EDITORIAL: US Senate: Roberts has been part of Washington dysfunction, but he delivers for Kan.

Oct 25, 2008 (The Hutchinson News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- BA | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- The most positive statement to be made about the U.S. Senate race between Pat Roberts and Jim Slattery is that it mercifully is nearing the end.

The Roberts-Slattery race stands out as one of the ugliest in recent Kansas political history, which makes it difficult to endorse either candidate. But Roberts, the Republican incumbent, gets our nod.

Roberts' stay in Washington, D.C., spans nearly 40 years with stints as a congressional aide, a member of the U.S. House and for the past 12 years as senator.

Slattery, as a Washington lawyer, has been absent from Kansas politics for 14 years but previously served in the U.S. House. He is challenging Roberts for his Senate seat because he is dismayed with the direction this country is headed both domestically and globally. Slattery's stand against the war and his criticism of excessive government spending and economic deregulation make him an enticing choice. It is tempting to vote for wholesale change in Washington and retire Roberts.

But domination of the federal government by the Democrats could prove just as dangerous as complete GOP control was. And while Roberts is a Washington insider, that is not much of an argument against him in a race against Slattery, who hadn't been heard from since he left the state to became a Washington lobbyist.

For all of Roberts' failures on national issues, the senator has done much for Kansas.

Roberts' transformation into a Washington politician instead of a Kansas senator was punctuated by his blind allegiance to President George W. Bush. As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Roberts stalled and impeded the panel's investigation into how the Bush administration used faulty pre-war intelligence to persuade this nation to wage war in Iraq.

When the panel concluded its work, Roberts astonishingly noted he could see "intelligent justification" for every statement made by the Bush administration. Such inanity does not befit the straight-talking, common-sense senator Kansans first elected in 1996.

There is hope, though. Roberts' campaign themes remind us of the Roberts of old. And he deserves credit for wielding his influence to the benefit of Kansas.

Though initially asleep at the wheel, Roberts stepped up when Boeing was about to lose a fair shot at the contract for a new military air-refueling tanker.

He has encouraged expansion of Fort Riley and construction of new research facilities at Kansas universities.

He says he wants to protect Medicare for Kansas seniors and rural communities.

If Roberts is honest about fighting for Kansans -- that goes for the small farmer, not just corporate ag -- if he can restore his Kansas foundation and, most importantly, if he again can be accessible to his constituents and attuned to their needs, then voters should re-elect him Nov. 4.

This is not a hearty endorsement of Roberts. He needs to serve like the Roberts of old and reclaim the trust of his home state, not continue to seek the company and comfort of partisan politics. Somewhere inside this Washington senator is the man who used to like calling himself a senator from Kansas.

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