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Letters, 10/14: Kleeb a better choice for Senate

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Tuesday, Oct 14, 2008 - 12:43:55 am CDT

How does a bright young fellow get a chance in politics?

I was amazed to see that the Journal Star had endorsed Mike Johanns in the Senate race. Why?

Scott Kleeb is a bright, energetic, engaging, well-educated fellow who wants to work hard for us. He is very personable and will go far. Have you talked to him? I’ve have on two occasions. He is an impressive fellow. I know Mike Johanns, too. I’ve talked to him on occasion. He is a nice guy. He is likable. But, is that all we need in a senator?

Look at where we stand today through the leadership of the current administration. Mike is a big part of that leadership. As governor, what did he do for us? He proved to be a weak leader. As secretary of Agriculture, what did he do for us? At a time when the farm program really needed serious revamping, he was Mr. Status Quo.

I look around and see our best and brightest young people in the most important leadership positions in the public and private sectors. Why is it that we would not give that opportunity to someone like Scott Kleeb? We seem to have a habit of ignoring them and re-electing the same old tired, ineffective politicians. We are at important crossroads in this country. We need new ideas. We need our best and brightest young people leading us. I’m certainly going to vote for Scott Kleeb. We need him in the U.S. Senate, now more than ever.

Gene R. Bedient, Lincoln

Obama's no leader

This is in response to a letter from Hilary Behrens on Oct. 4. She wrote, “Barack Obama has shown time and time again his overwhelmingly superior ability to lead our country.” I have never read anything like that; it is so far from reality.

Being a member of the Illinois Senate and voting “present” instead of “yes” or “no” on legislation some 129 times — how does that equate to leadership? I can’t think of anything he has accomplished while an Illinois senator, U.S. senator or community organizer.

Herb Welter, Lincoln

Discussion needed on oil

As the dust settles from the presidential debate and we continue to hope Washington’s fix for the Wall Street crisis works, we still need a national discussion about our reliance on foreign oil and gas prices.

It wasn’t too long ago that oil prices were sky high and it was on all of our minds, and I hope Congress will get back to the important issue of developing a sound energy policy that says no to the faulty solution of taxing our domestic energy producers.

We need to encourage exploration and domestic production, and we need to reject any new taxes that will hurt American companies and make us even more reliant on foreign oil.

Ashley Haas, Lincoln


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truth wrote on October 14, 2008 2:23 am:
" Mr. Welter,

Saying that Obama is no leader because of a supposed "lack of experiance" is no argument. It just shows a lack of understanding of the issues. Obama graduated at the top of his class from HARVARD while McCain was 5th from the bottom at the air force academy. I will take brilliance over McCain's "experience" at scraping by on the bottom of the barrel "

Wm Morris wrote on October 14, 2008 5:16 am:
" Not sure where herb Welter is getting his information on Barack Obama as a state senator, but he is not giving us the whole story. Barack has shown amazing leadership qualities. In the Illinois State Senate he sponsored a law increasing tax credits for low-income workers, negotiated welfare reform, and promoted increased subsidies for childcare. In 2001, as co-chairman of the bipartisan Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, Obama supported Republican Governor Ryan's payday loan regulations and predatory mortgage lending regulations aimed at averting home foreclosures. Obama became chairman of the Illinois Senate's Health and Human Services Committee when Democrats, after a decade in the minority, regained a majority. He sponsored and led unanimous, bipartisan passage of legislation to monitor racial profiling by requiring police to record the race of drivers they detained and legislation making Illinois the first state to mandate videotaping of homicide interrogations. During his 2004 general election campaign for U.S. Senate, police representatives credited Obama for his active engagement with police organizations in enacting death penalty reforms
As a member of the Democratic minority in the 109th Congress, he helped create legislation to control conventional weapons and to promote greater public accountability in the use of federal funds. He has one house and has only had one wife. I am satisfied with is leadership so far and his potential as our next president. "

