KALAPAKI — Gov. Linda Lingle Saturday night made was she called her last personal fund-raiser prior to the 2004 campaign season. The governor spent the weekend on Kaua‘i at her “birthday bash” Saturday night, which was held for the governor
KALAPAKI — Gov. Linda Lingle Saturday night made was she called her last personal fund-raiser prior to the 2004 campaign season.
The governor spent the weekend on Kaua‘i at her “birthday bash” Saturday night, which was held for the governor at the Kaua‘i Marriott Resort & Beach Club, and stayed over for bill-signing and a scheduled proclamation given to Grandmaster Hong Liu, a medical practitioner who has been deemed a “Living Treasure” in China.
Several hundred well-wishers attended the fund-raiser, which was organized under the direction of Charlie King of King Auto Center, Allan Smith of Grove Farm, and former Kaua‘i mayor and state Senate candidate Maryanne Kusaka.
Lingle presented a slide show of her February visit to Iraq. Included were photos of Hawai‘i men and women serving in Iraq. She said seeing the “human” side of Iraq firsthand, compared to how the media portrays Iraq today, gives one a much clearer view of the reality of the war there. Lingle gave her support to President George Bush’s efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, and said everyone in Hawai‘i should be proud of U.S. actions there.
On the issue of the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Lingle said, “It’s an issue you can’t be 100 percent sure about — if we were it would be too late.” She said the killing of hundreds of thousand of people by Saddam Hussein was a righteous justification for going into Iraq.
She said during her trip she observed a major change in the status of woman in Iraq. “Woman were treated like pack animals” prior to the war, she said. “The mission is a right one,” Lingle said.
Chris Cook, editor, may be reached at ccook@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 227).
