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That quote probably lost John McCain any chance he had at the presidency, but some on the right continue their cluelessness. The Charleston Daily Mail's Don Surber, more blogger than editorial writer these days, made an unbelievable claim in a post today: According to him, President Obama is enjoying the best transitional economy since LBJ.

Seriously.

How can he even begin to justify such a preposterous claim? By looking at the misery index, the combination of unemployment and inflation.

Never mind that the recession is so bad that DEflation is the problem, not inflation. Never mind that more jobs have been lost in the past several months than in any similar period in decades. Never mind that banks are teetering on the verge of collapse.

Obama should be jumping with joy over the economy President Bush left him.

Words fail me.

On the campaign trail, Barack Obama made a big deal about his opposition to earmarks. He hates pork spending on local projects inserted into omnibus bills without any serious review.  He pledged to fight it.  Congressional Quarterly reports that he didn't start living up to that pledge right away.

Overall, the president, vice president, the White House chief of staff and the four Cabinet secretaries who were in Congress last year show up in the records of the House and Senate Appropriations committees as the sponsors or cosponsors of hundreds of millions of dollars in pet projects in the $410 billion spending bill.

Think they'll ask to have their earmarks withdrawn?

Virginia lawmakers passed bills this session to expand the state's list of capital offenses, even as several other states consider putting an end to the death penalty in order to cut state expenses. We'll write Sunday that an unfavorable cost-benefit analysis is not the most urgent reason to halt state executions, but it is a legitimate consideration that might stop an evil practice.

Can't we just use the money we'd spend on an amphitheater to save city schools? Can't the county balance its budget by not building a new library?

For Sunday, we'll attempt to explain the difference between general funding and capital projects and why local governments can't pay teachers out of a bond fund.

For Friday, we will write about the closure of two Roanoke schools. In ordinary times. a wrenching decision like that would spell the end to turmoil. These aren't ordinary times and the school board still faces many tough, and disruptive, decisions.

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal was widely hailed as a rising star in the Republican Party with aspirations to run for president in 2012. (Would he even meet the consitutional requirements by then? How old is the guy, 13?) Anyway, that was before his response to Obama's not-a-state of the union address. The rising star crashed and burned like NASA's latest satellite.

Even Republicans thought Jindal's delivery was laughable. Most harshly, perhaps, Ace of Spades referred to him as an "earnest dork." His stilted delivery, like an inexperienced teacher talking down to a class of second-graders, has been widely compared to Kenneth the intern on the TV show "30 Rock." If you're not a fan of the show, rest assured, it isn't a flattering comparison.

Harsh truths, a hopeful vision

President Obama was honest about the severity of the nation's problems, but he laid out a path for returning to prosperity.

Parents, take control

Linda Whitlock
Whitlock, a Roanoke Times columnist, is an adjunct English professor who lives in Salem.

When my daughter was in high school, she took a note authorizing her early release for a dental appointment to school one day. My daughter wasn't given to skipping school, but on this particular day, the school randomly chose her note for verification. Did they call the parent who signed the note to check out its legitimacy? No. They called the dentist. When my dentist's office notified me about the call, I was furious at the audacity of school administrators who assumed they had the right to bypass parents and call a dentist for information the dentist had no business giving out.
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Mixing food and waste isn't safe

Thomas H. Hearn
Hearn lives on a farm in Fincastle and has a bachelor's degree in forestry and wildlife.

In the words of former President Ronald Reagan: There you go again, Rupert Cutler! Again, with the explanation of how good biosolids (sewage) are for local farmers. As a local farmer and beef cattle operator, I take exception to his commentary ("Experts find biosolids safe to use on farmland," Feb. 3). I know what biosolids are and I have read the list of ingredients that are in this stuff. And it isn't as sweet as Cutler makes it out to be.
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Skip the study and offer treatment

Maurice S. Fisher
Fisher is a resident of Virginia and has been a therapist for 25 years, specializing in risk assessment and treatment of juvenile and adult sex offenders.

Recently a client asked, "What do you think is worse than having a chemical addiction and seeking treatment in Virginia?" I responded, "What?" My client's rejoinder was "being a sex offender in Virginia and having no treatment available for it except for being incarcerated." As I pondered my client's query, I discovered The Roanoke Times editorial entitled, "Does the sex offender registry work?" (Feb. 15). Though I seldom agree with The Times on issues relating to mental health care, I must say that I was delighted to agree with this well-conceived beginning critique of how Virginia's sex offenders are managed.
Read more.

Read Thursday's letters to the editor.

What do you want to talk about today?

Thursday, we'll comment on President Obama's address to Congress. The president gave a clear-eyed assessment of the nation's grim economy, but his focus was on not just enduring as a nation but coming out of a still deepening worldwide recession in a better place.