Dan wrote on October 14, 2008 6:44 am:
" Why wouldn't the LJS endorse JoHanns. He is a Republican and this is a RED state. You could run Hitler for office as a Republican in this state, and people would vote for him. We wouldn't want to PO the lemmings now would we? "

Zoomie wrote on October 14, 2008 7:05 am:
" Herb, if that were all Obama had done you'd be right. But your example is no more accurate than if I (accurately) pointed out that John McCain has only cast one Senate vote in seven months, missing over 100 Senate floor votes. FYI, Obama voted "Present" 129 times, a standard practice in the IL State Senate...out of over 4,000 votes he participated in!
But more impressive to me - on Oct 2, 2002, long before even running for US Senate, he gave a speech explaining why a war against Iraq was a mistake. He accurately predicted there would be no WMD, that Iraq would prove to be a paper tiger of a threat, that we'd become bogged down just as we had in Vietnam, that it would drain resources from Afghanistan and the war on Osama bin-Laden (the real enemy)...In short, he got everything right years before it happened, and at a time when John McCain's leadership was telling us the war would pay for itself, we'd be greeted as liberators, in and out in 1-2 years. In short, McCain got absolutely everything about the war wrong (and now he wants to attack Iran, before we're even out of Iraq?!?!). Obama has worked across party's to author a bill with Sen Lugar (R-IN) to get rid of old Russian nukes that might otherwise end up in terrorist hands (something the Bush Admin was ignoring); he worked with Sen Coburn (R-OK) to author a successfull bill to put details of gov't budget and spending bills online quickly, making spending transparent to the American people. And in the current election, he has consistently praised McCain's long service (even as McCain calls Obama a terrorist pal, and traitor), and was the first and strongest voice in clearly saying Sarah Palin's children, particularly her pregnant and unmarried teen daughter, were off limits, something he has stuck to (even as McCain surrogates now accuse Michelle Obama of also palling with terrorists!). Frankly, there is no comparison. One is an honest, honorable man who has risen far by his own skills and abilities, while the other, John McCain, gained most what he has thanks to his 4-star Admiral father and grandfather, and his $100 million heiress wife, and a willingness to play in the dirt with Karl Rove and his accolytes. I don't see the choice here, frankly. "

Sue wrote on October 14, 2008 7:27 am:
" Gene, What a great, well written letter. I totally agree with you that Scott Kleeb is our best choice for Senate!! He has a passion to serve the people of Nebraska and he has the intelligence, energy, and drive to do so! It is not often that we have the opportunity to elect such a qualified candidate! Best of all, he is one of us and can relate to the problems we are facing. Nebraskans vote wisely. Vote for Scott Kleeb! "

T Jefferson wrote on October 14, 2008 8:09 am:
" With all due respect for Kleeb supporters and Kleeb he HAS NO EXPERIENCE. I was very excited as a 30 something to move back to Lincoln and see a young well spoken well educated ivy leaguer running for office. But what has he done? Nothing. Worked summers on a ranch and teaching history? Come on. His positions are virtually identical to Johanns and he has no real first hand knowledge of get anything accomplished for Nebraska. I hope that Kleeb continues to be involved and continues to gain experience, but Johanns is clearly the best choice for Nebraska and Nebraskans. "

Jody P. wrote on October 14, 2008 8:19 am:
" Obama supporters list the few bills of his with such reverence. Doesn't it ever dawn on them that there are hundreds of bills passed, and most all congresspeople have their names attached to many pieces of legislation? As for his opposition to the Iraq war, unfortunately he had absolutely no idea what the evidence was or wasn't of Iraqi WMD, so his opposition amounts to nothing more than a lucky uninformed guess. For all he knew, the CIA might have had photos of Osama and Hussein shaking hands in front of a pile of WMD. If Obama had actually been in the senate, seen the ominous-looking classified intel of the CIA, and had to think of his responsibility to the national security as well as his own future re-election, and then VOTED no, I could respect that.

