In today's pages: On Bratton going, Specter staying, and dealing with Iran
The opinion pages offer two reactions today to LAPD chief Willam J. Bratton's announcement that he will be leaving the department in October, three years ahead of the end of his term.
Bratton was the right person in the right place at the right time, and it wasn't because of some East Coast brand of toughness and bluster. It turned out, in fact, that in addition to being a talented leader and police administrator, Bratton had an unusual knack for understanding the histories and sensitivities, the needs and demands of Los Angeles communities. From political scientist and thinker James Q. Wilson: When he came here, in 2002, Bratton faced a huge problem: Not enough police officers -- in New York City, he had 35,000; in L.A. then, about 9,000. There are nearly 10,000 now, but that problem still has not been solved. Still Bratton made the crime rate drop, for six consecutive years. The ed board also welcomes a challenge from Democrat Joe Sestak to new Democrat Arlen Specter, the former Repubclian and incumbent U.S. senator from Pennsylvania. We're not endorsing, but we're glad to see voters have a choice: But if a free pass for Specter would have benefited the Democratic strategy to retain control of the Senate, it would have been a disservice to democracy. A senator who virtually defines the term "entrenched incumbent" shouldn't be able to so easily evade the judgment of his new party. Rounding out the Op-Ed page, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold says engagement with Iran defies "both logic and history," and columnist Meghan Daum brands August the dumbest month, at least on TV.
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