Twenty-Eight Questions

"Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory."

- John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian born American economist

In late January, 2003, I cited a Rich Lowry article at National Review Online in which Lowry discussed contradictions between John Kerry's Senate voting record and statements he's been making in his recent campaign speeches.

Today, I ran across a column by syndicated columnist George Will, in the Sacramento Bee, in which he presses Kerry for answers to a number of questions that are bothering him:

"...what does the adjective mean in the phrase 'special interest'? Is the National Education Association a special interest? The AFL-CIO?"

"Is the National Rifle Association a 'special interest'? Is 'special' a synonym for 'conservative'?"

"When you denounce 'lobbyists' do you include those for Planned Parenthood and the Sierra Club? Is 'liberal lobbyist' an oxymoron?"

"You say the rich do not pay enough taxes. In 1979 the top 1 percent of earners paid 19.75 percent of income taxes. Today they pay 36.3 percent. How much is enough?"

"You say the federal government is not spending enough on education. President Bush has increased education spending 48 percent. How much is enough?"

Will poses twenty more queries for Mr. Kerry. Frankly, I'd also like to hear his responses, for if Kerry should win the Democratic nomination and be elected, they will become important to me too.

So how about it, John? Take a shot at giving us some answers. I'd prefer thoughtful, serious ones, not rants. I'm waiting...