Based on front-page headlines in area newspapers the past few weeks, a stranger might think basketball coaches, athletic directors and basketball games are the most important news stories of the day. The Journal-World is as guilty as any other newspaper, but because these headlines dealt with Lawrence/Kansas University stories, there might have been slightly more justification for the manner in which the J-W played these stories.

Nevertheless, the media went crazy over a basketball coach leaving the university, the firing of an athletic director and the hiring of a new basketball coach. How many stories in recent months have enjoyed the big-headline attention that the KU basketball and athletic director stories received? Who knows how the media will handle the search for and selection of a new athletic director.

There are other stories, however, that deserve just as much, or more, attention as the athletic-related stories that jumped from the sports section to the front page. Among them is the worsening budget crisis facing the people of Kansas. It is difficult to understand why Kansans are not outraged by the failure of state legislators and the governor to face up to the seriousness of this situation.

This isn’t something that happened overnight. It is mystifying, as well as frustrating, that Kansas legislators and the governor don’t have the courage to do something about this growing deficit rather than trying to make the public believe things aren’t as bad as some suggest.

Figures change from day to day, but, in general, if — and this is a highly questionable “if” — everything goes according to present projections, the state will head into the coming fiscal year that begins July 1 with a $250 million gap between expected revenue and approved spending. One way or another, legislators and the governor will agree on a plan to paper over this deficit by shifting funds, etc., and then thump their chests saying the state budget is balanced.

Most Kansans will say to themselves, “Well, this proves the budget situation isn’t as bad as some would like us to believe,” when, in fact, the deficit is becoming more serious every year.

The Band-Aid approach to the crisis doesn’t take into account the millions of dollars that already have been cut from various state programs: cuts to education, postponed highway projects, social service reductions and cuts in almost every other state-aided program. The cost of getting these programs back to their “pre-hard-times” level will be close to $800 million to $1 billion.

This is serious, and yet, the governor and legislative leadership refuse to come clean with the public. As one legislator said, there seems to be a “collective denial” on the seriousness of the matter. It’s as if the governor and lawmakers are walking though a dark, scary graveyard (although, in this case, it is a financial statement) aware of the ghosts but whistling all the way as if nothing is wrong. The governor and legislators may not be scared, but the public has every reason to be frightened.

The governor and legislative leaders seem to be playing a game of political chicken or waiting to see who will blink first on the budget crisis. Lawmakers may be having fun playing politics, but the public is not laughing. Where are the legislators who have the courage to base their actions on what is right for the state rather than worrying about who gets credit for what in the next election?

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Before the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom, this writer said there were bound to be those who are so opposed to anything President Bush supports or is identified with and that they will find fault with the military effort even if it is successful.

The military plan was highly successful and the so-called “blow-dried generals” who appeared on TV as knowledgeable observers and analysts should be embarrassed by their pessimistic predictions for the Bush-Rumsfeld-Franks plan. They couldn’t say anything good about the plan and were quick to fault the overall American-led effort. As it turned out, the plan was executed in a magnificent manner. It was quick and resulted in relatively little loss of life. Any deaths are terrible, but considering the number of troops involved and the hostile environment, casualties were low.

Bush’s critics were quick to blame him for the looting that took place as soon as Saddam was routed from office. They said United States forces should have secured museums, banks and other institutions. Next, they were critical of the companies awarded the first contracts to help rebuild Iraq, claiming these firms were controlled by Bush buddies or that the president was choosing firms to repay past political favors.

Such attacks are sure to continue, no matter how successful the Iraqi effort may be. His critics will keep pounding Bush at every opportunity on both the foreign and domestic fronts. They will use every tactic to try to bring Bush down, and the 2004 presidential campaign is likely to be the most mean-spirited in recent history.

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Kansas University fans should have learned a good lesson in the past three weeks. The university is greater than any one individual and, no matter how upset, angry or frustrated an alumnus or friend may be concerning the action or inaction of some KU officials, it is important to remember that the most important consideration in any situation is what is best for the university as a whole.