But the fact of the matter is that given the far-left liberal circles he ran in around Chicago (Ayers, et al), making a litle announcement he was against the invasion carried no personal career risk at all. They regard terrorist bombers as heroes up in Chicago, so what do you expect? "

re Kleeb wrote on October 14, 2008 8:22 am:
" Who would drive him to Washington? He can't drive himself. "

Dem against Kleeb wrote on October 14, 2008 9:15 am:
" By running for Senate now, Scott Kleeb demonstrated the knock on him to be true: that he is out of touch with Nebraskans.

He could have run against Adrian Smith again, and I dare say he would have won this time around. He had the name recognition in the 3rd district now that he spent his '06 campaign building; and people out here are not terribly impressed with Smith. Kleeb is still young, still pretty inexperienced in terms of fundamentals like holding down a long-term job and supporting a family (he has done each for, as of now, about two years). The House would be a great place for him to begin serving Nebraska, and to begin building relationships with other Congressional leaders that would help him eventually move to the Senate when the time is right. The pay, for heaven's sakes, is the same - - the only meaningful difference is more frequent reelections, but the lack of interest in serving in the Third District would make those elections more certain for an incumbent (see, for example, the cakewalk Smith is currently enjoying).

Instead, Kleeb decides to run for Senate. He has not "made his bones" with Nebraskans yet. [I voted for him, but I'm not who Kleeb has to convince.] Nebraskans who won't instinctively vote Democratic needed to see him stay here, work here, pay taxes here, get involved with his kids' school and with his new city of residence, and so on. Maybe some time in the state legislature would have been useful. I can't stand Adrian Smith, but he did one thing right: he made his bones before running for Congress.

Kleeb appears to have listened to out-of-state netroots to make his decision to run for Senate at a time when he has a formidable opponent who, like him or not (and I don't like Johanns), has paid his dues in this state. If Kleeb didn't get that, then Kleeb isn't listening to the very people he says he can understand so instinctively that his relatively short time in the state shouldn't be an impediment.

Sorry, Kleeb. I think you have a lot of growing up to do before you can effectively serve Nebraskans. Your campaign for Senate at this time shows a fundamental lack of intuitive listening. "

Re truth wrote on October 14, 2008 9:30 am:
" Mr. Welter's comments are spot on. Obamas accomplishments have been close to nothing. If you prefer brilliance over experience then I hope you are happy with the economy right now. It was a bunch of brilliant people that got us into this mess including Dodd and Frank. "

Herbs No Spin Zone wrote on October 14, 2008 9:44 am:
" You're really not doing yourself or anyone else any good when you repeat AM radio talking points. Half-truths are really nothing to embrace in America.

The facts are, Herb, that the 129 present votes that Obama put in were over 8 years and 4,000 votes. This means he voted "present" one out of thirty one votes.

By contrast, during this years campaign, McCain has missed 60% of the votes, while Obama has missed 40% of the votes. By using your own words, "How does that equate to leadership?"

If you would look, you would see that Obama have a very large and impressive resume of accomplishments, I don't even know where to begin. Do a little research for once. What is the real reason you are railing against Obama? "

Voice of Reason wrote on October 14, 2008 9:47 am:
" Who will Mike Johanns serve in Washington? Himself. Mike has always been about Mike. He is an opportunist, and has left every public job he was voted into. A Senatorship is not an entitlement for a career politician. Go somewhere else to serve yourself, Mike. I'm voting for Kleeb. He will serve the people. "

well said wrote on October 14, 2008 9:52 am:
" Thank you Gene, Well said I could not of said it better, As for experience. Does Mr. Johanns have any in the senate? No So why does someone who has demonstrated quitting time and time again is someone that people would vote for?

I guess for the life of me can not figure out people in this state, People can not be that stupid or can they?

I am a republican and would never vote for Mr. Johanns.

