The bruising, nasty, unfair comments made by many Democratic senators in this week’s battle by Republican senators to force a vote on the confirmation of President Bush’s nominees for high judicial positions is further evidence of how vicious partisan politics has become. This should be of great concern to those who worry about the deepening division in this country and the dangerous consequences of that divide.

Bush’s six nominees all have compiled distinguished records and have received strong bipartisan support from their respective states. They excelled in school, and their judicial records are outstanding. And yet, because they did not pass a litmus test designed by a number of Democratic senators, there will be no “up or down” vote on their confirmation by the full Senate.

Rather, Democratic senators, such as Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts, a man with a less-than-perfect record of honesty and proper personal behavior, called the nominees “Neanderthals” and dared Bush to nominate other “Neanderthals.” Others called the nominees “turkeys.” Time and time again, during the 39-hour Senate filibuster, the nominees were accused of all types of bias, poor performance and “radical, far-right” beliefs.

Who wants to put up with such attacks or to expose their families to such treatment? How can decent, honest, knowledgeable individuals be encouraged to accept nominations for highly visible positions? If such a battle plan was designed and waged by a group of Democratic senators on these nominations, imagine what the fight will look like on anyone Bush might nominate for a seat on the Supreme Court of the United States.

It is an ugly picture and one that is sure to divide this country even further. There appears to be pure hatred by some Democrats who are determined to do anything they can, say anything they can, to defeat Bush in the upcoming election.

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Members of the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission are to be congratulated for their efforts to bring one of the presidential debates to Lawrence and Kansas University. The city, the university and the state need more people who dream big and aren’t willing to settle for the status quo.

Led by Clenece Hills, the group decided to go after one of the debates and put together a well-designed and informative bid for the event. The bid was good enough to qualify Lawrence as a finalist and earn the city a visit from members of the Commission on Presidential Debates to check out the site and meet with the local committee. Hills and her committee made the commitment that Lawrence could secure the required $750,000 to show good faith and financial stability, and they had a large, diverse group that could have delivered on the commitment if the city’s bid had been accepted.

This writer had been told by an individual who will play a major role in the Bush presidential debate team that there is no assurance there will be three debates because the Democratic and GOP candidates, not the Commission on Presidential Debates, will make the decision on how many debates there will be, when they are held and every other facet of the debate process.

Even if Lawrence had made it into the final three, there is no assurance there will be three debates, and, in fact, there is a good possibility there will be only two, maybe just one.

Nevertheless, Hills and her group are to be congratulated for their efforts. It was a challenging exercise, but it showed Lawrence and KU can put together a fairly compelling story on the attractiveness and assets of this community.

Such an effort may not have paid off this time, but it should have demonstrated to local residents and leaders that when there is a legitimate challenge, something truly worthy of a community effort to benefit the city, KU and/or the state, there are those in Lawrence who have the ability, vision, commitment and desire to aim high and answer the challenge.

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With the KU basketball season about to get under way, it is hoped the KU crowd performance will be as good as the performance displayed by the players and coaches. There is an increasing number of incidents surrounding college sports that reflect unfavorably on the teams and schools, as well as the communities in which these ugly events take place. Emotions run high at sports events, and every effort should be made to make sure KU basketball fans behave well and never interfere with those on the court — before, during or after the games.

If and when some people misbehave, they should be dealt with as severely as the law allows.

KU enjoys a good reputation for the manner in which it plays host to athletic events, and it is important that fans, players and coaches continue to behave in a manner that reflects credit on the school and the community. The behavior of KU athletic teams traveling to off-site events has been a source of pride, but the recent slashing of tires on the vehicles of Nebraska fans was a black mark on Lawrence and KU.

Such incidents cannot be tolerated, nor can ugly, poor sportsmanship be accepted at KU athletic events.