HANCOCK SEEKS MORE LIMITS

Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Springfield, says he will be back with a version of a tax-limitation amendment that goes further than Amendment 4, whose fate Missouri voters will decide on April 2. Hancock, father of the original tax limit he spirited to voter approval in 1980, is to be commended for his interest. The ill-fated effort of 1994's Hancock II, however, will leave many Missourians inclined to scrutinize any such effort very closely. In the eyes of 70 percent of Missouri voters, that measure simply went too far.

Rep. Hancock says he has 16 versions this time. Let's hope he gets it right. A crucial component of leadership is making prudent judgments about what will work and what can be sold to Show Me State voters.