Category: Connecticut
Conn. Election Web Site Ranks Near the Bottom
WEBSITES
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/23/08
WASHINGTON –Connecticut’s official election Web site received a failing grade in a study released this week by the non-partisan research group the Pew Center on the States.
With a score of 37 out of 100 points, the site maintained by the Secretary of State’s office ranked 48th out of all 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of searchability, usability and helpfulness, according to the Pew Center’s research.
The study focused on the Web site’s ability to answer the most common user questions, such as whether they are registered to vote, the location of polling places and what candidates or issues are on the ballot. Connecticut’s site – which is found under the “Elections & Voting” tab of www.ct.gov/sots – provides no easy answers, if any, to these top questions, according to Pew.
In this new hi-tech era, both Republican and Democratic campaigns have raised large sums of money, recruited volunteers and communicated with supporters through social networking sites, e-mail and text messages. Sen. Hillary Clinton even announced her presidential candidacy on the web. As of June, 40 percent of all adults turned to the Web for campaign information, according to Pew researchers.
“With an increasing number of Internet users, it is paramount that state elections Web sites meet the needs and expectations of current and prospective voters by providing useful and usable elections Web sites,” the Pew study said. “This is no longer a nice thing to do, but a must-do to enable citizens to exercise their right to vote.”
Connecticut, in particular, warrants an above-average election Web site, according to data compiled by Web measurement firm Compete. Connecticut ranked second in a national survey of online political activity, with 11.2 percent of residents – or 1 in 9 – having visited a candidate’s Web site or top political blog in September.
In late September – after the Pew study was complete – a newly crafted election Web site was launched by Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz. The new, more user-friendly page provides most of the same information as the poorly rated original site, but still does not allow Connecticut’s more than 2 million registered voters to confirm that they are registered, where they can vote or which candidates will be on the ballot.
“Voter registration records are kept with the local registrar’s office, so we usually tell people to call and ask,” said Adam Joseph, deputy communications director for the Secretary of State. “And polling places are not online, because they can vary – municipal election locations may be different than presidential. We have a listing of candidates on the homepage, but to find more about their stance on things, they’d have to go somewhere else.”
While it may be possible to get all the necessary information elsewhere when it is not readily available on the official Web site, people often call their local offices or a national hotline to find answers to their questions. The Pew Center reported that these calls to state or county election offices can cost up to $100 each, depending on the staffer’s qualifications.
In contrast to Connecticut’s voter Web site and that of New Hampshire, which ranked the worst in the nation, Iowa had the best Web site in the survey, with a score of 77 out of 100 points. Iowa’s site received the highest score because the links to voters’ most critical questions were easy to locate, it came up first during Web searches, and a link to the site is featured prominently on the state’s homepage, according to the Pew report.
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Catholic Voters See Economy As Their Top Concern
Catholic
New London Day
Dan Levy
Boston University Washington News Service
Oct. 23
WASHINGTON—There’s been a lot of talk about the women’s vote, the youth vote and the working-class vote in this election cycle.
But there’s also a Catholic vote, and it’s driven more by economic concerns than social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage, according to a panel of experts assembled Wednesday evening at the Catholic University of America.
“Tell me who wins the Catholic vote and I will tell you who will be the next president,” said panelist John White, a politics professor at the Washington-based institution.
In six of the last seven presidential elections, White said, Catholics have voted for the winner. Four years ago, 52 percent of Catholic voters supported Republican President George W. Bush.
Now, most are leaning toward Democratic candidate Sen. Barack Obama, according to surveys conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, a non-partisan research group.
Pew researcher Gregory Smith, who sat on the panel, said Catholics this year are most concerned about the same issues as the overall electorate: the economy, energy, education, the environment, health care and terrorism.
Each of these areas is more important to Catholic voters than so-called “moral values” issues such as abortion, according to the Pew findings.
“It looks as if abortion will be a relatively unimportant issue this election,” Smith said.
Less than a quarter of Catholic registered voters surveyed by Pew both oppose abortion and see it as a top political concern.
While church-going Catholics were twice as likely as non-church-going Catholics to say that abortion is important to them, even they ranked the issue as a low political priority.
In addition, fewer than one in five Catholic registered voters identified same-sex marriage as a key issue in the forthcoming election.
