AUSTIN, Texas -- Aside from the fact that they look like Howdy-Doody and
Mr. Bluster, Dick Cheney appears to be an excellent choice for George W.
Bush. Sounds moderate, governs right. Very W. Bush.
Cheney's voting record is slightly to the right of wiggy. Against a
resolution to free Nelson Mandela after he had spent 23 years in prison?
Against abortion to save the life of the mother? Against a ban on cop-killer
bullets? Against Head Start and the Department of Education?
This was not in some prehistoric era when dinosaurs ruled Congress -- these
votes were considered extreme at the time. Yet one hears commentators who
dismiss Cheney's record as "irrelevant."
Speaking of the record, there's one that needs to be set straight. On a
busy news day, an important education report by Rand, the California think
tank, got relatively little coverage. That's a shame, because the study
confirms hopeful news about how to improve the public schools. Rand says
that smaller class sizes, enrolling more children in preschool, giving
teachers more classroom materials and targeting additional money for poor
children pay off.