Why not give Mr Klebb a chance to see what he will do, I bet he would do more for Nebraska that what Mr. Johanns never did in all the Years, Oh I mean Weeks he held office. "

Proud of Kleeb wrote on October 14, 2008 9:56 am:
" I would be proud to have Scott Kleeb as my senator but I can't say the same about Johanns. As for him being out of touch with Nebraskans that is crazy talk. This guy has spent more time talking to Nebraskans in the last 2 years than Johanns has is in the last 16. I question your comment that you are a democrat that is just a way to try and get people to believe you. I wrote a letter to the editor about Scott and received hate letters from Johanns supporters. Although they where very upset with me none had the guts to put their names on the letters. Do the same thing and expect different results and you will be sorry as you are now. "

Skeeter wrote on October 14, 2008 10:03 am:
" On a difficulty scale, the USNA is a tad higher than Harvard, and there is also an honor code to increase the difficulty level at the USNA. And the skill set required to be a Naval Aviator trumps any Obama "expierience". I am also a retired Naval Aviator with over 1545 traps, you want stress, you have never expierienced stress till you need to hit a storm pitching and rolling deck in the rain at night with fuel guages bouncing on empty.
Having the intestinal fortatude to roll in and endure triple A and SAM,s flying by, to drop your ordinance on target, also is a little higher on the handling stress meter than organizing a community. Harvard means you can speak well, USNA means you are willing to lead from the front, and understand what leadership actually means. John McCain understands Leadership, and has proved himself, Barrack Obama has read the books and pretends he can learn to lead on the job. Honor and comman sense for me is to vote for someone I know has the ability to lead for we each earned and wear the ring proudly of the USNA. John McCain is a leader. "

Jeff wrote on October 14, 2008 10:22 am:
" Obviously Herb, the fact that you can't "think of anything" that Obama has done to prove his leadership skills is meaningless. That says more about you than it does about him. Surviving 2 years of constant media attention and campaigning, defeating Hillary Clinton, and showing remarkable poise throughout the process is "something" in and of itself. "

J wrote on October 14, 2008 10:37 am:
" How does drilling decrease our dependence on foreign oil? First, it will be ten years before we could even see an effect. Second, the oil will go onto the free market and China and other countries that are continuing to grow and use more and more oil will keep up the prices and keep our and their dependence on foreign oil. We need alternative resources to get away from foreign oil. The only reason that democrats agree to drill is to get the incentives back that the republicans in congress took away from companies investing in alternative energy. Many companies had to shut down operations in the last year because two years ago, many incentives were let to expire and none were replaced. "

Hussein wrote on October 14, 2008 10:37 am:
" Nice hypothetical Jody. The CIA knew they would never see the egotistical Prima Donnas, Hussein and bin Laden shaking hands.

I have however, seen hunereds of photos of Saddam Hussein shaking hands with Don Rumsfeld. "

LDE wrote on October 14, 2008 10:48 am:
" It is amazing how much influence the "talking heads" of television and the "hate and fearmongers" of talk radio have on the political process. It should not be a surprise however when a student of history recalls the Joseph McCarthy era in our history. I guess it is true that those who refuse to learn from history are destined to repeat it. Uncertain times seem to send the fearful into the arms of anyone who can accentuate their fear and manipulate their loyalties toward their own egomanical needs. At this point in history it is not only possible but highly profitable to keep the fearful and anxious in a state of "ditto-head" dependence. It is time for thinking American's who refuse to be cowed by the fear tactics of these egomaniacs to speak out with discernment and true concern in favor of our return to goodness and respect as a Nation. "

Hilary Behrens wrote on October 14, 2008 10:55 am:
" Thank you, Herb, for reading my letter. I think, however, you are missing the point of it. My letter was meant to provoke some thought on how race is affecting voters' opinions in this election.

