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James Joyner | Sunday, June 1, 2003

WaPo has several interesting stories today, rather unusual for a Sunday paper.

The lead story, of course, is the capture of Olympic bombing suspect Eric Rudolph who was arrested essentially by accident by a rookie cop after being chased for seven years by hundreds of FBI agents. I’m not sure why it is, but it always seems to be the case in these long manhunts that the actual capture is mundane. The Unabomber case is the most obvious example.

States Use Gimmicks To Tackle Deficits illustrates the absurdity of state balanced budget amendments. The idea that governments shouldn’t be able to do what citizens do, borrow to meet necessary expenses, has long struck me as silly. Faced with several years of declining revenues and increased demands for services, the states have reached the limits of their ability to raise taxes and cut marginally popular programs. So, rather than risk their political futures by cutting popular programs, governors and legislatures come up with accounting gimmicks to borrow without looking like they’re borrowing. (Amusingly, the story also uses and old OTB caption contest photo.)

They have an interesting profile on Senator John Kerry that is prominently featured on the front page of the print edition which then continues inside. They paint him as a genius Alpha Male whose only problem is that he appears to be overly optimistic about the future.

There is also an interesting profile of terrorism expert Brian Jenkins.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia with his wife and infant daughter.

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