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Mr. Obama’s Washington
A series of revolutions swept that Washington away. First the women's movement made senators' wives wonder why they were expected to drop their own lives to be at their husbands' beck and call. Then the 1994 Republican revolt made it a badge of honor to live out of a suitcase on Capitol Hill. Money dealt the fatal blow: by the late '90s, re-election campaigns cost so much that senators begged their leadership for short, Tuesday-through-Thursday sessions so they could spend the weekends raising money at home. A Washington residence for the family seemed pointless. By 2007, a majority of freshmen senators were arriving in the capital without their families.
Without the civilizing influence of spouses and children, Washington has receded into the swamp. Georgetown parties now belong to journalists and lobbyists. The influence peddlers have shifted much of the city's social center to Capitol Hill, where members of Congress bunk together in town houses for three and four and make their way at night between fund-raisers and receptions.
Obama stepped into this bachelor wilderness in 2005. Michael Strautmanis, Obama's chief counsel, recalls getting a call from the senator in the months before his term began. "Don't worry, this won't be in your job description," said the senator, "but I need you to help me look for a mattress." Obama shunned the party scene, confining his socializing to fund-raisers, dinners with policy experts and the occasional meal with old law-school classmates. "I'm not aware that he ever went to a residential party," says Cassandra Butts, a law-school friend who helped him set up his Senate office. "He could have developed much deeper personal relationships if he had spent more time in D.C," says a senior aide who would describe a weakness only anonymously.
All this makes for a sharp generational contrast between Obama and his Republican opponent. John McCain, too, never brought his family to Washington—but, until recently, he was certainly happy to make his way to Georgetown for a party or a dinner with friends. Warner, who supports McCain, says the Arizonan's "long service in the Senate" has helped him establish "close personal relationships with many senators across the aisle, which is an essential element to bipartisan success."
Obama's generation, meanwhile, scoffs at the notion that living in Washington makes for better public servants. "Don't tell me you're saying women are responsible for partisan discord," Schultz says with a sigh. "Just because [senators] don't sit around and drink a lot doesn't mean they don't talk." It's a fair point. But if they make it to the White House, the Obamas will have to live in Washington, full time. Obama often speaks about how he'd change the tone in Washington, appointing Republicans to his cabinet and encouraging open debate. He might also try some of the old customs—getting out to dinner, and opening up the bar.
With Sarah Kliff
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: just-another-sweetie @ 07/19/2008 8:13:31 AM
Comment: Arrogant, Elitist, Obama embarrassed of America:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7I3mwrC9M4
Posted By: Nins @ 07/12/2008 6:47:00 PM
Comment: Know why McCain wants to distance himself from former Senator Phil Gramm? It's not because of Gramm's obnoxious remarks calling Americans "a nation of whiners" who are in "a mental recession." Those remarks were so ascerbic that they may've been made just to give McCain an excuse to distance himself from Gramm. This issue is a lot deeper than it looks on the surface.
When Gramm was a Senator he was Chairman of the Banking Committee. He pushed through the legislation known as the "Enron Loophole." This loophole allowed US investment banks to bypass Federal regulations governing futures trading, and is the reason why investment banks were able to falsely inflate the prices of oil, wheat, corn and other commodities through massive futures trading, causing your costs of gas, heating oil and food to go through the roof.
Gramm also created the Gramm-Leach-Biley Act, which got rid of the laws that seperate banking, insurance and brokerage activities in America. The Gramm Act was touted as a new way to protect consumer privacy, but the real meat on the Act's bones was banking deregulation. Essentially, this Act did away with laws written after the Great Depression to protect us from another Wall Street/Banking Industry collapse. That's right, Gramm stripped the system of it's safe guards nine years ago, and guess what? The value of the dollar has nose-dived, four major economic institutions have failed, Wall Street is unstable, and we are in a worsening recession.
Notably, the US investment banks that gained the most from the Enron Loophole and from the Gramm Act contributed more than a million dollars to Gramm's campaign.
Currently Gramm is Vice Chairman of UBS, the Swiss Bank that came up with the idea of "death bonds." Worse, though, UBS is involved in a scam where they sold auction rate securities to American customers. Auction rate securities are supposed to be as safe as cash, but the way UBS did it, the fees garnished by their in-house investment bankers were intentionally higher than the return on the securities, ripping off their American customers. The Massachusetts Attorney General has already filed charges against UBS, and private brokers world-wide have dropped UBS stock. UBS is forecasted to lose 82.91% of it's value in 2008. We are talking about the corporate bank where Gramm is Vice Chairman. Looking at his track record there and at the havoc he has wrought on the US economy through the Senate Banking Committee, it's clear that either Gramm is a criminal or grossly incompetent.
Now McCain wants nothing to do with Gramm, wants us to forget Gramm has been a key player on McCain's team. Gramm was McCain's campaign CO-CHAIR and LEADING ECONOMIC ADVISOR. Previously, McCain had said that he planned to appoint Gramm as SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY.
With Gramm as McCain's leading economic advisor, now you know why economists and analysts say that McCain's economic policy plans are untenable.
Posted By: Express-talk @ 07/11/2008 3:25:00 PM
Comment: THERE ISN´T MUCH DIFFICULTY IN KNOWING HOW WASHINGTON IS RUN BEFORE YOU DESIDE TO CHANGE IT! IT IS NONESENSE TO MAKE SUCH SUGGESTIONS.IF YOU ARE AN AMERICAN RISIDING IN AMERICA AND ARE SMART ENOUGH,YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO VISION THE TERRACE AND TOPOGRAPHY OF WASHINGTON.WHEN THAT IS CLEAR YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE ANY DIFFICULTY FINDING THE RIGHT CONTOUR LINES OF REPAIR!
OBAMA IS ENERGETIC AND SMART ENOUGH TO TAKE UP THE CHALLENGES OF CHANGE WITH HIS POSSIBLE CABINET AND ADVISERS.BECAUSE HE HAS OFTEN DISPLAYED A GREAT DEAL OF GOOD JUDGEMENTS IN THE MAJOR ISSUES,THERE SHOULD CERTAINLY BE NO CAUSE FOR ALARM BUT FOR AN AGING AND FORGETFUL McCAIN,WHO DIRECTLY IS INVOLVED IN THE PLOT THAT LED TO THE WAR DRAGING AMERICANS KNEES ON THE GROUND ECONOMICALLY AND WEAKENING OUR SECURITY AS A RESULT.McCAIN HAS MAITAINED AMERICA IS BETTER OF,HIS PHIL GRAMM SAYS AMERICANS ARE COMPLAINING TO MUCH AND WHYNNING,SUGGEST McCAIN REMAINS INCORRIGIBLY OUT OF TOUCH.A TRUE CONFIRMATION OF HIS ZERO KNOWLEDGE OF THE ECONOMY.HE SAYS HE NEEDS TO BE EDUCATED ON ECONOMY BUT AMERICA CAN´T WAIT FOR HIS AGING BRAIN TO FIRST GET IT.NO NOT AT THIS VERY FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW!!I AM CONFIDENT THAT EVEN THE LEAST EDUCATED AMERICAN WOULD MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE THIS TIME!WE CAN´T COMPLAIN ABOUT BUCH,YET CONSIDER A WORSE CANDIDATE THAN BUSH IN ALL FASHION.