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Commentary Oregon Daily Emerald Wednesday, April 13, 2005 NEWS STAFF (541)346-5511 JEN SUDICK EDITOR IN CHIEF STEVEN R. NEUMAN MANAGING EDITOR JARED I’ABEN AY1SHA YAHYA NEWS EDITORS MEGHANNCUNIFF PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTERS MORIAH BALINGIT AMANDA BOLSINGER ADAM CHERRY EMILY SMITH EVA SYI.WESTER SHELDON! 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FUfcTW/^GLEK Bret Furtwangler | Graphic artist ■ In my opinion Democrats, bolt from Bolton Democrats have made a huge mis take in their pursuit of a political sym bol over common sense. George Bush has selected John Bolton for the post of United Nations ambassador, and Democrats seem determined to pick a fight, wasting valuable political capi tal on a near non-issue. Democrats need to focus on fights they can win, or at least fights that are politically advantageous. On a more personal level, I’d like to see Democrats engage in fights that are right. Is John Bolton the best person for the job? Probably not. Is he the man that President Bush selected? Yes. The bottom line is that the main job of the U.N. ambassador is to be the voice of the president’s policy. It’s important to note the difference between creat ing policy and talking about it. How often do you hear the news media breaking stories about the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations? The fact is that the position of ambas sador is no kingpin in a presidential bungalow but a cog in the smallest of possible rotating wheels. The Democrats have three major ob jections to Bolton as ambassador: his qualifications, his previous actions working in U.S. intelligence and his po litical opinions about the United Na tions. The first and second protests are easily dismissed. First, his qualifica tions are about as important as his hair cut. If President Bush has confidence in him, why should Congress protest? If it blocks Bush’s choice, there is no guar antee that the president won’t choose someone even less qualified. Second, Bolton has been accused of trying to fire aides who didn’t present JENNIFER MCBRIDE QUASHING DISSENT intelligence he agreed with. The best solution seems to be to get him out of the U.S. intelligence system. Because Congress doesn’t have the power to fire him, it might as well grease the track that will slide him down the hill from important decision-maker to meaning less bureaucrat. But the third and most troubling path of pursuit against Bolton are at tacks by Democrats on his past com ments. Bolton’s opinions are not that inflammatory. They may even be justi fied. In one speech that Sen. Barbara Boxer criticized, Bolton said, “There is no being out there called the ‘United Nations.’ There is simply a group of member governments who, if they have the political will, every once in a while ... protect international security. ... I think it would be a real mistake to count on the United Nations as if it’s some disembodied entity out there ca pable of functioning on its own.” His sentiments are entirely correct. When members of the Security Coun cil can veto any kind of resolution they dislike, when Syria is a pivotal guardian of human rights, when member governments can sign onto essential treaties with reservations and wriggle through loopholes, I agree that the United Nations has been ineffective. Too often liberals see the United Nations as a representa tion of everything good in the world. People should be more skeptical, es pecially in the wake of oil-for-food scandals and accusations that U.N. workers frequently double as pimps. Of course the United Nations has a lot of positive attributes. The bottom line, however, is that the United Na tions failed to act in stopping genocide in Rwanda, Sudan and Kosovo. Bolton is right in his assumption that if the United States withdraws from the Unit ed Nations, it will collapse like a house of cards. Without the United States, the United Nations would be unmasked as another powerless anachronism. The problem is that focusing attention on Bolton is distracting from discussions of other nominees. I’d rather see voters focused on the nomination of Dr. Lester Crawford to the position of U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner. Craw ford has presided over the push of questionable medication into the mouths of consumers, and he refus es to certify that he will release the “morning-after pill” into public consumption. Crawford is timid be fore the wrath of religious conserva tives at a moment when so many senators are deep in the pockets of pharmaceutical companies. Now is not the time to entrust public health to another of President Bush’s cowardly lapdogs. In other words, Democrats need to bolt from Bolton and concentrate on more important issues. jennifenncbride@dailyemerald.com INBOX How to be director of an air-quality organization Lane Regional Air Pollution Au thority is seeking a new director and recently went over the qualifications needed by applicants. I would like to extend some suggestions in case the new director wants to keep his job. First, realize that you must not defend the citizens who complain of asthma, brown skies, breathing problems, polluted water from air emissions or dangerous toxins. Lis ten carefully to instructions from the polluting industry and make sure permits are few and never chal lenged by LRAPA. Ignore all those rules and regulations produced in the state south of us; they would never pass here. Allow pollution to increase in our valley, approve every new industry or polluter who wants to build here and then assure the public that everything is safe and under control. Job security is always part of the picture. Ruth Duemler Eugene ■ Editorial Extending smoking restriction detrimental University officials are working to extend campus smoking policies to match a recent citywide ordinance. Eugene City Council passed the new ordinance Feb. 28. The law ex tended the city smoking ban to 25 feet from the doors of publicly owned buildings, and it does not apply to University buildings. Officials are wasting their time with this poli cy. For one, we doubt the University is going to start equipping the Department of Public Safety with tape measurers to ensure that an addition al 15 feet (the current standard at the University is 10 feet) separates a smoker from a building. We have seen signs on doors to buildings such as the Lillis Business Complex stating that smoking is not allowed within 50 feet. On a dai ly basis, smokers practically lean against these signs and light up. There is no system in place for enforcing these rules, and until there is, don’t squander time making more of them. Paula Staight, director of health education at the University Health Center, said she would like to see smoking banned on campus, similar to the policies in place at most K-12 schools. The vast majority of students on this campus are adults, at least legally speaking. College stu dents should not be subject to the same rules as children. Let’s pretend the ban is now in effect. Problem No. 1: People smoke to reduce stress. Many college students (people with heavy class loads, multiple jobs, bills, etc.) rely on a quick cigarette during a 10-minute break to calm down, collect their thoughts and pre pare for their next class. If smoking were out lawed on campus, it would result in a higher stress level among students and professors. Problem No. 2: Rather than forfeit smoking during school hours, many would choose to walk to the edge of campus to get their fix and then rush to class. We’re not sure professors would appreciate an increase in the number of late students. Problem No. 3: Smokers’ freedom is al ready under attack in bars, restaurants and every other indoor space. Many smokers un derstand that smoking indoors poses a threat to other people’s health. However, this cannot be said for the outdoors. To extend smoking laws to large outdoor areas would be an in fringement on personal choice and civil liber ties, with little payoff. We would never encourage this unhealthy habit, but we plead with the University ad ministration to leave smokers the outdoors on this campus. Setting empty rules with little enforcement that infringe on student rights is bad policy and a waste of time. In the words of graduate teaching fellow Terese Reynolds (”25 feet,” ODE, April 6), “This is the only place we have left.” EDITORIAL BOARD Jennifer Sudick Steven R. Neuman Editor in Chief Managing Editor Ailee Slater Commentary Editor Shadra Beesley Copy Chief Adrienne Nelson Online Editor OREGON DAILY EMERALD LETTERS POLICY Letters to the editor and guest commentaries are encouraged, and should be sent to ldters@dailyemerald.com or submitted at the Oregon Daily Emer ald office, EMU Suite 300. Electronic submissions are preferred. Letters are limited to 250 words, and guest commentaries to 550 words. Authors are limited to one submission per calendar month. Submissions should include phone number and address for verification. The Emerald reserves the n£it to edit for space, grammar and style Guest submissions are published at the discretion of the Emerald.
