Harry Reid’s ‘lost’ war

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If former Nevada Gov. Mike O’Callaghan were still alive, I can only imagine his reaction to the pronouncement by his political protegé, Sen. Harry Reid, that the war in Iraq is “lost.”

It would not be restrained and it would not be particularly polite. If there was one thing the beloved Nevada governor (who lost a leg in the Korean War) didn’t like, it was anything — or anybody — who undercut the men and women of the military in harm’s way on foreign soil.

I imagine Mike taking Harry to the woodshed, something like this:

“What the hell are you thinking, son? Publicly calling the war lost while our soldiers are still under fire is irresponsible. Maybe when you were seen as just another senator from Nevada, you could get a way with this kind of rhetoric. But you are the Senate majority leader of the most powerful country in the world. What you say now — in these dangerous times and in your high position — means something. Soldiers may live or die based on what you say and do.”

Then I envision Boomer (a pet name for O’Callaghan) putting his arm around Harry and whispering this so that only Harry can hear:

“And let me tell you one thing … and you listen carefully … this better not be about politics. If you’re declaring the war lost not because you believe it but because you think this a chance to embarrass the Republican president, I’ll take you out back right now and kick your backside until you can’t distinguish Nancy Pelosi from Barbara Boxer.”

Or, so I think.

Serious problem

The stories swirling within the Nevada legal community about new District Judge Elizabeth Halverson are not good. The rumors are legion and, well, pretty ugly, not the least of which is courthouse chatter involving bags of urine in the judge’s trash.

I’ll leave the rumors to themselves. What is not a rumor is that Judge Halverson, elected last year to a two-year term on the bench, was recently stripped of her criminal docket by her fellow judges and given only civil cases. She has also lost most of her staff in fairly short order.

As anyone can plainly see, Halverson is morbidly obese. It is a condition that requires some structural accommodation at the courthouse, and it has raised many questions about her physical limitations and whether she has the stamina to do the job. But her physical condition isn’t (and shouldn’t be) what tips the scales.

She appears to also have been grossly incompetent on the bench. And that raises a whole new subset of questions about what to do next. Judge Halverson will come up for re-election in 2008, and I feel comfortable in saying that voters will undoubtedly solve the problem then. But something must be done in the meantime, no?

The administration of justice (and the perception of the administration of justice) is not to be taken lightly. I don’t see how the current situation can stand much longer.

Sherman Frederick is publisher of the Las Vegas Review-Journal and president of Stephens Media. Readers may write him at sfrederick@ reviewjournal.com.