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4B Daily News– Wednesday, October 24, 2012 Opinion A kinder, gentler Romney DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Greg Stevens, Publisher gstevens@redbluffdailynews.com Chip Thompson, Editor editor@redbluffdailynews.com Editorial policy The Daily News opinion is expressed in the editorial. The opinions expressed in columns, letters and cartoons are those of the authors and artists. Letter policy The Daily News welcomes let- ters from its readers on timely topics of public interest. All let- ters must be signed and pro- vide the writer's home street address and home phone num- ber. Anonymous letters, open letters to others, pen names and petition-style letters will not be allowed. Letters should be typed and cannot exceed two double-spaced pages or 500 words. When several letters address the same issue, a cross section of those submit- ted will be considered for publi- cation. Letters will be edited. 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How to reach us Main office: 527-2151 Classified: 527-2151 Circulation: 527-2151 News tips: 527-2153 Sports: 527-2153 Obituaries: 527-2151 Photo: 527-2153 On the Web www.redbluffdailynews.com Fax Newsroom: 527-9251 Classified: 527-5774 Retail Adv.: 527-5774 Legal Adv.: 527-5774 Business Office: 527-3719 Address 545 Diamond Ave. Red Bluff, CA 96080, or P.O. Box 220 Red Bluff, CA 96080 It's a safe bet that President Obama misses the old Mitt Rom- ney — the one who described himself as "severely conservative." In their first debate in Denver, Romney outflanked the president by assuming the role of Moderate Mitt, a sweet-tempered fellow we hadn't met before. He promised he'd never reduce the share of the tax burden paid by wealthy Amer- icans, cut federal education spend- ing or restrict access to contracep- tives. Obama seemed flummoxed that the opponent he'd expected was a no-show. On Monday evening, Romney tried the same approach, this time on foreign policy. The Republican who'd spent most of a year promising to get much tougher on Iran and China was suddenly the soul of sweet reason. "We want a peaceful planet," he said. He politely congratulated Obama for arranging the demise of Osama bin Laden; he agreed blandly with Obama that American troops should be home from Afghanistan by 2014. On foreign policy, Mod- erate Mitt gave way to Mitt the Mild. ry campaign. "Your strategy … has been all over the map," Obama protested, pointing out that Rom- ney once wanted to keep troops longer in both Iraq and Afghanistan. But the GOP candidate shook his head and looked sorrowful. "Attacking me is not an agenda," he scolded — mildly. He even criticized Obama from the left, arguing that the incumbent hasn't put enough energy into for- eign aid programs in Pakistan and other Muslim countries to under- cut the growth of Islamic extrem- ism. ica's few remaining undecided voters that they have nothing to fear from a Romney presidency, the GOP campaign could break out a banner reading "Mission Accomplished." Except that would look too warlike. Romney's relentless agreeabili- ty left Obama to debate not the Romney he was facing, but the Romney of the Republican prima- If the aim was to assure Amer- "We can't kill our way out of this mess," Romney said, sound- ing eerily like one of Obama's lib- eral critics. It wasn't a genuine outbreak of bipartisan agreement; the two can- didates made it clear — in tone more than substance — that nei- ther thinks much of the other. And, to be sure, there were still disagreements. Romney charged that Obama had presided over a steady loss of U.S. influence in the world; Obama said that simply wasn't so. But voters who tuned in search- ing for clear distinctions between the two parties' foreign policies listened mostly in vain. And that's because the two can- didates had different goals. Rom- ney appeared intent primarily on avoiding mistakes. In unguarded moments, the GOP candidate has stumbled into foreign policy gaffes, pronouncing Russia the nation's No. 1 foe and questioning London's readiness for the Sum- mer Olympics. Only last week, he wrongly accusing Obama of failing to men- tion terrorism after the attack on the U.S. con- sulate in Benghazi. On Monday, Romney seemed determined to have no unguarded moments. The Republi- can candidate at the debate was as well-pre- pared and cautious as any politician in history. He was content to play for a tie. has criticized Obama's diplomacy for failing to achieve quick results, the Republican insisted that he wasn't calling for war. "A military action is the last resort," he said. He praised Obama's economic sanctions on Iran as "the right thing to do." Doyle Obama, on the other hand, looked and sound- ed like an underdog. The president, who has enjoyed an advantage in the polls on foreign policy all year, was intent on press- ing his edge — on making sure voters remembered who it was who killed Osama bin Laden and brought the troops home from Iraq. His message was that he knew how to run foreign policy, and Romney didn't. But with the Republican blandly agreeing with him much of the time, it was hard to land a punch. On Afghanistan, the Romney who once criticized Obama for setting a timetable for withdrawal said the calendar seemed fine. When Obama noted that Rom- McManus ing increase. "We spend more on our mili- tary than the next 10 countries combined," Obama complained. "The math (of Romney's propos- al) just doesn't work." Romney defended his arith- metic, but the confrontation allowed both candidates to pivot to the ground on which this election is really being fought: domestic economic policy. "It's time to do some nation On only one issue did the candidates clash directly: defense spending. Obama has called for modest cuts in the Pentagon