Today's Opinions

When I was a kid, my family took a trip to Washington, D.C., to see the sights. I especially remember the day we sat in the Senate gallery, watching a debate. There, I saw something strange — Teddy Kennedy, a Democrat, and Orrin Hatch, a Republican, sharing a friendly conversation and a laugh together. I later read those two were the best of friends, despite their vast differences on matters of policy.

A little less than five years ago, Evergreen Newspapers had a sudden opening for a photo editor. Though I’ve never had kids myself, that week I experienced a taste of what it must be like.
Two students of whom I was particularly fond had recently moved to the East Coast, and I was fairly certain that either would hurry back to join our team. And therein lay the dilemma: Who would come home, and whom would we go on missing?

This past month, I saw something I never thought I’d see: a Republican presidential candidate attacking an opponent for his participation in free-market capitalism. Newt Gingrich launched the first volley several weeks ago, going after Mitt Romney for his past work at a buyout firm, Bain Capital.
The Wall Street Journal took notice of the unusual attack, saying that “a super-PAC supporting the former House speaker plans to spend $3.4 million in TV ads in South Carolina portraying Mr. Romney as Gordon Gekko without the social conscience.”