It’s a special day for the La Crosse area — a major-party candidate for president is coming to town to speak.

Of course, we also hope Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., uses his time here to listen.
Regardless of your party affiliation, the visit of a presidential candidate provides a special opportunity to participate. We’ve had the same message with candidates of both parties, and we would certainly urge participation if and when Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, comes to town.

The La Crosse area is getting a lot of practice hosting noteworthy politicians — especially during the past decade as Wisconsin has become a pivotal state.

Whether you’re a Democratic campaign worker who is being rewarded by Obama’s visit scheduled for today or whether you’re a Republican or independent, it’s valuable to take the opportunity to hear a candidate for yourself.

It’s an exciting civics lesson. And, it’s really history in the making, so we encourage everyone — no matter your political affiliation — to be a part of that history.

We hope both Obama and McCain are better able to articulate a key question that they both fumbled during Friday night’s debate.

Moderator Jim Lehrer was right on the mark when he asked the candidates which priorities would have to be trimmed or eliminated because of the pending financial bailout.

After all, to paraphrase the late Sen. Everett Dirksen of Illinois: A trillion here and a trillion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money.

That type of financial drain will clearly mean some of the priorities for either candidate will not be funded.

Clearly, the two candidates need to articulate the items that will fall off the wish list if the bailout is finally approved by Congress later this week.

Part of what fuels a lack of trust for politicians is the lack of candor about the things we need to hear, even those things we don’t want to hear.

We need to hear the reality of what the financial bailout will mean for Main Street, not just Wall Street. We need to know what government won’t be able to provide. We need to know what the priorities are n and how we as citizens can play a more meaningful role in setting those priorities.

That’s the type of candor we need in Washington. It’s also the sort of participatory democracy that continues to be vital for our future.

That’s why we urge you to participate today and throughout the campaign — and for the future

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