Opinion: In today’s pages: Dungeons, Latinos and Hillary
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Joel Stein fondly remembers his days as a ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ devotee, and cartoonist Ted Rall wonders what would happen if Barack Obama had to answer that 3 a.m. phone call in the White House. Ronald Brownstein points out that Hillary Clinton inspires as much political passion in women as Obama does in youth, and Stanford University Hoover Institution fellow William Ratliff worries that without more sensible policy from Colombian, Venezuelan and Ecuadorean leaders, FARC will spark a larger Latin American conflict. Columbia University curriculum director Roosevelt Montás explains why Latinos love Hillary (hint: it’s not about race):
I suspect that two little-noted factors, both of them cultural rather than economic or ideological, account for the strength of Latino loyalty to Clinton: a residual comfort with political dynasties inherited from Latin American history, and the respect she commands for her family loyalty in the face of Bill Clinton’s marital failings. Both factors reflect traditional family values, a cultural trait among Latinos that political strategists like Karl Rove have exploited in the past.
The editorial board hails Mexico’s movement toward national judicial reform, and warns that the City Council crosses the line when it attempts to micromanage private companies’ personnel decisions. The board also says it’s all for giving Florida and Michigan a second chance to choose a Democratic nominee -- if they foot their own bill:
It’s time to declare an electoral Groundhog Day for Florida and Michigan and allow voters there another chance to help choose the Democratic presidential nominee. Ordinarily, this page objects to mulligans, do-overs and last-minute changes that erode respect for the rules of fair play. But there is a way to put the increasingly wacky nominating contest back on track, giving voters a say without rewarding the errant state politicians who broke the rules in the first place.
Readers react to a March 1 editorial on the healthcare industry’s practice of rescission. George Epstein writes:
I consider healthcare no different from police and fire protection, which everyone receives regardless of financial status. Likewise, health protection should be available to everyone.