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they would like to see the group choose not to
build a large, antebellum-style fraternity house
in Athens' oldest, historically black neighbor
hood. They may have to wait until UGA's Oct. 3
deadline arrives before finding out if the group
has enough interest in River Road for that to
happen. But Bennett won't be surprised if he
doesn't know much definitive until that day,
either. “One never knows how these discussions
will turn out," he says. “You never know until the
actual day."
Ben Emanuel ben@flagpole.com
Capitol Impact
Uninspired Choices
When you look at the ballot for this year's
race for governor, you almost find yourself
wishing there was some way that both of the
candidates could lose. Georgia is one of the
fastest-growing states, with challenges that get
bigger by the day: un
der-performing schools,
overcrowded highways,
shrinking water sup
plies, and a burgeoning
population of undocu
mented immigrants.
If you still believe, as
some do, that these
are the kinds of issues that should be thought
fully addressed by those who aspire to lead our
government, then you're headed for a big disap
pointment as the weeks tick down before elec
tion day.
What are your choices here? You have a
Republican incumbent, Gov. Sonny Perdue, who
spent his first four years in office doing as little
as possible in hopes that he wouldn't make any
voters angry. That turned out to be a smart strat
egy for Perdue, who went into the general elec
tion campaign with a healthy lead in the polls
and enough money from corporate contributors
to choke a South Georgia mule.
The drawback of being an inactive governor,
however, is that the problems you ignore don't
go away. They just get worse. You also find your
self without much to talk about when you ask
the voters for another term in office. Perdue's
record is so lackluster that he's been reduced
to holding news conferences to brag about the
“fantastic" development that Georgia high school
students skyrocketed all the way from 49th place
to 46th place in the national ranking for SAT
scores.
Perdue's TV spots for the general election
ask the rhetorical question, "Why would we ever
want to go back?" That leaves unanswered the
question of whether Georgia actually went for
ward during the tast four years.
With Democratic It. Gov. Mark Taylor, you've
got Tweedledum going against the Tweedledee of
the Republican incumbent. One fat guy from the
rural part of the state is running against a slight
ly less fat guy from the rural part of the state.
Now there's a choice that will inspire you to get
up on election day and go to the polls.
Taylor has been tirelessly chanting the
same mantra since he was first elected to
Georgia's second-highest office eight years ago:
HOPE scholarships—good. PeachCare—good.
Republicans who try to mess with them—bad.
That's pretty much the extent of any policy ideas
he has for the future. No matter what else pops
up on the political radar, you can count on Taylor
to default to the same old talking points about
HOPE and PeachCare. That would be an effective
strategy if Taylor weighed 150 pounds less, was
named Zell Miller, and was running in the 1990
governor's race. But he's not.
If you're wondering which of these candidates
is the best person for tackling the knotty issues
facing our great state,
it really doesn't mat
ter. You could vote for
either one, or neither
one, and the results
would be pretty much
the same.
If Perdue wins
another term, which
it seems he will do, it won't make much differ
ence. He achieves lame-duck status as soon as
he takes the oath of office, while the politics of
the next four years is dominated by Congressman
Lynn Westmoreland, Speaker Glenn Richardson,
and the likely lieutenant governor, Casey Cagle,
fighting for position in the 2010 governor's race.
I suspect that Perdue wouldn't mind that very
much. He's always seemed to be a politician who
is happier when he's pulling on football jerseys
or donning motorcycle helmets for the TV cam
eras than when he has to do the icky stuff we
call governing.
If Taylor somehow pulls off a miracle and
wins on Nov. 7, so what? He will be a Democratic
governor gridlocked by a conservative Republican
legislature that won't bother to look at his policy
proposals. Another four years down the drain.
Those are your options: a man with no vi
sion versus a man with no future. You would
think that Georgians deserved a better choice
than this when they decide who will be the next
governor. But then you remember that it was the
voters who put these two guys on the ballot in
the first place.
Tom Crawford lcrawford@capilolimpad.nel
If you’re wondering which of these
candidates is the best person for
tackling the knotty issues facing our
great state, it really doesn’t matter.
Nor* of the dogs below are over 30 pounds - however the blonde fellow with the huge
ears is only a pup! He will be a good-natured giant Good on a leash • especially for his age.
Loves other dogs. The pretty black and tan girl
is already spayed and current on her shots. She
is a young adult alert and
friendly and ready to
The little white
below is a very fun
and sweet guy with kisses
for everyone. Ready to
snuggle or to plop over
and receive a beliyrub at
an instant's
baby Codie mix would be
excellent sturdy and sweet pup
for children. Unbelievably cute.
Unusual older EJkhound female
mix below. Brindle coat She
makes cute pug noises.
nooce.
22747
22741
22714
AM MB
/4CC ANIMAL CONTROL
September 14,2006 to
September 20, 2006:
•ACC ANIMAICONTROL
26 Dogs Received
28 Dogs Placed
ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY
44 Total Cats Received
13 Cats Placed i
i
O Adoptable Cats Euthanized
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