Smart bombs: McCain’s come a long way

My first job at a daily newspaper was at the Mesa Tribune in Arizona, and my congressman at the time was a freshman named John McCain. Though a carpetbagger from the east, he was quickly anointed a rising star in Arizona’s Republican Party.

The paper also had a small Tempe tabloid edition with a mandate that its cover carry only local news. So on the night Korean Air Lines Flight 007 was shot down by Soviet jets, I wrote this giant headline:

“McCain demands action.”

Yes, an international incident was going to hinge on the reaction of a rookie congressman. We laughed about it then, but now McCain is poised to be one of two choices for president this fall. If he wins, “McCain demands action” will carry real meaning.

Vindication is sweet. Remember the big debate in 2003 over which restaurant should move into the city-owned site overlooking the Spokane Falls? It even became an issue in the council president race between Al French and Dennis Hession.

French wanted Cheesecake Café; Hession wanted Anthony’s. In fact, the first time the City Council voted on it, Hession was the lone holdout for the Seattle-based seafood restaurant.

But the bidding was reopened when the Spokane couple representing the Cheesecake Café pulled out of consideration. The Alberta-based chain regrouped and was once again pitted against Anthony’s, but this time it lost.

After that, Cheesecake Café opened a restaurant in Coeur d’Alene, but it announced this week that it is going out of business, according to an article in the Coeur d’Alene Press.

That would’ve been even tougher to swallow had the city made the wrong choice.

Road worriers. Some studded-tire believers probably feel vindicated now that the roads have been clogged with snow and ice. Never mind that a study at the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Web site shows that studs are advantageous only during rare glare-ice conditions, which are present about 1 percent of the time.

Though safety is the argument they cling to now, three things are certain:

1. Once the roads thaw, whether the pavement is wet or dry, the stopping time for those with studded tires will increase vs. those without.

2. Those with studs will suddenly ignore the safety rationale and not change their tires to reflect the changed conditions.

3. Studs will rip up the roads and create ruts, diverting money that could go to better snow removal.