The Larry Kane Report

Some good vibes in the news today.

First of all, proper outrage over a Philadelphia crisis. Thanks for the thoughtful notes on my disgust over how the new Philadelphia crime wave is causing us grief and embarrassment. I’ll stay on top of this. City Hall must pay as much attention to the cost of crime as it does to zoning for new construction.

A refreshing change in Iraq. We got candor from the commanding General, George Casey. General Casey says the entire war has changed from a battle against the U.S. and the coalition to an internal struggle for control. He also emphasized that the situation on the ground is worsening. It appears that he is ready and willing , without using the words, to declare that this is a civil conflict. And he wasn’t afraid to confirm that the government in power in Iraq is failing. Is this a critical battle in the war against terror? We didn’t get that message from General Casey.

In Virginia, Senator George Allen confirmed that he has a Jewish heritage, after trying to dance around the subject in a debate the other night. His “dance’ made it look like he was afraid to admit it, as if Virginia voters would punish him for the fact that his parents were once Jews threatened by fascism in Italy. Turns out that he knew all along that he had Jewish roots. At least that campaign controversy is over. He should have taken a cue from General Casey. Candor always beats cow chips.

Even more decent news out of Washington where the President has reached a compromise with rebels in his own party over a bill on interrogation methods. This is a good thing. The President wanted to vary from the Geneva Conventions in allowing tough questioning of suspected terrorists, bordering on torture. This is a big victory for Senator John McCain, a former P.O.W. who understands what torture is all about, and feared what might happen to our troops if the so called ‘torture bill” passed.

All kinds of polls surfaced in the Casey Santorum race. Two polls had Casey up by 12 to 20 points. Terry Madonna, of Franklin and Marshall College, and a personal favorite of mine, had Casey up anywhere from 5 to 7 percent. All three polls had Governor Ed Rendell with a huge lead over Lynn Swann, the football legend. The polls I am eagerly waiting for are on the three Congressional districts in the Pa. suburbs where Republicans Curt Weldon, Mike Fitzpatrick and Jim Gerlach are getting stiff challenges from Democrats. Whatever the polls say now, the Santorum-Casey battle will be loaded with suspense right down to the wire.

Gas prices are down, again. This is always good news.

And finally, somewhat of a Mideast miracle. Palestinian Prime Minister Abbas says his Hamas-led government will recognize Israel. That’s a start, but a false one. Hours later, the Hamas faction in Gaza said it would not recognize Israel. Still, there is a bit of hope.
And you thought all reporters were pessimists.