Hawaii

During a recent press conference, President Obama referred to Hawaii — his home state — as being in Asia.  One wonders what sort of press coverage would have ensued if, say, George W. Bush or Rick Perry had said that Pearl Harbor is in Asia. Here's video (around the 35:17 mark):

Former two-term Republican governor of Hawaii Linda Lingle entered the 2012 Senate race last week to replace retiring Democrat Daniel Akaka. A new poll from Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows she may make a competitive showing in a state that has only elected one Republican to the U.S. Senate in its 61-year history.

Hawaii's Republican congressman Charles Djou has had a whirlwind first three weeks in office.

Fighting within the party over two Democrats on the ballot —former Rep.

Hawaii's special election to fill Rep. Neil Abercrombie's seat has been getting generous buzz for a week as Republican candidate Charles Djou has unexpectedly pulled even with possible Democrat challengers in Obama's home district. Abercrombie is running for governor.

Jim Geraghty on the race to fill Hawaii Democrat Neil Abercrombie's seat:

Via Roger Clegg, it appears that the Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act is back on the Congress’s docket; the bill would create a separate government for native Hawaiians along the lines of tribal governance that American-Indian nations now enjoy.

THE DAILY STANDARD welcomes letters to the editor. Letters will be edited for length and clarity and must include the writer's name, city, and state.

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To me, a 25 year USAF veteran and recent retiree, the most significant aspect of the offensive use of the Predator detailed in Christian Lowe's article (A New Breed of Predator) is that it was initiated not by any of the U.S. armed services, but by the CIA.

A DEFINING MOMENT isn't about reality, it's about unconscious public perception. For example: Dan Quayle will forever be remembered for his "misspelling" of the word potato, not because it was an important event, but because the public already suspected he might be a dummy. John Ashcroft will forever be a religious nut because the curtain over the boob symbolized what people suspected--that he was a little too devout for centrist America. Never mind that Quayle is both bright and capable or that Ashcroft isn't a Wahhabi nutcase (or that he never asked for the curtain).

CONSERVATIVES have good reasons to dislike Hawaiian politics.

A history of state-sponsored race discrimination is one of them. Until recently, the practice of setting aside public benefits (cash discounts, publicly funded programs, and more) for Hawaiians who could prove 50 percent or more of the blood in their veins came from genuine Hawaiian stock had gone uncontested. Such bennies were funneled through the state's Office of Hawaiian Affairs, whose officials were elected in statewide elections, but only by authentic card-carrying Hawaiians.