Smith Back in Action
WASHINGTON, Sept. 25, 2002–Sen. Bob Smith, R-NH, has been a busy politician lately.
The lame-duck senator hasn’t missed a Senate vote since last Thursday and attended all his committee meetings this week.
In the two weeks after losing the Sept. 10 primary, Smith missed the majority of Senate votes and all of his committee meetings.
A Smith spokeswoman had explained the absences by saying the senator’s priorities had changed. “Last week’s absences were due to some family circumstances and, as I indicated, right now his family comes before politics,” Lisa Harrison said last Friday. “I can’t tell you how many Little League games he might have missed over the years because of his job, but now his family is coming first.”
Smith attended meetings of the Senate Armed Services and Environment and Public Works Committees on Monday and Wednesday. He also attended a top-secret briefing Wednesday with Vice President Dick Cheney.
The senator has cast a vote in all eight opportunities dating back to last Thursday.
Harrison said Wednesday that nothing has changed since last week.
“His priorities are still taking care of his New Hampshire constituents … and taking care of his professional and personal responsibilities,” she said. “It’s not that he wasn’t back last week. It was just a matter of priorities, and things came up.”
Published in Foster’s Daily Democrat, in New Hampshire.
