WHAT OTHER NEWSPAPERS ARE SAYING: VETO OVERRIDE ISN'T FACTOR IN PRISON SITE

We have never pretended to fully understand the political arena. But we do know this. Gov. Mel Carnahan will not, as news reports have indicated, overlook Charleston as a new prison site simply because the GOP senator who represents Charleston is seeking to override the governor's veto. To do so would be a political disaster on the governor's part and would harm a community that has long held strength for the Democratic party.

The news out of Jefferson City this week expressed concerns that Carnahan would not look favorably on Charleston as a new prison site because Sen. Peter Kinder represents that district. Kinder has pledged to seek a veto override on a partial birth abortion bill that Carnahan recently killed. Kinder has some strong support among leaders of both parties and his veto override attempt might just be successful. An override would embarrass Carnahan and some pundits feel the threat of the override might just be enough to move Carnahan away from choosing Charleston as a new prison site. You'll remember that a joint legislative committee recommended Charleston as the top choice for one of the two new planned prisons.

For Carnahan to make good on that threat would not sit will in any quarter of the state. Whether you favor a prison for Mississippi County or not, the evaluation process has been complete and Charleston topped the list of hopefuls. The governor is not bound by that recommendation but he'd better have some strong reasoning to choose otherwise. And Kinder's override attempt is not nearly enough reason in our opinion.

We applaud Kinder's determination to stick to his guns. He believes strongly in the partial birth abortion bill and has voiced that view since the beginning of his political career. But that would never be in the cards for Kinder and we commend him for that determination.

It's time the governor announced his site selections for these two new prisons. Actually, it's past time. When the announcement is made, we fully expect Charleston to be selected. If that's not the case, we'll be anxious to hear the reasoning.

Michael Jensen is the publisher of the Standard-Democrat.