Marietta Daily Journal
December 18, 2006

Isakson should do well on Foreign Relations panel

Those who have known Johnny Isakson were confident that it would not take long for him to establish a strong reputation in the U.S. Senate once he got there, and the latest news from Washington, D.C., confirms that.

The east Cobb Republican was named Thursday to the prestigious Senate Foreign Relations Committee as part of the reshuffling of committee assignments concurrent with the pending takeover of Capitol Hill by the Democrats.

There are certain committees in Congress that don't seem to do much of anything and are rarely, if ever, in the news - but the Foreign Relations Committee is not one of them.

As its name implies, the Foreign Relations Committee is one of the most crucial and most busy in the Senate, even more so now that we are at war and the butt of criticism from much of the world. Other members of that committee will likely include Joe Biden (D-Del.) as chairman, Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) as ranking minority member, as well as Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The committee also includes Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is likely to wind up a wiser man after a few years working so closely with Sen. Isakson. At least, we hope that would be the case, but then with Kerry, you never can tell.

Isakson has carved a sterling reputation among Cobb Countians and Georgians during his three decades of public service, first in the Georgia House, then the Georgia Senate, and later as chairman of the state school board and finally in the U.S. House before his election to the Senate two years ago.

He first gained notice on Capitol Hill as one of the key, but less-heralded, congressional authors of the No Child Left Behind law. Then this past year he began to solidify his reputation in the Senate with his compromise bill on immigration reform that called for the government to first certify the borders are secure before any other reforms are enacted. His proposal failed, but attracted 40 votes in the process - a surprising show of support for a freshman senator, especially one who eschews the headlines.

Now, it's on to the Foreign Relations Committee for Isakson. He will be but a junior member of the committee, and in its minority, but his smooth, consensus-driven style should be a perfect match for the needs of that committee. And to whatever extent he winds up representing our country to those overseas, that should be true as well.