By ARTHUR I. CYR, Scripps Howard News Service

The Oct. 2 vice presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis between Sen. Joe Biden and Gov. Sarah Palin provided neither a draw nor a knockout, but rather revealed strengths of each candidate. Biden clearly was the more comfortable and informed on the details of policy; Palin excelled at providing a fresh presence and emphasizing her lack of connection with Washington.

The extended Wall Street turmoil resulting from the housing and subprime lending crisis contains major challenges, reinforced by the current media propensity for scare headlines and alarmist editorials.Political leaders have helped to feed public anxiety.

Republican presidential and vice-presidential nominees Sen. John McCain of Arizona and Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska have largely succeeded in generating enthusiasm among Republican faithful at the St. Paul, Minn., convention. To win this fall, they must promote a vision that will be persuasive with the electorate as a whole.

Sen. John McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice-presidential running mate guaranteed headlines and likely greater public interest in the Republican national convention, which opened Monday in St. Paul, Minn.

The China Olympics and the classic film "Chinatown" may seem to have nothing in common beyond the name of a major nation, but there is an association with direct implications for the international community. Current congressional movement on the Great Lakes Compact is a catalyst that joins the two topics.

Very dangerous and brutal men steadily are being brought to justice. Radovan Karadzic, just arrested by Serbian authorities, was a principal leader of the breakaway Serb regime in Bosnia during the ethnic warfare of the 1990s. Ingenious disguises and safe houses, maintained by a network of sympathizers in the region, permitted him to remain free for 13 years.

John Ashcroft, former U.S. Senator as well as Attorney General, has been featured in congressional hearings on use of torture during his tenure at Justice. Democrats have stressed immorality of torture, in particular waterboarding, while Republicans rejoin that such painful practices have prevented a second 9/11.

Terrorist attacks in Turkey have largely been overshadowed in media attention by those in Afghanistan and Iraq. As a result, a vital United States ally is being overlooked -- a very serious mistake.

The Fourth of July celebrates community, local as well as national. Parades featuring people in uniform -- scouts, firefighters and police as well as the military and others -- traditionally are a fixture. Military uniforms remind us of the role of war in our history -- and our present.

George W. Bush this week embarked on what will almost certainly be his last visit to Europe while in the White House. The itinerary included a Slovenia summit with representatives of the European Union, plus meetings with leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the Vatican.