The editorial board continues its series on food diplomacy. Today it suggests a modern-day candy-bombing campaign:

In 1948, a first lieutenant in the Air Force named Gail Halvorsen began dropping candy bars attached to tiny handkerchief parachutes to the hungry children of Berlin. Many had never tasted chocolate before. The kindness of the "Candy Bomber” came to symbolize the spirit of American humanitarianism. Now the United States gives billions of dollars in humanitarian aid each year, yet the country is widely disliked by the publics of the largest beneficiaries, such as Pakistan and Egypt.

The global food crisis offers the United States a fresh opportunity to show the world its humanitarian mettle.

On the Op-Ed page, author Jeremy Scahill says no matter who wins in November, Blackwater's future is bright. Columnist Gregory Rodriguez argues that the more we live globally, the less we connect locally. And the New Republic's James Kirchick says Bush never lied about Iraq.

Readers discuss The Times' traffic series on the letters page. Pacific Palisades' Don Scott doesn't want more freeways: "We need a subway to LAX, not more freeways to Rialto."

*Cartoon by Jeff Danziger, CWS