PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, AUGUST 14, 2015
KeizerOpinion
KEIZERTIMES.COM
Serving up generosity
Jim Marshall celebrated the one
year anniversary of Delaney Madi-
son Grill at Inland Shores this week.
He did more than toot his own
horn, though. He opened the res-
taurant to treat people assisted by
Hope Station Community Services
led by Pastor Marcia Mattoso.
Early this week he served dinner
to three large groups of people who
look to Hope Station for help be-
cause they are not eligible for gov-
ernment assistance. He prepared a
select menu of choices.
Hope Station serves people from
its large facility in Salem, offering
food, clothing, computer training
and money management.
Marshall is a generous support-
er of Hope Station and by serving
free dinner, he gives a bright spot
to those who live too precariously
near the poverty line.
Dozens of businesses support
Hope Station with their services,
products and fi nancial help. Each is
worthy of recognition and heart felt
thanks.
Keizer is a generous community
and Jim Marshall and his restaurant
are but another example of people
helping people.
—LAZ
2020 starts in 15 months
By LYNDON ZAITZ
How exciting! The
2020 presidential cam-
paign will begin in only
15 months.
The day after the 2016
election there will be
speculation about who
will run for president four
years from then. It happens after ev-
ery national election. And we can
start predicting not only who will
run but who will win.
That is an exercise in craziness,
no? No crazier than what is un-
folding today. Six months ago Hill-
ary Clinton was all but coronated
as the next president. Jeb Bush was
the hands-on favorite to win the
2016 GOP presidential nomination.
Now? Not so much.
Jeb Bush’s poll numbers decline in
proportion to Donald Trump’s rise.
Unthinkable only six weeks ago, U.S.
Senator Bernie Sanders, an indepen-
dent from Vermont is polling ahead
of Clinton for the fi rst-in-the-nation
primary in New Hampshire—which
is seven months away. That’s an eter-
nity in American politics.
The leaders in polls this early
don’t always go on to win the presi-
dency, let alone their party’s nomi-
nation. Just ask President Gary Hart,
President Mike Duakakis or Presi-
dent Mitt Romney. It is pure enter-
tainment for political afi cionados to
hear pundits breathlessly talk about
why this or that poll is so important
and a portent of the future election.
Fans of Donald Trump
are already thinking of
who his running mate
should be. Trump leads
in polls, just as Bush and
Scott Walker did be-
fore him. Some say that
Trump will fl ame out
long before the fi rst cau-
cus or primary votes are cast. Others
say that he is mirroring a frustated
and angry electorate and will ride
that sentiment straight to the White
House.
There are so many things that
can happen in the country or in
the world that can upend this en-
tire campaign season. Jimmy Carter
was barely a blip on the radar 15
months before the 1976 election.
Barack Obama was known because
of his 2004 Democratic convention
speech, but he still trailed Hillary
Clinton 15 months before the 2008
election.
Anyone who claims they know
who the two fi nal candidates will be
in November, 2016 is just being fan-
ciful. We won’t know who the two
nominees will be until next spring.
We will have a new president in
15 months. But whoever wins will
have to start thinking about re-elec-
tion immediately. Potential oppo-
nents will already be setting up their
exploratory committees and political
action committees by then.
Ain’t politics grand?
on my
mind
(Lyndon Zaitz is publisher of the
Keizertimes.)
Real journalism, fair and balanaced
By DEBRA J. SAUNDERS
“Conservatives Furious at Fox, Say
Trump Wasn’t Treated Fairly,” read the
Newsmax headline last week.Talk-ra-
dio show host Mark Levin told Bre-
itbart News it was “outrageous” that
moderator Megyn Kelly questioned
Donald Trump about his coarse lan-
guage—“fat pigs, dogs, slobs”—refer-
ring to women. Levin complained it
was “a National Enquirer debate, not
a Republican debate,” with too much
“opposition research.” Political analyst
Dick Morris detected a “disturbing”
trend at Fox. The conservative blog
Media Equalizer offered that many
conservatives “thought they might
have been watching MSNBC by mis-
take.”
