"Accompanied by Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, who bought [Sen. John] Kerry a cowboy hat in Albuquerque's Old Town - a black one, at that - Kerry raised the bar of expectations for President George W. Bush's visit to Albuquerque on Wednesday.

Labeled by opponents as a liberal, East Coast senator, Kerry nevertheless chose to come here and to engage. He did not dodge the issues that are important to the people who live here.

Like Kerry, the president needs to address issues that are important to the welfare of New Mexicans and Westerners, including:

American Indian issues, including economic development, federal Indian health care, gaming, treaty obligations and the serious deficiencies of the Indian trust fund."

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EDITORIAL: Candidates should tackle Western issues (The Albuquerque Tribune 8/10)

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