting and grave long-term problems. That is a credit to Mr. O’Malley (D), who in fiscal and other areas has been a good, level-headed governor. He deserves reelection. Unsurprisingly, former governor Robert L. Ehr-
M
lich Jr., the Republican nominee, has assailed the 2007 tax increases, which he fairly describes as a hallmark of Mr. O’Malley’s administration. But Mr. Ehrlich, who was himself an able governor from 2003 to 2007, has his own record of in- creasing taxes and fees to achieve defensible and laudable goals. And despite the applause- inducing nature of Mr. Ehrlich’s main fiscal pro- posal in this campaign — to roll back the 20 per- cent sales tax increase at the heart of Mr. O’Mal- ley’s 2007 tax package — he has refused to say how he would absorb the resulting loss of $600 mil- lion in state revenue. By pretending that he can painlessly starve
state government of income, Mr. Ehrlich has failed to level with Maryland voters. He has also undercut his own campaign’s main thrust, which is that he would reinvigorate the state’s business climate and create jobs. If he balances his budget by hacking away at the budgets for schools or public safety, how credible is his assertion that he would be more successful in attracting new companies? It’s become a cliche that the two candidates
can’t stand each other. But don’t be misled into thinking that Mr. O’Malley and Mr. Ehrlich are polar opposites. In fact, each has established a
ARTIN O’MALLEY took office as gover- nor of Maryland in 2007 facing project- ed deficits as far as the eye could see — and that was before the recession gut-
record of moderation and pragmatism, of solid environmentalism, and of Baltimore-centrism that doesn’t quite square with the evident person- al venom that colors their rivalry. It was partly on that record of moderation that we endorsed Mr. Ehrlich for reelection four years ago. Our reasoning then was that Mr. O’Malley, despite an impressive record as mayor of Balti- more, had failed to make a persuasive case for toppling a generally proficient incumbent. We also worried that replacing Mr. Ehrlich, the first Republican in a generation to serve as Maryland’s chief executive, would restore one-party Demo- cratic rule to Annapolis, along with its corrupting tendencies.
ow, in their rematch, we remain worried about one-party rule — specifically, that a state lacking a genuine contest of ideas and outlooks is unlikely to be well gov- erned in the long term. But while Mr. O’Malley can be flippant and occasionally disingenuous, he remains at heart a wonkish, disciplined, good- government Democrat. He has named top-flight technocrats to his cab-
N
inet — a more impressive crew, generally speak- ing, than Mr. Ehrlich’s top appointees. He has vastly expanded Medicaid coverage for the state’s most vulnerable and poor citizens. He has done good things to help restore the health of the Chesapeake Bay. And Mr. O’Malley’s four years in office have been scandal-free, a refreshing depar- ture from recent history in Annapolis. Mr. O’Malley can be calculating, even timid. We wish that he would articulate a plan to address the $33 billion in unfunded liabilities the state faces in pensions and health care for retired teachers and state employees; instead, he has dodged the issue publicly and named a commis- sion to make recommendations — after the elec- tion. Mr. Ehrlich, by contrast, has been frank about the need for change, for example in the type of pensions offered to new employees. Mr. O’Mal- ley also has ducked explaining how he would close looming operating deficits, although he has sensibly refused to rule out new taxes to fix pro- jected budget shortfalls. On this score Mr. Ehrlich has been even more evasive, by promising lower
taxes while declining to specify spending cuts. On transportation, Mr. Ehrlich deserves recog- nition for launching the Intercounty Connector, a suburban highway outside Washington now ap- proaching completion thanks to funding fur- nished by Mr. O’Malley’s administration. But it is Mr. O’Malley who is more forward-looking in ad- vocating that the Purple Line be built as light rail transit connecting Metro lines in Montgomery and Prince George’s counties. Mr. Ehrlich’s com- peting proposal — the Purple Line as a rapid bus route — would be more affordable in the short term, but it would lack the ridership and eco- nomic development potential of a light rail link. On education, we admire Mr. Ehrlich’s ad-
vocacy of charter schools; if not for him, there likely would be no state law allowing these alter- native public schools. He is also to be commended for focusing attention on the shabby quality of education provided to poor, minority students in Maryland’s worst schools. Nonetheless, Mr. Ehr- lich has otherwise failed to present a clear vision for education reform.
support that she needed to push reforms and win precious dollars from the federal Race to the Top program. Maryland’s reforms have not, unfortu- nately, been as bold as in other states, leaving us concerned that Mr. O’Malley’s strong support from organized labor might impede the changes that must be made in improving teacher effective- ness or promoting more charter schools. We hope that he can deliver on his promise to deliver change through collaborating with rather than confronting the powerful teachers unions. Mr. Ehrlich governed in boom times. It is Mr.
