Opinion: In today’s pages
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The editorial board does a post-debate wrap-up exploring why 10 Republican candidates chose to come west:
The Western states, and California in particular, have been where Republicans go when they need an infusion of ideas and energy. The early primary schedule, the presence of the country’s most charismatic Republican governor and the eternal desire to tap into Reagan’s fading legacy are putting into play — at least for campaigning purposes — a state that hasn’t voted GOP since 1988. You wouldn’t know it from recent history, but California has often been good to the Republican Party. And the United States needs a GOP candidate who understands and maybe even shares the often iconoclastic values of the American West.
The board also weighs in on a stark review [pdf] of the ‘broken’ Los Angeles Unified School District and the French presidential election.
On the next page, Marc Cooper argues that Los Angeles Police Chief William J. Bratton is saying and doing the right things about the May 1 violence in MacArthur Park — so far. Former Wall Street Jorunal managing editor Norman Pearlstine analyzes why Rupert Murdoch wants the Journal. Columnist Joel Stein, fresh from his jaunt to a high school cafeteria, tries military pre-packaged meals, while Rosa Brooks also tries something new — name-calling and blessing Bill O’Reilly.
Letter writers react to the police response at MacArthur Park, including Van Nuys’ Art Verity, who notes that ‘a thug is a thug whether he wields a bottle and a rock or a baton and a badge.’