When I wrote that Barack Obama has shown his superior ability to lead this country, it was in direct comparison to John McCain, who has, especially in recent weeks, shown unpredictable and inconsistent tendencies with regard to leadership. If you need to find some reading material on Barack Obama's accomplishments, I suggest you do some research on the topic, or simply read some of the well-informed responses above. "

Kathy wrote on October 14, 2008 11:41 am:
" Jody P gets her facts wrong. If you listened to Cheney and Rumsfeld or Tenet, they wanted to believe the intelligence was convincing, but if you read books like "Fiasco", it clearly lays out that there were a lot of people expressing opinions that match exactly what Obama said. For example, that inspectors had looked at some of the very sights that "supposedly" were housing WMD's and that there was none there. That Saddam was still crippled by the flights and bombing that occurred over the country during the Clinton years. And other countries like Germany and France were also questioning the evidence, and we ridiculed them and questioned their character. You are right about one thing.... Obama didn't have access to all the erroneous intelligence, and he had the fortitude to question our leaders who were feeding us a line of bull about how long the war would last, etc. Knowledge that we might get bogged down there due to religious/sectarian conflict was certainly out there for people to know. Obama bucked the prevailing hysteria at the time, and it was much more than a lucky guess. "

Outraged in Omaha wrote on October 14, 2008 11:51 am:
" The McCain/Palin campaign has become the Surrendercans. McCain and his ilk waved the white flag of surrender and defeat in Michigan, and turned tail and ran. After years of neglecting Detroit and it's social and economic problems, the Republicans realized no one was listening to McCain's lies and ramblings about the great economy, so they packed up their traveling carnival and moved on. McCain has no office in Nebraska, and it appears he dislikes us as much as he dislikes Michigan. Let's hope Surrendercan McCain/Palin toss in their towels after the debate tomorrow night. "

RJ wrote on October 14, 2008 11:52 am:
" AMEN, well, said Dan. The other half in this house has been saying the
the same thing about this RED state. Seems he isn't the only one thinking
that. Thanks for saying what needed to be pointed out to this state. "

opinion wrote on October 14, 2008 12:05 pm:
" Where's the proof that Obama has better leadership? Still waiting for someone to show the proof. His associates and money backing him are of shady or not of traditional values. He's not much of an open book. It been tough to find the dirt & fault with McCain but Obama has many things that have arose but tried to keep quite. Still waiting for the proof besides Community Orgainizer. The Education is not enough, their are many shady people with higher education, Barnie Frank to the point. "

Nina wrote on October 14, 2008 12:50 pm:
" I agree with Mr. Bedient - Scott Kleeb shows promise of positive change, and is bound to be a winner, whether or not in the coming election, and I will vote for him. Also, Mr. Welter, to see examples of Obama's leadership, a search of the internet will bring up a myriad of leadership roles. From the community work he sacrificed a high-paying job to do, to the many bills he has introduced or co-sponsored in the Senate - the list is quite long. Also, there are sites that compare his record as a senator to McCain's. This is quite revealing as to where the real leadership appears. "

Jody P. wrote on October 14, 2008 12:53 pm:
" You're confusing the chain of events, Kathy. Most of what you're talking about happened much later. When Obama made his little speech, the NIE summary hadn't even been released yet. The weapons inspectors didn't get into Iraq to look at WMD sites until the eve of the invasion, which was several months AFTER Obama's speech.

The simple fact is that an intelligent decision about whether or not Iraq had WMD or al-Qaeda ties depended entirely on what the intelligence data would or wouldn't show. It's that simple. No meaningful conclusion can be reached until one knows what evidence the CIA had. It's not a hypothetical at all - it's called reality. Obama himself admitted back around 2006 or so that had he been in the U.S. Senate back in 2003 and actually seen the intel, etc., he might well have reached a different opinion. Of course he doesn't say stuff like that anymore now. His campaign managers would leap onto him and cover his mouth before he could get those words out. "