So this is what happens when
Trump meets up with the “news” part
of Fox News. Conservatives frequent-
ly complain about liberal media bias.
Then they complain when conserva-
tive media practice journalism.
The Trump-Kelly feud is like crack
for cable TV news. CNN’s Jake Tap-
per started Monday’s “The Lead” by
noting that conservatives wanted the
media to cover such stories as Demo-
cratic politicians turning on Presi-
dent Barack Obama’s Iran deal, a trip
made by Iranian Revolutionary Guard
Corps chief Qa-
ssem Soleimani
to Russia in
defi ance of a
U.N. Security
Council
ban
or “black lives
matter” activists
shouting down Democratic presiden-
tial hopeful Bernie Sanders. But after
The Donald told CNN on Friday that
he could see the blood coming out of
Kelly’s eyes—and “wherever” —Tap-
per suggested he had no choice but
to lead Monday’s show with Trump’s
tirade.
To keep the vapid story alive Mon-
day, Trump the Bombast trash-tweet-
ed Kelly. He sent out a link to a 2010
Howard Stern interview in which
Kelly talked about her sex life: “Oh re-
ally, check out innocent @megynkelly
discussion on @HowardStern show 5
years ago—I am the innocent (pure)
one!” Translation: She had it coming.
Mayhap Trump wants fans to forget
the opening question of the prime-
time debate. Fox moderator Bret Baier
asked the 10 GOP hopefuls to raise a
hand if they were unwilling to pledge
to support the eventual Republican
nominee and not run a third-party
campaign. Trump alone raised his
other
views
hand. Many in the audience booed
Trump. (In a 2011 GOP primary de-
bate, Baier asked hopefuls to raise a
hand if they would accept a budget
deal with $1 in tax increases for each
$10 in spending cuts. Not one Re-
publican raised a hand—a stark signal
that compromise would not be on the
GOP menu.)
All three Fox News anchors asked
questions that begged to be asked. Fox
News moderator Chris Wallace asked
Trump about his four corporate bank-
ruptcies. “Four times, I’ve taken ad-
vantage of the laws,” Trump answered.
“And frankly, so has everybody else in
my position.”
All three moderators asked probing
questions that explored each candi-
date’s weaknesses. That was a service
to Republicans who want a nominee
who can win in November. Fox News
would have been remiss to not include
a question about Trump’s big mouth.
I can only hope that the know-noth-
ings who trash Fox News Channel
without watching its news programs
tuned in. And I can only hope that
CNN asks equally pointed questions
at the Democrats’ fi rst primary debate,
which will be on Oct. 13.
(Creators Syndicate)
U.S. needs guidelines for entering war
Keizertimes
Wheatland Publishing Corp. • 142 Chemawa Road N. • Keizer, Oregon 97303
phone: 503.390.1051 • web: www.keizertimes.com • email: kt@keizertimes.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
NEWS EDITOR
One year:
$25 in Marion County,
$33 outside Marion County,
$45 outside Oregon
Craig Murphy
editor@keizertimes.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Eric A. Howald
news@keizertimes.com
PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY
Publication No: USPS 679-430
ADVERTISING
Paula Moseley
POSTMASTER
advertising@keizertimes.com Send address changes to:
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Andrew Jackson
graphics@keizertimes.com
LEGAL NOTICES
Keizertimes Circulation
142 Chemawa Road N.
Keizer, OR 97303
legals@keizertimes.com
EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Lyndon Zaitz
publisher@keizertimes.com
BUSINESS MANAGER
Laurie Painter
billing@keizertimes.com
Periodical postage paid at
Salem, Oregon
RECEPTION
Lori Beyeler
OFFICE INTERN
Allie Kehret
facebook.com/keizertimes
twitter.com/keizertimes
As things turned out, one could
argue with fairness and accura-
cy that Barack Obama’s campaign
promise to end U.S. warring in the
Middle East was half-hearted. Many
an American thinks he should have
stood by his word while perhaps too
many others want war now and, ap-
parently, forever. The debate over
U.S. involvement in the Middle East
is currently in debate in Washington,
D.C. over negotiations with Iran to
stop their making of the bomb.
