This week’s opinion marketplace 12/27

THIS WEEK’S OPINION MARKETPLACE

Three up:

As the year winds to a close, something historic happens: Gov. Timothy M. Kaine, a frequent face in the Three Down space below, has found his way up. Setting aside the fact that Gov. Tim turned a blind eye to rosy revenue projections earlier this year, give Kaine credit for beating down sacred cows, including some of his own, while attacking a $2.9-billion budget gap. Special interests are displeased, which sounds to us like a good sign.
There’s an upside to news surrounding the predictable Christmas retail slide. It’s a great time for discount hunters. Some stores are selling post-Christmas goods at 80 percent off. This ought to boost spending.

Here’s to the gang at Vector Industries. The Waynesboro-based plant that employs special-needs workers has put together packs that provide pointers and gadgets to help people reduce water consumption. Grab one and start saving on your water bill today!

Three down:

And you thought the Detroit Lions couldn’t win. How about Rick Warren? President-elect Barack Obama tabbed the megachurch pastor to deliver his inaugural invocation and the howls resounded from all Democratic corners. Warren quietly backed California’s ban on gay marriage, so his selection by Obama translates to betrayal in the gay community. Meanwhile, Warren is widely disdained by evangelicals as too liberal. Where is a young (post-Nixon) Billy Graham when we need him?

And you thought people disdained President George W Bush. How about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid? A recent poll of likely voters says more than half disapprove of the Nevada Democrat’s work in the party’s Senate perch. That has him jump-starting his campaign for re-election in 2010. But what about ending gridlock, Harry?

And you thought President Bush would ride quietly into the Crawford sunset. How about the news this week that the cowboy-in-chief pardoned convicted scam artist Isaac Toussie, whose father just happened to have donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee? Bush reversed the pardon, but he couldn’t clear the stench. Throw another log on the legacy.