M
O’Malley’s ill fortune to have governed through a severe slump. The economy’s meltdown has made it difficult for him to leave a lasting mark, despite solid initiatives. Still, he has governed ably. While Mr. Ehrlich tilts disingenuously toward his party’s anti-tax orthodoxy, Mr. O’Malley has established his credibility as a sensible, responsible executive who merits four more years.
Borderline threat
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s agenda in
southern Lebanon T
HE UNITED STATES and its allies on the U.N. Security Council are patiently wait- ing for the Iranian government of Mah- moud Ahmadinejad to turn up in Geneva
for new negotiations on its nuclear program — or, at least, to formally respond to their offer. So it can’t be a good sign that Mr. Ahmadinejad chose instead to travel last week to southern Lebanon, where he offered a vivid demonstration of what is actually on his mind. “The entire would should know that the Zionists will disappear,” the Iranian leader said in a speech delivered within sight of Israel’s border. “Rest assured that occupied Palestine will be lib- erated from the filth of the occupation by the pow- er of the resistance and the faith of the resistance.” Mr. Ahmadinejad has said such things before — but his timing and choice of locale were partic- ularly suggestive. Southern Lebanon is the prov- ince of the Shiite Hezbollah militia, which Iran and Syria have supplied with tens of thousands of missiles and rockets it has aimed at Israel. As the Iranian’s presence underscored, Tehran can use its client to trigger a new war in the Middle East at any time; it’s a lesser form of the intimidation that it hopes to exercise around the region with an ar- senal of nuclear weapons. Mr. Ahmadinejad no doubt hopes that his Leba- nese front will deter Israel from launching an at- tack against Iran’s nuclear facilities. But his visit served other purposes, as well. It reminded the Lebanese government and its Western allies of Iran’s ability to intervene in the country’s affairs — just as a U.N. investigation reportedly con- templates the indictment of senior Hezbollah members for the murder of a Lebanese prime
TOM TOLES
r. O’Malley, meanwhile, sees education as a top priority. He put aside his differ- ences with State Schools Superinten- dent Nancy S. Grasmick to give her the
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2010
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
dletters@washpost.com
What our science panel found
Regarding Rep. Joe Barton’s Oct. 12 letter, “The right to question climate science”: I would like to correct some potential misunder- standing about the conclusions of the 2006 National Research Council report to which Mr. Barton re- ferred. Quoting from the report’s summary: “Based on the analyses presented in the original papers by Mann et al. and this newer supporting evidence, the committee finds it plausible that the Northern Hemisphere was warmer during the last few dec- ades of the 20th century than during any compara- ble period over the preceding millennium.” While we did find some of the methods used in
Michael E. Mann’s original papers to be less cau- tious than some of our members might have used, we have not found any evidence that his results were incorrect or even out of line with other works pub- lished since his original papers. Mr. Barton’s reference to “Mr. Mann’s global warming projections” is incorrect and quite mis- leading. Mr. Mann’s work does not make projections about global warming. His work, and that of our committee, was concerned with the reconstruction of temperatures in the past. As stated in the report, this area of research does not attempt to make any inference about future temperatures. While knowl- edge of past climates fills in context, the arguments for anthropogenic global warming are mainly based upon the past 50 years of data, including tempera- tures, model simulations and numerous other indicators.
GERALD R. NORTH, Bryan, Tex.
The writer was chair of the National Research Council’s Committee on Reconstruction of Surface Temperatures for the Last 2000 Years, mandated by Congress. The views expressed are his own.
The myth of the meritocracy
Criticizing Steven Pearlstein, Jay Bernstein [let- ters, Oct. 11] would have us attribute growing in- come disparities to the dichotomy between people “who are willing to take the risks and work hard” and those who aren’t. While some such successes and failures are notorious, they scarcely justify the libertarian myth of meritocracy. These risk-taking diligents who “make it” are far outnumbered by the fortunate and privileged who start “ready-made.” Wealth in America is more often accumulated by the already wealthy, privilege by the entitled, and im- poverishment by the already poor. Government, which Mr. Bernstein accuses of fos- tering inequality, remains virtually the sole recourse against the distortions of our income market. No wonder the wealthy and privileged rejoice at the prospect of shrinking such government. PHILIPALLEN, Annapolis
Awaiting John Boehner’s deeds I’m pleased that David S. Broder joined in the call
for reform in Congress [“Boehner’s reform offer,” op- ed, Oct. 3]. But he failed to point out the progress made by Democrats in the 110th and 111th Congress- es, implementing unprecedented levels of account- ability and transparency, with little or no support from our Republican colleagues, after years of mis- management under GOP control. I look forward to working with Minority Leader
John A. Boehner on, to use his words, letting “the battle of ideas help break down the scar tissue be- tween the parties” and letting “legislators legislate again.” I suspect this means that he is pledging to abandon his consistent cynical attempts to gut and kill bipartisan bills with “gotcha” motions to recom- mit amendments, which are designed to set up 30- second attack ads against Democratic members he considers vulnerable, at the cost of advancing good job-creating policies. Bills that were developed and passed out of com-
mittee with strong bipartisan support like the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act, the America Competes Act and the Telework Improvements Act — all fell prey to Mr. Boehner’s political gamesmanship when they came to the floor. As my father always said, it is not their words but their deeds that truly matter. We shall wait and see. JAMES E. CLYBURN, Washington
The writer (D-S.C.) is majority whip of the House of Representatives.
