The Star-Ledger Perspective/Op-Ed

Personal views on local news, politics & more

• Fueling hate and ignorance
I've been thinking about the remarkable reaction by some people to the selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin to be John McCain's running mate. It's been on my mind because I know a lot of very liberal Democrats. As a member of the Legislature in one of America's bluest states, I work with them, fashion legislation together and develop some close and lasting relationships.

• Now the Republicans have a rock star, too
St. PAUL, Minn. -- At Wedneday night's roll call of the states, McCain state chairman Bill Baroni proudly cast New Jersey's votes around 11:45. Many delegates were too keyed up to sleep after that, so there was a lot of talking going on in the hotel lounge and lobby. As a result, there were fewer people at our usual 8:30 breakfast.

• A potential governor's inspiring tale
Our delegation spent last night on a riverboat, complete with dinner and banjos, on the beginnings of the Mississippi. Cruise sponsors were John and Eileen Crowley of Princeton, who have a fascinating story to tell.

• Workers need added clout to close the pay gap with CEOs
Polls show that most Americans are outraged by sky- high CEO pay. And why shouldn't they be? A generation ago, top CEOs made 30 to 40 times the pay of average workers. Last year, CEO pay outpaced average worker pay by 344 times.

• Face-to-face with myself over college tuition
I guess I should hate myself.

• Certainty, the foe of a peace that surpasses all understanding
You never thought you'd be here. You're 50 years old, and you're sitting in East Je rusalem in the garden bar at the American Colony Hotel having a last drink. Sunlight drains from the sky, lingering gold as midday in the tops of palm trees. Songbirds splash in the garden's central foun tain. There are flowers everywhere in the shadows where you sit, blue and gold and white within the white stone walls.

• The people who made the convention fun
If Ruthi and I had wanted to go to the stadium to hear Barack Obama's acceptance speech, we would have had to leave our hotel around noon and sit for hours in what I presume is a football field. Instead, we flew home, where we were guaranteed far more comfort and a considerably better view.

• Testing our faith that capitalism means freedom
It was an Olympic Games staged, a prominent reporter noted, "on a lavish scale never before experienced," in which the host nation "put up a very good front for the visitors, especially the big businessmen." The pre-Olympics talk of a boycott seemed silly, suddenly. The Olympic Games were such a stunning success that, the New York Times editorialized, they put the host nation "back in the fold of nations" by making it appear "more human again." The staging was so impressive that it was almost possible to overlook ag gression occurring elsewhere in the world or the indications that the host nation had little or no regard for basic human freedoms.

• The Jersey returns are already in
DENVER-- From where we are, we don't see protesters. We don't see cops in riot gear. And we don't see a lot of reporters or cameras. All is peaceful and quiet. We do lead a sheltered life here.

• Ted Kennedy shows he can still inspire
All the world may not be a stage, but the Denver convention hall sure is. Everything is programmed to the last word and the last sentence. If you are in the Pepsi Center, you are so far away from the action that you can really watch it only on a TV screen.

• Obama will lose if he doesn't attack
Make no mistake: Barack Obama is in trouble -- deep trouble. With the latest Reuters-Zogby poll showing Obama five points behind, John McCain has the edge and the Obama campaign is the one that appears unfocused, undisciplined and without a message.

• At the forum, a political test, not a religious one
Tuning into the Saddleback Forum last weekend, my initial reaction was similar to others' in that John McCain ap peared to best Barack Obama, at least by the expectations that figured Obama had little to lose and could gain much given his ease in speaking about his Christian faith.