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EDITOR
Erin Gibson
OPINION
EDITOR
Cliff Hicks
EDITORIAL
BOARD
Nancy Christensen
Brad Davis
Sam McKewon
Jeff Randall
Bret Schulte
Our
VIEW
The votes
are in
Americans show they ’re
tired of name-calling
Some political pundits predicted that in
Tuesday’s election American voters would
overwhelmingly choose Republican candi
dates.
They didn’t.
The pundits said the American people
were tired of President Clinton’s shenani
gans in the Monica Lewinsky case and
would not elect his Democratic cohorts to
Congress.
They were wrong.
Republicans were hoping the supposed
dissatisfaction with the White House scan
dal they had been trumpeting for months
would pay off in Tuesday’s election.
It didn’t.
Instead, American voters spoke a clear
message: The Clinton and Lewinsky affair
didn’t matter in the election. Americans
were sick of hearing about it. And they
were sick of Republicans riding a wave of
self-righteousness against Clinton.
Though Republicans did not lose their
majorities in the House of Representatives
or the Senate, they did lose key seats with
the defeat of U.S. Sens. Alfonse D’Amato
of New York and Lauch Faircloth of North
Carolina.
Regardless of which political party lost
or gained seats, Americans let it be known
that - although they did not support
Clinton’s perhaps immoral actions in the
White House - they would not be fooled by
! .{pofitic^spin doctoring and grandstand
ing.
Too much has been made of Clinton’s
impropriety - especially at a time when the
country is mainly doing well.
We now must hope Congress will work
across party lines, using this time of great
economic strength to better more lacking
parts of the nation.
Too often during the time since the last
election, both Republicans and Democrats
have been unwilling to compromise and
have been ruled by the opinion poll.
Most of these newly elected, or re
elected, candidates must realize they were
not chosen by a mandate, and they must
stay true to their constituents’ beliefs and
interests. They “must not cave to special
interests.
They will be charged with executing
perhaps one of the most important deci
sions that has faced the United States in
decades: whether to impeach the president.
Republicans and Democrats can use
this election to realize the voting public is
not interested in name-calling, moral
preaching or partisanship, but instead is
interested in continuing the country’s rela
tive success.
With the votes counted, plans foiled
and conclusions drawn, our nation’s repre
sentatives must now transcend the party
lines and petty politics.
That’s what voters did Tuesday.
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the Fall 1998 Daily Nebraskan. They do
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University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
Aooiumn is solely the opinion of its author.
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UNL Publications Board, established by
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content of the newspaper lies solely in
the hands of its student employees.
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Mook’s
VIEW
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Mercy killing
Deshler man ended his wife’s life out of love
! JOSH WIMMER is a
' senior news-editorial
major and a Daily
Nebraskan columnist.
So, folks, right now a Nebraska
man is in jail for performing proba
bly the most courageous act of his
life.
Does that sound stupid to you
too?
Let me back up and break it
down.
Last week Bob Ohlrich of
Deshler was charged with shooting
his wife to death.
He even confessed to the crime,
mere minutes after it happened. So
it sounds like it’d be an open-and
shut case.
But there are complications.
For one thing, Ohlrich is 76
years old. His wife, Phyllis Ohlrich,
was 74.
For another, they’d been married
56 years.
And most notably,
when Ohlrich
said he
had
killed his wife, she was at Thayer
County Hospital, dying slowly of
cancer. Hospital officials said she
didn’t have long to live.
According to reports, Phyllis
Ohlrich had told at least one friend:
“I just wish I could die. I’m ready to
go”
Her husband of more than half a
century granted her wish.
And for that, he’s being charged
with first-degree murder.
Am I the only person who thinks
this is ridiculous?
OK, people, we are not dealing
with another Ted Bundy or Robert
Bjorklund here. Ohlrich is a retired
farmer.
He was married to his wife for, I
say again, more than 50 years.
He must have known her better
than just about anyone.
According to county deputies,
when they showed up at the hospital
after Phyllis Ohlrich died, her hus
band shouted to be locked up
because he’d killed his wife.
And he has wept throughout
public legal proceedings.
Clearly, Ohlrich loved his wife.
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made the decision to kill her lightly.
I think he knew her as well as any
one could have.
And if he killed her, I don’t
think he would have
done it unless he
Thayer County Attorney Dan
Werner said “mercy killing” was a
contradiction in terms. He asked,
“Is any killing merciful?”
Yes, some killing is.
I don’t know if County Attorney
Werner has a dog. But if he does, I’d
bet $ 100 that if the dog was in pain
and dying, Werner’s veterinarian
would recommend putting it to
sleep. And I bet Werner wouldn’t
hesitate to do that, either.
It’d be the merciful thing to do.
It’d be cruel to let the pet hurt.
For whatever insane reason,
though, when a human being like
Phyllis Ohlrich is dying painfully,
doctors try to keep her alive as long
as possible, even if her life is noth
ing but suffering.
And putting an end to that suf
fering isn’t considered merciful
Instead, it’s called murder.
Why do we treat dogs better than
our own species?
And why is Ohlrich being
charged as a criminal for loving his
wife so much, he had to give her
up?
To add insult to injury, he almost
didn’t get to attend his wife’s funer
al.
His attorney had to battle
Werner, who said, “It is in the best
interest of the public that (Ohlrich)
not be allowed to attend.”
Oh, yeah. A grieving 76-year
old man flanked by sheriff’s
deputies poses a serious threat.
Fortunately, a sensible judge let
Ohlrich attend his wife’s services. I
hope the judge who presides over
his case will be that clearheaded.
That judge should see Ohlrich
for who he is: a man who was so in
love, he was willing to risk his
remaining years, as well as a broken
heart, to save his wife from pain.
As for the jury who’ll decide the
case - no one should have to go
through what Ohlrich did. He had to
make a terrible decision, and, with
no time to grieve, he was swept into
a legal battle. His 12 peers should
see he’s suffered enough.
They must acquit him.
Werner has said the prosecution
will not be seeking the death penal
ty in Ohlrich’s case. That should be
a relief.
. But the truth is, if Ohlrich were
convicted, if for some ungodly rea
son he were punished in any way for
his wife’s death - then maybe the
most merciful thing we could do
would be to kill him.
He’s too good for this world.
