Day: March 4, 2005

President Bush is trying to shore up the electoral prospects of two Republican lawmakers who are getting heat over his plan to overhaul Social Security.

With U.S. deaths in Iraq topping 1,500, the commanding general of allied troops in Baghdad said Thursday he expects casualties will soon decline because of bomb-detecting technology and emboldened Iraqi informants.

The Supreme Court decision eliminating the death penalty for killers who committed their crimes when they were under 18 clearly reflects a growing public uneasiness about capital punishment per se. That disenchantment has been growing in leaps and bounds with the development of technology that has cast doubt on the validity of executions in a civilized society.

The national capital tries to be a serious city; it really does, as it grapples with weighty matters of governance. But occasionally that serious expression slips and Washington is revealed to have all the sophistication of a watermelon-eating contest at the county fair.

President Bush broke from his custom of ignoring Osama bin Laden in public on Thursday, offering assurance that the United States remains “on a constant hunt” for the Saudi terrorist and that the administration is still vigilant in warding off potential threats.

As an American, I not only have the right but also the obligation to be critical of my government if — and when — I feel it has failed in its service to the citizens.