If you haven’t been watching the news this morning you might not know that former Prime Minister of Pakistan and until today the current major challenger to President General Pervez Musharraf, Benazir Bhutto, was murdered in a suicide bombing of a rally. It is an assassination that has rocked Pakistan and could cause further instability in the region.

The tragic event is a reminder on the eve of our election. A reminder of several things. First that as difficult and bloody as the move toward democracy in the developing world is in comparison to the relative stability in our own country, we shouldn’t forget that our own fight for liberty was not without bloodshed and the threat of tyranny and treason. The American Revolution was paid for with the blood of many people and it has unfortunately been upheld that way.

Second, that our American system is a wonderful and vibrant one in which the masses do not resort to the destruction of the rule of law simply for political gain. We peacefully exchange power and hold free elections. In a weeks time the splendor of our system will be on full display in Iowa and then New Hampshire and it will continue on through November. We too have faced assassination’s and we did so without the destruction of liberty and justice and without forsaking the rule of law.

Finally it is a reminder of the harsh realities and the difficult choices facing our nation’s next commander-in-chief and head of state. The next president will oversea a world that is crumbling in the area of personal liberty and freedom of choice while it is at the same time giving birth to amazing new technology and philosophy. Our world is a complex and wonderful place with few easy answers, unfortunate horror and many possible directions on which we may travel.

Now is the opportunity to elect a leader who will see us through these difficult times, who will maintain our liberty and justice in the face of great strife and build bridges to a better and lasting future.

According to a report from the Washington Post:

The U.S. Secret Service expects to borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard an ever-expanding field of presidential candidates, while shifting 250 of its own agents from investigations to security details.

Burdened by the White House’s wartime security needs, the persistent threat of terrorism and a field of at least 20 presidential contenders, the Secret Service was showing signs of strain even before the Department of Homeland Security ordered protection for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) as of May 3, the earliest a candidate has ever been assigned protection in an election season.

Its $110 million-plus budget for campaign protection — two-thirds more than the record $65 million it spent for the 2004 election — was prepared when the service did not expect to be guarding Obama or anyone else until January. The agency has already been forced to scale back its efforts to battle counterfeiting and cybercrime.

Today the continued furor over radio personality Don Imus’ racial slur on air grew with MSNBC & CBS Radio announcing a two week suspensions that, oddly, doesn’t start for another week. Do they not understand the idea behind suspension?

Anyway I only mention it because it has ‘08 implications. Many people including Sen. Joe Biden & Sen. John McCain regularly call into the show and praise the radio host. Sen. Chris Dodd actually announced his candidacy for the presidency on Imus’ show.

As more details about Imus’ past racialy insensitive material comes out, the calls for his ouster and for ‘08 candidates to disavow him will only grow. One very disturbing recount came from former Secretary of Defense William Cohen who is married to a black woman and was on the receiving end of some wretchedly insensitive and very racist jokes and comments by Imus awhile ago.

Howard Stern, no stranger to controversy, today recounted stories about Imus referring to black people outright by the N Word in the halls of the radio station they both worked in at one time. Sen. John McCain & former Gov. Mike Huckabee both affirmed that they accepted his apology and would be back on the show.

I do have one pretty big thought on this subject and I will try to keep it less about my opinion and more an open question.

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- Tech Digest says that Edward’s camp isn’t getting the whole micro-blogging/twitter deal.

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- Ramesh Ponnuru at National Review Online takes a look at Giuliani’s abortion philosophy. Meanwhile Giuliani continues to explain his belief that 1) Abortion is wrong and he is against it 2) Woman have the right to chose 3) states should decide if they want to fund abortions. This is while he campaigns to try and bring conservatives into his camp.