www.roanoke.com

Two weeks ago, Kim Foster traipsed from her aunt's house through the bone-chilling cold and high winds to Patrick Henry High School to see Hillary Clinton.

Even though weather forced the presidential candidate to cancel, the 18-year-old remains a strident Clinton supporter. When I caught up with the Salem High School senior Wednesday, she said she will not turn her back on Clinton, despite calls for the candidate to concede the race to Barack Obama.

Junius Gaither, a lifelong Democrat, applauds the idea that Clinton "is holding the banner for female progress."

But the 78-year-old Roanoker said "maybe it would be best for her to drop out, if it's going to bring healing to the Democratic Party."

Democrats need "every day of the time between now and November" to come together to beat Republican front-runner John McCain, Gaither said.

The young woman and elderly man epitomize a national debate swirling about whether Clinton should drop out of the race -- for the good of the party and for the good of her standing within the party. The suggestion is for her to exit with grace, rather than in humiliation.

Read more »

Heard Tuesday that a Hoosier fan was giving up his season tickets until integrity is restored to Indiana University's basketball program.

Integrity is not the first word I'd associate with IU's basketball program stretching back for a long time. Among Bobby Knight's embarassing behavior were the infamous chair-tossing and head-butting incidents. Kelvin Sampson was a serial NCAA rule violator.

As my mother would say, "Six on one hand, half-a-dozen on the other."

There are a lot of city-issued credit cards floating around Roanoke's city hall.

On the heels of Alfred Dowe's forced resignation because he double-billed taxpayers for expenses he put on his city-issued credit card, we discover that 700 Roanoke employees -- 40 percent -- carry city cards.

On its face, that sounds like a lot of municipal employees saying, "Charge it." But one local expert said the number is not unusually high, and a college professor said it reflects a changing workplace.

Read more »

Ralph Nader!

It all began with such promise.

In 2002, Alfred Dowe was a young, black man -- then 35 -- willing to step forward as a city leader.

He was a hometown guy, a known entity; yet he was a relatively fresh face to Roanoke politics. He stood poised to make the leap from the planning commission, an appointed post, to elected office.

About a week before the Roanoke City Council election, then-Roanoke Times' Editorial Page Editor Tommy Denton noted in a column that Dowe was among several who "pose the most abundant array of talented, capable and promising council contenders in many moons."

Today, Dowe is an ex-councilman, a decent man forced out of office by his own poor judgment.

Read more »

Today's political dispatch comes from Dallas.

The lines were backed up and the seats were still largely empty in an arena at which Barack Obama was supposed to appear in an hour. So the Secret Service sent down orders for police to suspend searches of persons, purses and laptop bags and let folks through. Open the doors and let any and all comers in, without so much as being wanded.

Now, I don't know about you, but that unnerves me for a number of reasons. First, Barack was given Secret Service protection in May, earlier than any other presidential candidate because of death threats. At least one federal official in the know said some of the threats had racial overtones.

Second, I read about the Texas security lapse moments after reading an Associated Press story about the hushed worry among blacks that the first serious black presidential contender could be assassinated. Some people are so freaked they plan not to vote for Obama out of concern for his personal safety. (That's a cop-out, but it's out there.) For historical reasons, you also would think the Secret Service would be particularly gun-shy about letting their guard down in Dallas.

Furthermore, I have some trepidation about my industry reporting such a lapse. This doesn't rise to the same level of a national security matter, but if definitely merited some serious discussion in the newsroom.

I understand that political candidates by nature of seeking to get elected open themselves up to security exposure. There's already enough evil or mental instability lurking out there in people looking to make a name for themselves. It doesn't need the Secret Service's help in making the job easier.

s

We considered a Republican ticket question last time. This time we turn our attention to the Dems, with their Florida-Michigan delegate debacle.

In short, the race is tight and the candidates are scraping for every delegate they can get. Because Florida and Michigan broke party rules and held their primaries early, Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard "The Screamer" Dean said delegates from those two states wouldn't be added to the tally.

Last I heard, Hillary is scrapping to include the delegates and Barack was warm to the idea, too. Mind you, they knew the rules up front. Add to the mix civil rights activists charging that the refusal to seat the delegates alienates a huge swath of black voters.

Dean is getting weak-kneed and considering do-overs in both Michigan and Florida. My question to you:

What to do!?

For more insights on this subject, check out this piece from Forbes online.

s

Ask any teacher, and she or he will tell you there are a few loser parents out there.

These mothers and fathers don't seem to care that their little darling can't read and is the terror of the classroom.

But thank goodness the overwhelming majority of parents want their children to be successful in school; some just don't know how to help.

That's why we all should be encouraged by a spring workshop Roanoke City Public Schools is planning called Parent University. The aim of the program is to teach parents to help their children succeed in school.

Read more »

A Monday evening reception at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center was a scene that would have warmed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s heart.

Blacks and whites spanning the generations mingled with one another. A skilled laborer hobnobbed with a member of Gov. Tim Kaine's cabinet. The Who's Who of Roanoke noshed on chicken fingers with the Less Famous But Equally Important.

With this morning's celebratory massing and marching of Southwest Virginians and the anticipated singing of the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome," today's long-awaited unveiling of Roanoke's memorial to King will be the main course.

But Monday's reception was the appetizer, an event for those who worked tirelessly on the front lines along with their supporters to make the tribute a reality.

Read more »

Condoleeza Rice as John McCain's veep?

I can't say the idea was mine. One of my very astute readers broached the idea. It's certainly an intriguing political thought.

Laura may rule the roost, but Condi is the strong woman behind Dubya on the job. Whether you agree with her politics, Condi is brilliant. Her presence would shore up McCain's street cred with the conservative wing of the party. If we assume people are voting along race/gender lines this year, Condi would give them a reason to vote for McCain.

s