Ohio's senators were right
In this age of knee-jerk and lockstep politics, Ohio's two Republican senators did their state proud last week.
U.S. Sen. George V. Voinovich continued to take his principled stand against sending a flawed candidate, John Bolton, to serve as ambassador to the United Nations. U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine joined six of his GOP colleagues and seven Democrats in reaching an agreement on the traditional role of the Senate as a legislative body in which even the minority still has a meaningful voice.
Perhaps Ohio's senators recognize the transitory nature of partisan majorities. They are old enough to remember when Ohio was ruled by Democrats and wisest enough to see that while all statewide offices but one are now held by Republicans, that is not likely to always be the case.
Blinded by victory
That gives DeWine an insight that is lost on a columnist such as Cal Thomas, who writes on the page opposite this with a stridency rooted in the belief that Republicans are destined to rule forever.
Voinovich's critics are crippled by inconsistency. The same people who are saying in the context of Bolton's nomination that they don't care what the rest of the world thinks of the United States were crowing a few weeks ago about the warm reception President Bush got on a visit to Latvia and Georgia. Are we to assume that the only world opinion the United States should care about is that of former Soviet bloc nations?
World opinion does count for something. Domestically, political processes that respect the minority are worth saving.
Voinovich and DeWine had the courage to stand against the nattering nabobs of unilateralism. While their critics were whining "we won, it's ours, all ours," Ohio's senators made a mature statement that recognizes the value of working together and the need to keep lines of communication open.