by Nancy Cook Lauer, Stephens Honolulu Bureau
Hawaii Tribune Herald

Editor's note: To inform our readers about the differences between U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka and his top opponent, U.S. Rep. Ed Case, the Tribune-Herald requested interviews with each lawmaker. Our interview with Case was published on Sunday, Sept. 10. Because we had difficulty scheduling an interview with Akaka in Hilo, we agreed to a meeting last Thursday on Oahu. The results of that interview are below.

HONOLULU -- U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka says he's helped shepherd through a lot of legislation benefiting Hawaii in general and the Big Island in particular during his three decades in Congress, and he's not ready to retire quite yet.

By Senator Dan Akaka
Growing Up In Hawaii Series, Hawaii Reporter
September 20, 2006

Like many of the valleys fronting the Leeward side of ??€˜Oahu, there was always a rainbow over Pauoa where I grew up.

My father would always point to it and say, ??€œSee, things will be ok.??€ ? Despite the hardships he faced every day, that??€™s the kind of man he was??€"positive and confident in the strength of his own hands and of his faith. To say we were poor, would be like saying we were like most other families in the valley.

I was the last of eight kids, four boys and four girls. We lived in a modest house, the kids divided between the two bedrooms and my parents sleeping in the parlor.

An Editorial by Brennan Purtzer, Editor-In-Chief, Molokai Island Times

The Primary Campaign battle for US Senate between Senator Daniel Akaka and Representative Ed Case has been framed and re-framed by every analyst in the state.

They've put it into the simplified terms of age, they've tried to pigeonhole it into a pro-Bush Iraq policy versus a progressive, quick-withdrawal scenario, and a few scattered sources have taken a look at the deep differences between the candidates.

At a recent campaign rally on Moloka'i, Maui Mayoral Candidate Charmaine Tavares put it as simply as she could, "vote in this primary," she said, "because whoever wins this election will be your senator."

By Dan Boylan, Midweek Cover Story

Ed Case is attempting to succeed where many others have failed.

Since Hawaii became a state in 1959, no incumbent member of the state's congressional delegation has ever been defeated. Ever.

There have been spirited contests. In 1964, one-term congressman Tom Gill challenged Republican United States Sen. Hiram Fong. Gill, a brilliant labor lawyer with a grasp for issues and policy and much admired even by his political foes, ran hard in a Hawaii at the peak of its Democratic tide. But in the end, he lost.

Commentary, The Honolulu Star-Bulletin
September 3, 2006

By Maile M. Hirota, Eric T. Kawatani, David P. McCauley, Patricia A. McManaman, Ronald T. Oldenburg and William F. "Buzz" Thompson IIIMaile M. Hirota, Eric T. Kawatani, David P. McCauley, Patricia A. McManaman, Ronald T. Oldenburg and William F. "Buzz" Thompson III

The authors are Hawaii attorneys who practice immigration law.

OUR BROKEN immigration system has been a hot topic this year. National attention on the issue has been sparked by the passage of a harsh immigration bill by the House of Representatives, and hundreds of thousands of people on the mainland have marched in the streets in protest. The person who becomes our senator will have a major effect on how our immigration laws are changed, for the better or for worse. Immigration is not only a national issue, but also a deeply personal issue for us in Hawaii.