Republican Mel Martinez, a trial lawyer, performed well as elected chairman of Orange County. As President George W. Bush's secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Martinez was able but achieved little. And his campaign raises doubts about his judgment.

Castor is a moderate who, like retiring Sen. Bob Graham, has teamed with Republicans to solve public problems. She supports a strong military and wants to increase veteran benefits. She understands the need to relentlessly fight terrorism but says President George W. Bush miscalculated in Iraq by rushing to war without reliable intelligence or a realistic plan for establishing a democracy there.

Concerned About Deficit

Castor supports tax cuts for the middle class but says such cuts must be accompanied by spending reductions to reduce the deficit. She would increase student loans, but the former inner-city teacher is no fan of federal intrusion in public schools. She favors stem cell research and supports abortion rights, but opposes partial-birth abortion, a vile method of dispatching late-term fetuses. She also developed the Healthy Kids program, which provides care for needy schoolchildren and has been adopted as a national program.

While low-key and engaging in person, Martinez is a nasty campaigner. In the closing days of the primary, Martinez's camp mailed an advertisement calling opponent Bill McCollum ``the new darling of the homosexual extremists,'' a false claim based on McCollum's one-time support of an anti-hate- crimes bill that included protections for gays. Only reluctantly did Martinez disavow the bold attempt to inflame hatred and prejudice.

His campaign described the federal law enforcement agents who were ordered to seize Elian Gonzalez in 2000 as ``armed thugs.'' The ploy sought to rile Cuban-Americans by slandering officers who were simply doing their jobs. He apologized again.

Now his campaign is trying to depict Castor as weak because as USF president she did not fire a professor suspected of ties to terrorists.

The truth: Law enforcement officers never provided Castor with the evidence necessary to terminate Sami Al- Arian, though she did suspend him while he was being investigated. But it took investigators a long time to make a case. He was not indicted until last year. Even Tampa's former FBI chief says Castor did all she could at the time.

Indeed, Al-Arian posed for a photograph with George W. Bush at the Strawberry Festival when he was running for president in 2000, and the professor was invited to the White House in 2001 - long after Castor left USF. If there weren't grounds to alarm the White House about Al-Arian, how could Castor be expected to do more?

Castor's experiences give her an appreciation for the difficulty of investigating terrorism and have made her a supporter, with some reservations, of the Patriot Act.

Martinez is a mainstream conservative with some appealing views, but shows little zeal about any particular issue. Castor seems passionate about representing the people of Florida. Martinez seems mostly interested in doing whatever President Bush wants.

Castor would be far more independent and responsive. She's earned the public's trust. For the U.S. Senate, the Tribune strongly endorses Betty Castor.