Nation & World News
Violence in Ireci puts Bush *on the defensive'
Although Bush's approval
ratings have steadied,
recent attacks in Iraq weigh
heavily on the White House
By William Neikirk and Bob Kemper
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
WASHINGTON — The wave of vio
lence in Iraq over the past few days
has not only dealt a setback to the
American occupation, but has also
raised the political risks for President
Bush as he seeks to rebuild and pacify
the country.
With Paul Bremer, the U S. admin
istrator in Iraq, at his side, the presi
dent on Monday blamed the recent
attacks on people "desperate" to pre
vent progress in the country. "The
more successful we are on the
ground, the more these killers will
react," Bush said.
Yet the severity of the attacks re
verberated loudly in Washington,
where the conflict's potential impact
on next year's presidential race is on
the minds of many, particularly if
the violence of the past two days
foreshadows an escalation in casual
ties and costs.
The concern in GOP circles is such
that one prominent Republican
strategist said many party faithful
hope that the administration can pro
vide an "achievable" deadline for
withdrawing U.S. troops by next sum
mer. But that "decision-can keeps get
ting kicked down the street," he said.
"The continuing attacks and escala
tion of attacks continue to put the
president on the defensive," said Mer
le Black, political science professor at
Emory University. "But we are a year
from the election. It could get better,
it could get worse. But as these attacks
have continued, it gives material to
his political opponents."
Bush's popularity declined after the
postwar violence erupted, although
his approval rating has steadied in re
cent weeks and now hovers around
50 percent. As violence escalates,
though, Iraq threatens to become an
even heavier political weight on the
White House.
Bush's political vulnerability to de
velopments in Iraq will depend on
whether Democratic candidates have
an alternative plan acceptable to most
Americans, said Democratic political
consultant Jim Duffy.
But Duffy also said Bush could help
himself politically with some “truth
ful accounting,” admitting that his ad
ministration miscalculated the
strength of the opposition and that
there are not enough troops in Iraq to
do the job.
Republican political consultant
Whit Ayres said while there is greater
concern within the GOP about the
war's effect on next year's elections,
foreign policy will be at the top of the
campaign agenda and "generally, Re
publicans are trusted far more than
Democrats to deal with national secu
rity issues."
Potentially more damaging, the re
newed attacks come shortly after the
administration staged a public rela
tions offensive to play up positive de
velopments in Iraq, with Bush accus
ing the media of filtering out the
good news. A leaked memo from
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
calling the challenge in Iraq a "long,
hard slog" also undercut the White
House rhetoric.
In comments Monday, adminis
tration officials treated the violent
incidents of the past few days as an
aberration.
"We'll have rough days such as we've
had the last couple of days," Bremer
said. "But the overall thrust is in the
right direction, and the good days out
number the bad days. And that's the
thing we need to keep in perspective."
Still, Republican political consult
ant Scott Reed said the question
many political leaders are asking is,
"'Do we have enough troops to do
the job right, now? Forget about the
$87 billion (cost of a bill to help Iraq
and Afghanistan). Do the job, finish
it, that's the question right now.' 1 be
lieve that is the drumbeat that will be
coming up."
Some compared Iraq to the Viet
nam War — not in terms of the death
toll, which still pales in comparison
to Vietnam, but because top adminis
tration officials are speaking opti
mistically while reports from the field
suggest otherwise.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who
was a prisoner of war in Vietnam, told
Newsweek after the Rumsfeld memo
was made public that "this is the first
time that 1 have seen a parallel to Viet
nam in terms of information that the
administration is putting out versus
the actual situation on the ground."
Many analysts agreed that the situa
tion in Iraq has yet to reach the point
that the American people would view
it as a quagmire that could damage
the president's chances for re-election.
(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
Critics say country-of-origin food labels to hurt economy
The labels are slated to cost
$3.9 billion in the first year,
but USDA says they may not
provide substantial benefits
By Andrew Martin and Paul Singer
Chicago Tribune (KRT)
WASHINGTON — A new law requir
ing retailers to display labels identifying
the country of origin on most meat, pro
duce and peanuts may cost as much as
$3.9 billion to implement in its first year
while having "negligible" benefits, ac
cording to an analysis released Monday
by the Department of Agriculture.
The "country of origin" rules, which
are slated to go into effect Sept. 30,
2004, are also expected to raise prices
for consumers and cut into demand for
U.S. exports, the analysis concludes.
The country-of-origin label was
meant to give consumers more infor
mation about the food they buy and
was expected by advocates to increase
the demand for food produced by
U.S. farmers.
The law requires producers to keep
detailed records of the origin of foods
from the farm to the store shelf and
requires retailers to display country
of-origin information at the point of
sale. Penalties for violations can be as
high as $10,000 per incident.
But the USDA study found "little
evidence that consumers are likely to
increase their purchase of food items
bearing the U.S. origin label." The
price tag is also double what the gov
ernment had originally anticipated.
