Talent ready to address issues in Senate race

P Control of the U.S. Senate may hinge on the outcome of this contest between a former U.S. representative and a sitting U.S. senator.

This last week, former U.S. Rep. Jim Talent made it official. He is in the race for next year's U.S. Senate seat currently held by Jean Carnahan.

Talent brings to the race a strong record at the state and national level. Running for governor last year, he carried nearly 80 of 114 counties and came within 23,000 votes of winning the governor's race.

There is no question that the aura of widowhood clings to Carnahan like a shroud. This Tuesday it will be a year since the tragic plane crash that killed her husband, her son and a longtime, trusted aide.

Moreover, a lightning strike some weeks ago hit her farmhouse outside Rolla, igniting a fire that did substantial damage. Missourians naturally sympathize with a woman who has been through so much inside one year.

By this time next year, however, it will surely have been time for Missourians to move beyond such natural feelings of sympathy and focus on the issues vital to our country at this critical time and in this crucial race. Given the fact that control of the U.S. Senate may well hinge on its outcome, the stakes could hardly be higher.

Among many others, Carnahan's vote against the confirmation of Attorney General John Ashcroft is on the table for discussion. The extraordinary circumstances of the plane crash, followed by Ashcroft's defeat by a dead man, would have been exploited by a person of lesser character. Instead, displaying a dignity and graciousness exceedingly rare among today's grasping political class, Ashcroft conceded the election and paved the way for Carnahan to be appointed to the seat -- the multiple legal and constitutional issues notwithstanding. Ashcroft's was a gesture so classy that it won nationwide attention. Then Carnahan, as a brand-new senator, voted against confirmation of our former governor and senator as attorney general.

Let the debate begin, and let it be waged on the issues facing our state and nation.