Hey Herb wrote on October 14, 2008 1:28 pm:
" at least he answered roll call. If it was a call to vote and both answers are wrong what would you do? It's better than being a "YES" man to bushie. "

to annapolis wrote on October 14, 2008 1:38 pm:
" Having retired from the navy as enlisted, I don't see any corelation between graduating from annapolis and being a leader. You have an engineering degree and know how to fly. The ones I encountered in my career were childish, hot dogs who liked to give orders wheather they were right or not. Everyone of them were trying to get to the magic kingdom of the pentagon where big promotions came from. Yeah it's tough to land on a carrier at night in the rain, but, flying into combat is a long way from being on the ground in the thick of it. Harvard would compare to any school for intelligence and I think they have a code also. The mcoh has been broken so many times I don't think I can count. It's more like the good ole boy system that if you don't tell I don't either. "

CS wrote on October 14, 2008 2:01 pm:
" If we were in the middle of a real war I might like McCains lead from the front mentality, minus the getting caught part. However, as a father and a veteran I put my vet chest thumping aside and look at what is best for my kids and the kids of others and I don't want that kind of 'forward' thinking in the White House. "

Chip wrote on October 14, 2008 2:55 pm:
" I AM NOT voting for Johanns. The guy is one of the least inspiring candidates I've seen since Bob Dole. It's not all about inspiration, but Johanns is the protypical career politician who really hasn't done ANYTHING. Just when he gets started on a job, he moves on. Lincoln mayor . . . oh wait . . . I can be governor . . . oh wait . . . I can be Ag secretary . . . oh wait . . . I can be a senator . . . What's next? Pope?

I'm a Republican who can't vote against a pro-life candidate, but I don't have to vote for him either.

Can't we get some fresh blood in there repubs?????? Come on. "

Zoomie wrote on October 14, 2008 3:03 pm:
" McCain - was unqualified academically for Annapolis, accepted only because his father and grandfather were grads (and 4-star Admirals). Performance so poor he would have been tossed out if his dad wasn't an Admiral. Crashed FIVE USN aircraft!!! Admittedly, one wasn't his fault, but the others were ALL his own blame (and FYI, that includes his A-6 that he was shot down in...his own bio admits he ignored his system warnings that a SAM was locked on and closing; had he jinked hard left/right, he knew he'd dodge the SAM but then he might not have dropped his bombs, and he was chasing medals). Suggest you read the bio in this month's issue of Rolling Stone magazine, which names his fellow officers who say he was a dangerous hotdog who put others at risk, and who received favored treatment while in Annapolis. Even his fellow POWs bad-mouth him (did you know how the NVA discovered he was the son of an Admiral? McCain told them himself!!!). In fact, the bio makes plain he is VERY MUCH like Dubya! Both spent their entire lives trying to outdo their fathers, both came up very, very short! "

Hey Outraged wrote on October 14, 2008 3:38 pm:
" So it's the president of the USA's job to coddle the disadvantaged areas of Detroit, MI? Keep in mind, Detroit has had Democratic mayors for years upon years, and nothing improves. How about the residents of Detroit stop waiting for the government to help them out and take things upon themselves to have some civic pride and improve their communities and hold themselves accountable for their social problems? Is that way liberals seem bitter all of the time, despite who is president? You expect the government to hold your hand and guide you through life, and it never happens? Wake up. "

Jeff wrote on October 14, 2008 4:13 pm:
" Intelligence related to Iraq and WMD is a misnomer. The fact is that everyone just sort of assumed that he had WMD's because he had used them on Iraqi citizens years earlier. Obviously if Obama had read the "intellience reports", which we now know were useless, he might have came to the conclusion. But he still bucked the reflex reaction to go to war. He still went against the prevailing hysteria and "bandwagon" or whatever you want to call it. He still listened to those people urging caution and warning of the complexities of invading Iraq. And some of the intelligence was cherry picked and distorted by the Bush Administration. Obama, like most, could not have comprehended the degree to which all this info was misleading. But it still took guts to speak out ..... to call it a lucky decision on his part it inaccurate. And there WERE those cautioning about moving too rapidly. We all remember that. And he was RIGHT. "