With implications for U.S. war-
ring overseas, a dozen years ago au-
thor Micheal Lewis wrote Moneyball:
The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, the
story of how Billy Beane of Oakland
A’s fame used his wits to build a win-
ning franchise. Beane questioned old
assumptions, every sacred cow, and all
that was familiar to create a success-
ful team. In foreign policy, the ideas
cited in Moneyball relate to America’s
role in the world in a new way that’s
deigned to maximize the returns on
taxpayer dollars. It recognizes that the
U.S. has some global responsibilities
that no other nation can handle well.
Then, too, with overseas ventures, the
U.S. must now better husband our
ever-dwindling fi nancial resourc-
es to continue as world cop. The best
path for the U.S. is to promote our
value at keeping the world from im-
ploding not our values as the “better
way” when they’re imposed on others
who are less and less receptive nowa-
days.
George H. W. Bush did not initi-
ate a war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
Rather, he organized and led an in-
ternational coalition against Saddam
and his forces after Saddam invaded
Kuwait with intent to overpower it
and thereby control its oil and gas re-
sources so he could acquire a position
of dominance over a huge part of the
world’s oil and gas reserves. Bush and
his advisors demanded that Saddam
get out of Kuwait, which he refused
to do, threatening that his army would
be the mother of all armies and would
crush the U.S. if the Americans tried
to oust him from his new prize.
Bush responded with the U.S.
military and four months later Sad-
dam’s legions were sent back in-
side Iraq. Bush
wisely fended off
those who want-
ed him to send
U.S. forces into
Iraq to occupy
Baghdad
and
the entire na-
tion. He responded that he would not
do that because it would spill a lot of
blood with no sure advantage for the
U.S. since the oil fi elds of the Middle
East were no longer threatened by
a Saddam takeover. For reasons that
have never been fully disclosed by
offi cial explanation George W. Bush,
on the pretext that Saddam possessed
weapons of mass destruction that he
would use on Americans in Ameri-
ca, “W” took us into a war that’s lasted
11 years, remains unfi nished and led
to the establishment of the Islamic
State (ISIS).
Our future leaders need a clear and
workable set of guidelines to address
as quickly as possible when war is the
last but only means of defending our
interests. Although Colin Powell did
his reputation serious harm when
he spoke on behalf of the George W.
Bush administration to defend going
into Iraq, he, along with contribu-
tions from former defense secretary
Caspar Weinberger, have developed
common sense principles that piggy-
back on Moneyball thinking.
These principles must be observed
gene h.
mcintyre
by our leaders in all future deci-
sions regarding going to war: Is a vital
national security interest threatened?
Do we have a clear and attainable ob-
jective? Have the risks and costs been
fully and frankly analyzed? Have all
other nonviolent policy means been
fully exhausted? Is there a plausible
exit strategy to avoid endless entan-
glement? Have the consequences of
U.S. action been fully considered? Is
the action supported by the American
people who are openly and honestly
informed? Do we have broad interna-
tional support?
If any one of these questions re-
ceives a “No” answer, war is not the
answer. And if any kneejerk hawks
or automatic appeasers are among the
decision making group, he and she
should be dismissed from the delib-
erations and replaced by persons not
voting for war due to hidden agendas
supporting war profi teering or wear-
ing to meetings a costume like the one
Napoleon wore at Waterloo. Mean-
while, it’d be in our best interest, as a
nation that wants a future, for those
in D.C. to take a long and hard look
at the negotiations with Iran before
slamming the door on what’s been
worked out with a blind determina-
tion to go to war when the salient
questions as listed above have not
been thoroughly, exhaustingly an-
swered.
(Gene H. McIntyre’s column ap-
pears weekly in the Keizertimes.)