My faded hopes for Mr. Obama
As a recent college graduate who was passionate about Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, I was struck by the Oct 11. article “Obama’s midterm mes- sage: Support the party like it’s 2008.” Two years ago, I was a member of the “politically
minister. It also underlines Iran’s capacity to dis- rupt any peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, or Israel and Syria — a reality the Obama administration has tried to ignore. The larger message here is that Mr. Ahmadine-
jad’s and his boss, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, have no interest in a “grand bargain” with the
United States or an accommodation with the Se- curity Council. Sanctions have hurt the Iranian economy, but they have had no impact on the re- gime’s belligerence. Iranian negotiators may eventually turn up in Geneva. But as long as these rulers are in power, Iran will not give up its ambi- tion to exercise hegemony over the Middle East.
apathetic” generation that was inspired by an un- likely candidate from Chicago. I became enthusiastic about donating what little time and money I had to the man who promised “change” in Washington. The president has since defended his stalled initia- tives and low approval ratings by resorting to tired finger-pointing. Mr. Obama mobilized my genera- tion by pledging to be the kind of politician who by- passes the traditional political game for bipartisan discourse. Now he continually refers to Republicans as “the other side” and frames them as the enemy. Mr. Obama seems to have become the politician that he defined himself in opposition to in 2008. I disagree with Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Ren-
LOCAL OPINIONS 3Join the debate at
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Making the main roads safer
Regarding the Oct. 13 article “Few common links in spate of pedestrian fatalities”: This article was correct that speeding cars are
the biggest risk to pedestrians. But the assertion that there were “few common themes” in the six fatal pedestrian crashes that have occurred in the past month was off the mark. While the story focused on the demo- graphics of the victims and the environmental conditions surrounding the crashes, it missed the biggest common factor: Four of the six crashes oc- curred on multi-lane, high-speed arterial roads. Nationally, in fact, 56 percent of pedestrian fa- talities occur on arterial roads such as Georgia Av- enue in Montgomery County or Glebe Road in Ar-
Arterial roads such as Georgia Avenue and Glebe Road are especially risky for people on foot.
lington County. Arterial roads are especially risky for people on foot because they offer few, if any, pe- destrian amenities such as sidewalks and cross- walks and because they en- courage motorists to put the pedal to the metal. Fortunately, communities across the country are begin- ning to transform those arte- rials into more pedestrian-
friendly boulevards, complete with sidewalks, bi- cycle lanes and shade trees. But as these recent pe- destrian deaths show, we still have a long way to go.
MICHELLEERNST,New York
The writer is co-author of the Tri-State Transportation Campaign’s report “Dangerous by Design.”
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No choice but to judge teachers The Oct. 13 letters on the Oct. 10 Outlook com-
mentary, “How to fix our schools: A manifesto,” all seemed to overlook one important fact: If teachers are to be considered professionals, they have to be judged by certain standards. If a doctor, lawyer or accountant said his or her poor results stemmed from having bad clients or pa- tients, we would laugh. Yes, students’ readiness to learn is important, but outcomes in different class- rooms in similar settings are different, and that can be attributed to the teacher. If teachers find them- selves unable to perform because they are dis- couraged, they should get another job. Testing is an objective way to measure perform-
ance, rather than one or two touchy-feely observa- tions of a classroom.
LEONARDWEISS, Haymarket
dell’s assertion that “a tepid vote counts the same as a wildly enthusiastic one.” I’ll probably vote Demo- cratic next month. But I’ll approach the polls with much less enthusiasm than I did last time. And as a “tepid” voter, I also won’t be volunteering my time or money to any campaigns. TAURRA SUNEAGLE,Washington
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