PACKET EDITORIAL, April 22
By: Packet Editorial
Now that the war in Iraq is winding down (we hope), the weather has turned (we hope), the potholes are getting fixed (we hope), the new Princeton Public Library is going up, the opponents of the downtown garage are going to court and President Bush is heading out to Middle America to press his case for tax cuts, life from Princeton to Washington to Baghdad finally appears to be getting back to normal.
The first sure sign that we were making a safe return from the extraordinary to the familiar came when the all-news-all-the-time networks decided that discovering Laci Peterson’s body had become as important as finding any sign of Saddam Hussein. When talking heads droning on about the future of Iraq, the Middle East, the United Nations and America’s role in the world started sharing prime time with talking heads droning on about California’s most prominent murder case, we knew it was time to get back to our comfortable routines.
Of course, the networks have a lot of catching up to do. Imagine how much more we would know today about the Peterson family (not to mention their neighbors, their pets and everyone they went to grade school with) if that pesky war hadn’t gotten in the way. But because there were no embedded reporters in Modesto, and because all of America wanted a detailed recounting of what those returning POWs had for breakfast the morning they arrived in Germany, we missed the day-in, day-out drama of law enforcement officials revealing to inquiring reporters everything they didn’t know and couldn’t tell them about the Peterson case.
Speaking of the POWs, everyone is understandably thrilled about their swift and safe return from captivity. We were delighted to see the tumultuous welcome they received when their plane touched down in Texas, and we were moved by the sight of the former prisoners and their families joyously reunited over the weekend.
But what we don’t understand, frankly, is the rush by many in the media to characterize the former POWs as "heroes." Yes, they suffered through a harrowing ordeal, and yes, they deserve acclaim for their fortitude in surviving it. But in the truest sense of the word, the heroes are the daring soldiers who rescued them and others who exhibited uncommon bravery and valor in the face of enemy fire. Taking a wrong turn and getting captured is a terrifying experience, to be sure. But, as PFC Jessica Lynch herself put it, it’s hard to understand what all the fuss is about.
And speaking of fuss, there’s quite a little storm brewing on Capitol Hill once the nation’s attention turns from the war to the economy which it surely will as soon as the detour to Scott Peterson’s arraignment and pending trial has run its course. Having already authorized $79 billion to wage war in Iraq, and contemplating the considerably larger sum (estimated to be as high as $100 billion) it will require to create and keep the peace, Congress is getting skittish about going along with President Bush’s audacious tax-cutting scheme. The president’s plan to slash taxes by $726 billion over the next decade has already been scaled back to $550 billion by the usually compliant House, and knocked down to $350 billion by the more rebellious Senate.
So the president is headed for Ohio, where he will patiently explain to adoring audiences how a federal budget that is already out of balance can withstand spending billions more in the Middle East while simultaneously taking in billions less in federal tax revenues. This combination, he will tell them, will so stimulate the economy that the Treasury will soon be awash in money and deficit spending will be a distant memory.
A notorious California crime on the TV talk shows? Economic twaddle from the White House? Things really are getting back to normal.

