Augusta Medical Center’s criteria for finding a CEO to replace the recently retired Richard H. Graham were instructive. Board members searched for a leader who could provide “quality, compassionate care for our patients” and build a strong relationship with the facility’s staff and physicians.

So Republicans and Democrats in Washington actually can agree on something. Since Democrats took over the House, America’s bickering parties have concurred only on where to show up for work. That is, until they reached a stunningly peaceable accord this week on an economic stimulus package.

Paradox is palpable when editorialists take pot shots at punditry. The scenario is akin to hurling a bucket of water into the air - it is difficult to do without hitting ourselves.

Students speak out

The long commonwealth nightmare that is abusive driver fees is almost over, finally. With all of the zeal of starstruck teenagers crowding a concert stage for a closer look at the latest pop icon, state lawmakers are tumbling over one another in a race to produce repeal bills. Onetime fee proponent Gov. Timothy M. Kaine stands pen in hand, ready to ink the concept into oblivion.

Here is something that ought to disturb anyone looking for a revitalized Waynesboro: Some city leaders do not expect the town to take on anything new in 2008.

Carolyn Eavey was just the sort of person every community desperately needs.

Tradition dictates at this time of year that we, along with police and parents, distribute admonitions about the perils of driving under the influence. The perils are so obvious and the solutions so clear, we hardly think the point needs reiterating.

Here is something worth celebrating at the dawn of a new year: the ebb of neoconservatism, the dread movement that brought us war in Iraq and other lesser maladies.

Having gotten no word back from Santa, we are beginning to question - albeit a tad late - whether he received our letter.

So here we go again, wading through more pontification, contemplation and consternation about presidential aspirants and their religion. Now that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has informed us that he would not run the country based on Mormon fiat, fellow Republican contender Mike Huckabee, the other man from Hope, has taken his place in the pundits’ spotlight.

It is encouraging that business leaders worked together to keep alive Waynesboro’s annual Christmas in the River City event, which went off without a hitch Friday only weeks after the town’s local Main Street group considered shelving it.

Following an issue as it is debated in Washington can be like trying to get a clear view from beneath the water’s surface as a river bottom is dredged.

Throughout the fall, we have pointed to Waynesboro’s abundant potential. Leaders in many communities would relish the opportunity to build on even one of our town’s amenities. Almost none could hope to do so in a location as unique as Waynesboro’s.

The quandary for Augusta County officials is considerable: How to maintain the area’s rich, rural character and robust agricultural industry while also making way for waves of development in Stuarts Draft and Fishersville-

That the housing slide that has gripped much of the rest of the country has scarcely been palpable here is instructive.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reached for a Kennedy moment Thursday on the topic of personal religion.

Few things in politics - and free societies, for that matter - are more sacred than elections. Fundamental to the process is voters knowing precisely that for which they are voting and why.

Leave it to our federal judicial system to make it almost possible to conjure sympathy for Michael Vick.

A thumbs-up, thumbs-down assessment of newsmakers here and beyond:

City Council’s decision to limit public comment to three minutes for each speaker is a welcome move in the minds of many, reasonable in the eyes of others who might even disagree in principle and unassailable under the law if applied properly.

Much of 2007 has served as a sort of presidential spring training, with even the weakest of contenders ‘ like, say, the Washington Nationals or Baltimore Orioles ‘ fancying a run deep into fall.

It is difficult to conceive of a poorer match for musings on the transcendent than presidential politics.

The voters have spoken. Now City Council must respond. In a referendum Tuesday, Waynesboro voters backed stormwater management improvements, a new fire station and a library addition. Ballfield and sidewalk and crosswalk improvements were rejected.

Turnout for general elections has been on the wane for decades, a reflection of Americans’ growing apathy and dissatisfaction with empty promises from elected leaders.

Few principles in government are more basic than this: When officials decide to spend the public’s money, the public should know about it.

The case for spending city money on adding or extending sidewalks, at first glance, seems clear enough. Children who walk to Westwood Hills Elementary School along Rosser Avenue, for example, must cross a busy street. Sidewalks in the area end a block away from the school. Something obviously needs to be done.

Victories for a free press have been rare since President Bush migrated to Pennsylvania Avenue, but journalists scored a big win Tuesday, when the House overwhelmingly approved a bill extending new protections to reporters and their sources.

Authorities seizing cash and property from citizens is a dirty business, even when the citizens in question are drug dealers, a group that resides already in society’s mire. Police say snatching ill-gotten gains from suspects deprives bad guys of valuable resources. Opponents argue that civil forfeiture programs like Virginia’s force people who have not yet been convicted of a crime to prove they have done nothing wrong.