Thursday, Oct. 12, 2000 | 9:17 a.m.
Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursday. Reach her at [email protected].
The numbers are numbing.
There are so many statistics, polls and budget calculations being referred to by political candidates that the average voter has to be completely befuddled.
Both on the local and national levels candidates toss out numbers with the vow, "My plan is better than yours."
Numerical claims will intensify and figures will bounce around ad infinitum as the candidates gleefully point at the "budget surplus" and explain how they would spend, savor or squander it.
Meanwhile the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has issued a sobering report with some grim prognostications. According to the budget report, "If the nation's leaders do not change current policies ... federal deficits are likely to reappear and eventually drive the federal debt to unsustainable levels."
Typically, both parties are clamping onto the report to prove, "My plan is best."
The voters should remain skeptical when politicians play the numbers game. An old saying might be good policy to follow: "It may be so, but I don't know. It sounds so gosh darn queer. I really hate to tell you so. But you can't peddle that in here."
Added to the confusion of the numbing and bewildering numbers being bandied about are the "soft money" ads hitting the media.
This political season should teach us that campaign funding reform is a joke as long as there is "soft money" -- campaign contributions that require no accounting for and are not limited in the amount that can be donated to a political party or organized group. Advertising purchased by "soft money" is restricted to issues. Any clever ad man worth his sale can get around that and damage candidates by inference and misleading statements.
All the pontificating about campaign reform is so much dribble unless the issue of "soft money" is addressed.
Just about the time one begins to believe our society is headed for gloom and doom, an event comes along to prove the future is bright.
The open house at a school, which just happens to be named Ruthe Deskin Elementary, was an affair to remember. Hundreds of parents attended to meet teachers and become involved in their children's education.
It was definitive proof that the family is certainly alive and well in Las Vegas. School Board Trustee Lois Tarkanian complimented the staff and parents for their dedication to education, as Principal Dr. Shelly Channel introduced teachers, members of the parent-teacher organization and graciously acknowledged the presence of so many parents.
Parents deeply involved in the education and welfare of their children could have been the theme for the evening. Similar open houses are being held at our public schools all over the valley. I earnestly urge attendance at the school in your area.
Several readers have asked me why they have received a letter from U.S. Sen. candidate Rick Lazio (R-N.Y.) asking for financial support for his campaign. It's simple. Hillary Rodham Clinton's opponent has heard how well she has done collecting money in Nevada.
Now, he figures, it is his turn. Remember, what's sauce for the goose ...
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