Vote Kleeb wrote on October 14, 2008 6:54 pm:
" Nebraska it's time to elect a wonderful man to Senate. Kleeb offers great intelligence and integrity, something Johanns has failed to exhibit. "

Its in nebraska too. wrote on October 14, 2008 8:32 pm:
" The red state with it's "I'm a republican and i'll vote ticket" is still alive and well in nebraska. If Bush or Mccain says it, it must be true. Come back to earth and read or watch the real news, not just quoting rush, sean, or the rest of the so called experts. Not everyone is against the republican team. I used to work with people on work release and guess what? They didn't do anything, the cops had it in for them, or the courts, or the public, or their familys. They did nothing wrong!! I find this the same case in the mccain camp and his loyalists. Bush I suppose did nothing wrong huh? Killed over 4000 young people and however many innocents , busted the country, lied , tried to rewrite the constitution. Yeah, hes innocent of all these things. If sean told you or rush told you that bush was corrupt, you'd buy into it. I don't even claim this state anymore. "

Ken wrote on October 15, 2008 5:46 am:
" All you posters that have a problem with John McCain's military service, I have this to say. What do you think of Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Joe Biden military service. Not much of a comparison. Right. "

jo wrote on October 15, 2008 7:05 am:
" Nebraska voters don't want a better choice they want business as usual & a familiar face because Nebraskan are afraid of all things to new even if it is for the better "

re Skeeter wrote on October 15, 2008 11:05 am:
" Your comments that being a "ring knockers" in life somehow trumps being a Harvard grad are interesting........not necessarily valid, but still interesting. You seem to have walked in the shoes of a very demanding military career, and for that you are to be commended. However, the intellect required to be a leader at Harvard should also be held to those same high standards. Flying skill and intestinal fortitude are self serving goals for personal preservation and promotion to higher ranks. True intellectual thinking goes beyond personal gain or rationality. "

Have wrote on October 15, 2008 12:43 pm:
" I have no problem with Bill Clinton, Hillary or Obama or Biden's record. None of them are running on that. What I have a problem about McCain's service is his collaboration with the North Vietnamese and violated the Military Code of Conduct. He voluntarily gave the Vietnamese classified military info. Doubt that? Check out his own biography where he states just that. "

REashley wrote on October 15, 2008 3:19 pm:
" Its election time. Do you think the partys are going to let gas prices continue to be high when they want to be elected? Watch out afterward. Same goes for the credit crisis. After the election it will be a afterthought. But wait , in 2 years they will find a white collar has made off with 5 or 10 billion and prosecute him only to have a presidential pardon. Its all in the books people if you read the history. "

David wrote on October 15, 2008 10:28 pm:
" I agree with all who tout the Ivy League credentials of Barack Obama. We need another Ivy League educated president, just like George Bush, who was educated in the Ivy League. I know, I know, that didn't count, right? "

Jeff Cooley wrote on October 20, 2008 12:50 pm:
" Voter and political apathy has caused the mainstream Nebraska voter to be left on the sidelines in both political parties. The far extremes on both the far left and the far right has held the heartland voters hostage long enough. The past politicans have been strangled by party platforms and special interest agenda. We have the best choices in this election that I've seen since my first voting year of 1986. I'm extremely excited to cast a vote for a candidate with the biggest heart I've ever seen in a candidate at any level. Scott Kleeb has proven to me the hope of a new beginning. Every time Scott has seen my family in public he is so caring about the child developement and family law issues that were so dear to my bid for State Senator campaign in 2006 (Legislative district 2). His compassion for the workers displaced and families suffering hardships is an awesome testimony of his character. The choice is very simple, vote for a professional politician that will do anything to get elected, or vote for a candidate who remembers the day an average person like myself lost his daughter in a car accident 3 years ago? Simple choice Kleeb! "