budget over the coming decade; Romney has proposed a major fund- ney had called for deeper U.S. involvement in the civil war in Syria, Romney protested. "We don't want to get drawn into a mil- itary conflict," he said. And on Iran, where Romney building right here at home," Obama said, citing education, energy and scientific research. "I know what it takes to create 12 million new jobs," Romney said. Their body language suggested that this was the real battle; foreign policy was just a sideshow. But we, and they, knew that all along. Your officials STATE ASSEMBLYMAN — Jim Nielsen (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 6031 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 319-2002; Fax (916) 319-2102 STATE SENATOR — Doug LaMalfa (R) State Capitol Bldg., Room 3070 Sacramento, CA 95814 (916) 651-4004; Fax (916) 445-7750 GOVERNOR — Jerry Brown, State Capitol Bldg., Sacramento, CA 95814; (916) 445-2841; Fax (916) 558-3160; E-mail: gover- nor@governor.ca.gov. U.S. REPRESENTATIVE — Wally Herger (R), 2595 Cean- othus Ave., Ste. 182, Chico, CA 95973; 893-8363. U.S.SENATORS — Dianne Feinstein (D), One Post Street, Suite 2450, San Francisco, CA 94104; (415) 393-0707. Fax (415) 393-0710. Barbara Boxer (D), 1700 Montgomery St., Suite 240, San Francisco, CA 94111; (510) 286-8537. Fax (202) 224- 0454. Biden confesses ignorance Commentary Vice President Joe Biden stepped into a confessional and knelt. "Hey, Father, how you doing?" he said to the priest. "Well, Joseph, not so well of late. There is great concern among the religious community about actions the Obama administration has taken as part of ObamaCare." "What are you talking about, "Joseph, earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services issued a regulation, direct- ed by ObamaCare, that requires all non-church religious institutions, such as hospitals and schools, to provide employee health insurance that includes contraception, steril- ization and abortifacients." "But we fixed that one, Father. Rather than make religious employers pay for these things directly, we told the insurance companies they had to provide these things free!" Father?" "And you really think insurers are able to provide these things free, Joseph? They will not. The costs of contraception, sterilization and abortifacients will ultimately be rolled into the insurance premi- ums that religious organizations will pay — which is tantamount to providing financial support for things such as abortion — and reli- gious institutions cannot morally accept your 'fix.'" "Ah, c'mon, Father. You act like there is an assault on the Catholic church. I made it absolutely clear during my debate when I said that 'no religious institution — Catholic or otherwise, including Catholic social services, Georgetown Hos- pital, Mercy Hospital, any hospital — has to either refer contraception, none has to pay for contraception, none has to be a vehicle to get con- traception in any insurance policy they provide. That is a fact. That is a fact.'" religious beliefs — yet that is exactly what the government is now forcing us to do. And that is why there are more than 40 law- suits, brought on behalf of Catholic bishops and other religious organizations, to stop you." "Lawsuits, Father? "But you have your 'facts' wrong, Joseph. The U.S. Confer- ence of Catholic Bishops issued a letter that rebukes your statements completely. The letter says, 'The HHS mandate contains a narrow, four-part exemption for certain "religious employers." That exemption was made final in Feb- ruary and does not extend to 'Catholic social services, George- town hospital, Mercy hospital or any hospital,' or any other religious charity that offers its services to all, regardless of the faith of those served." Father. The bishops have no prob- lem with us!" "You aren't paying attention, Joseph, so let me be clear: The Catholic church cannot and will not pay for a government-mandat- ed insurance policy that funds and enables actions that violate our "That's a bunch of malarkey, news to you, Joseph: This matter is about much more than the right of a female student at a Catholic university to have contraception covered by her university-provided health insurance policy. It is about simple freedom, Joseph." Well, that's news to me." "Perhaps this is also "This country was founded on the concept of freedom, including religious freedom. Religious free- dom was the reason the Pilgrims came to America from England. The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees such free- dom: 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of reli- gion, or prohibiting the free exer- cise thereof; or abridging the free- dom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Gov- ernment for a redress of griev- ances." Father." "I'm not following, "So what is your point, Father?" "Joseph, by using the might of the federal government to tell reli- gious organizations what insurance products they must purchase for their employees, hasn't the government created a law that is prohibiting their free exercise of religion?" "Ah, heck, father, all we're trying to do is make insurers cover the cost of birth con- trol." Tom Purcell out to be. The truth of the matter is that you either misspoke or delib- erately misled people during your debate. I assume you entered this confessional to confess?" "Not at all, Father. I had to go to the bathroom and thought this was the john." ——— "It is a winning position for a politician to take, Joseph, but surely you understand that this issue as not as simple as you make it Tom Purcell, a humor columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, is nationally syndicated exclusively by Cagle Cartoons newspaper syndicate. Visit Tom on the Web at www.TomPurcell.com or e-mail him at Purcell@caglecartoons.com.