Ultimately, the Agriculture Depart
ment found that ifcountry-of-origin la
beling would produce additional prof
its for American farmers, processors and
retailers, they would have done it volun
tarily already. As evidence, the report
states that no one has participated in a
voluntary country-of-origin program for
meat producers, offered by the LISDA
for the past three years.
The report comes as the country-of
origin labeling program — originally
passed as part of the 2002 f arm Bill —
is under attack from a variety of sources.
As the costs of the program have
become apparent, food companies,
grocery stores and meat packers have
mounted a campaign to repeal it.
The House of Representatives
passed legislation in July barring
IJSDA from spending any money to
implement the program as it applied
to meat. This would leave an unusual
scenario in which the law would re
main in effect, but for meats, the gov
ernment would have little way to
make sure the industry complied.
The House attached that spending
ban to the IISDA appropriations bill for
next year, which the Senate is expected
to take up in the next few weeks.
The IISDA report, which was at
tached to detailed rules for the new la
beling program, was seized on by op
ponents ofcountry-of-origin labeling
as proof that it would be unduly bur
densome and hurt, rather than help,
the LJ.S. economy.
"This is going to destroy our ex
ports," said Ion Caspers, an Iowa pork
producer who is president of the Na
tional Pork Producers Council. He pre
dicted that the legislation will force Ll.S.
pork producers out of business because
of the higher costs of doing business.
National Cattlemen's Beef Associa
tion President Eric Davis added, "it
will be all but impossible for produc
ers to improve their bottom line un
der this mandatory law."
But Sen. Charles Grassley (R-lowa)
said the program should move forward.
Grassley said the USDA's cost
analysis was higher than a previous
analysis — which predicted the pro
gram would cost $2 billion in the first
year — "due to the USDA's reliance
on self-serving industry information."
Ihe USDA analysis did conclude that
"consumers may desire (country-of-ori
gin labeling) not out of any intrinsic
value they place knowing the country
of origin, but because it represents to
them a proxy for product safety or qual
ity." But it found that in general, cus
tomers are unlikely to be willing to pay
more for domestic foods.
(c) 2003, Chicago Tribune.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune
Information Services.
STUDENT
continued from page 1A
experiences with his career in law.
Bryan Chastain grew up in Bend
where he attended Mountain View
High School and played on his high
school's varsity golf team.
"He was an excellent, excellent
golfer," his father said, adding that
Bryan Chastain had been on his way
home from playing golf when the ac
cident occurred.
Bryan Chastain's brother-in-law
and friend since high school, Dan
Tadlock, said it seemed like his friend
could do anything.
"He had his finger in every possible
hobby you can think of," he said,
adding that Bryan Chastain's many
hobbies were a reflection of how pas
sionate he was about life.
Bryan Chastain married Tadlock's
sister, Brenda, six years ago, and Tad
lock said the transition from friend to
brother-in-law could have been
tougher if it wasn't for Bryan Chas
tain's good nature.
"He was a people person," he said.
Tadlock said he has many fond
memories of growing up in Bend with
his friend, such as the time the two
tied a water ski rope to the back of a
Subaru and used it to ski around a
snowy parking lot at 2 a.m.
Bryan Chastain worked in Eugene at
The Shutterbug and was also em
ployed as an apartment manager in the
McKenna Estates apartments. His co
workers said he always livened up a
day at work with his humorous antics.
"1 remember just going home and
just talking about Bryan all the time,"
said Chris Sloan, a co-worker at The
Shutterbug. "I just laughed until my
stomach hurt."
Sloan said it was easier to list the
hobbies Bryan Chastain didn't have
an interest in.
"Everything he did, he did very
well," she said. "From playing the gui
tar to speaking Chinese to fixing
everything."
She said Bryan Chastain was always
handy to fix things in the camera store.
"He was like MacGyver, except bet
ter," Sloan said.
Valerie Eitnier, also a co-worker,
said she remembers Bryan Chastain
taping The Shutterbug's fliers to his
clothes, making a paper suit out of
them one day when work was slow.
"1 just think he was a really happy,
funny guy," she said.
Bryan Chastain was also passionate
about his education, and Tadlock said
he was the first member of his family
to attend college.
Jane Gordon, associate dean for
students and program affairs at the
law school, said Bryan Chastain stood
out among other students because he
was so friendly and outgoing.
"He was really excited about being
in the law school," she said.
Assistant Law Professor Suzanne
Rowe said she will remember Bryan
Chastain for his fabulous smile.
"We're going to miss him terribly,"
she said.
Contact the higher education/student
life/student affairs reporter
at chelseaduncan@dailyemeraid.com.
Paula Vogel
Oct. 29, 30, 31,
NOV. 1,6, 7 & 8- 8 PM
Arena Theatre
No Late Seating
Tickets:
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EMU: 346-4363
UT Box Office
Evenings of Performances
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October 30th
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