The survey dealt only with non-Hispanic white Catholic registered voters. Smith said Hispanic and non-white Catholics form an influential and growing voter bloc, but that focusing on non-Hispanic white Catholics allowed Pew researchers to “disentangle” religion from other factors such as race and ethnicity.
Smith said he found the survey’s results “striking given the great deal of media attention” to abortion as a mobilizing issue for Christian voters.
But William D’Antonio, a University of Connecticut emeritus professor who participated in the event, said support or opposition to abortion rights is more of a political issue than a religious one.
D’Antonio said Catholic members of Congress have voted along party lines on abortion rights since the 1980s, when President Ronald Reagan made opposition to abortion a cornerstone of the Republican Party.
In 1979, Catholic Republican senators voted in favor of abortion rights 20 per cent of the time, while Catholic Democratic senators did so 45 per cent of the time, according to D’Antonio’s research.
By 2005, he said, Democratic Catholics in the Senate were voting “pro-choice” almost 90 percent of the time; their Republican counterparts were almost never doing so.
“There is a Catholic vote,” D’Antonio said, “but it’s trumped by party ideology.”
In Connecticut, political allegiances have long outstripped religious beliefs, D’Antonio said after the university event. Although roughly 32 percent of Connecticut residents self-identify as Catholic, according to a 2001 City University of New York study, the state has a long history of voting for pro-abortion-rights Democrats for Congress and the White House.
An influential Connecticut Catholic, the late Democratic Party chairman John Bailey, was a key supporter of John F. Kennedy, the country’s first Catholic president.
During his election campaign, Kennedy famously promised voters that, as president, he wouldn’t take his marching orders from Rome.
In politics, at least, D’Antonio said Connecticut Catholics largely agree with Kennedy.
“They haven’t been listening to their bishops for years,” D’Antonio said.
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4th District Race is Priciest House Race in New England
SHAYS/FEC
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/16/08
WASHINGTON – The fight for the Connecticut 4th District House seat is currently the priciest in New England and the 9th-most expensive nationally for the second election in a row, according to new data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., has raised $3.1 million since early 2007, while Democratic challenger and ex-Goldman Sachs executive Jim Himes received $2.9 million – according to Oct.15 filings to the Federal Election Commission – making this the closest race financially the 11-term congressman has ever faced.
“Money is an important part of campaigns, of course, but nothing is more important than a candidate’s relationship with his district,” said Michael Sohn, campaign manager for Shays. “Chris has a long relationship with the district – it’s a great relationship, and they understand his work.”
Since incumbents are often able to raise significantly more than their challengers, Shays’ small fundraising lead doesn’t bring about any real-world advantage in the race. In fact, experts say their finances put the candidates on equal footing.
“Conventional wisdom states that the challenger doesn’t even have to match the incumbent dollar for dollar,” said Kurt Schlichting, a polling expert and professor of sociology and anthropology at Fairfield University. “He just has to reach a threshold that enables him to buy the same media as his competitor, and Himes has clearly done that.”
In the last quarter alone – July 1 through Sept. 30 – each candidate raised more than $800,000, but Himes spent more than twice as much as Shays in the same period, topping $1.8 million.
“We want to spend it all, keep nothing in the bank,” said Michael Sachse, communication director for the Himes campaign. “We spent a lot on our media campaign, because this media market is one of the most expensive markets in the country – if not the most. That’s one of the reasons we’ve needed to raise as much money as we have.”
As a result of such spending, the Himes campaign has only a little more than $400,000 remaining in its coffers – a stark contrast to the nearly $2 million remaining in the Shays campaign bank as of Sept. 30.
“We’ve already spent a significant portion of that in the past 15 days on TV, mail, get-out-the-vote efforts,” Sohn said. “But it’s really important what you do with that money, and running a positive campaign is really important to Chris, so we won’t run negative ads.”
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, the average raised by House incumbents is a little more than $1 million, with challengers averaging about $225,000. Clearly, the much higher level of 4th District race donations suggests an intense fight for this politically symbolic seat.
“We’ve raised so much because people are ready for a change,” Sachse said.
As the last remaining House Republican stronghold in New England, the seat continues to present a significant victory for either party, and the residents of the 22nd wealthiest congressional district in the country are able to spend heavily to try and secure that seat.
Connecticut residents have been generous enough that Shays again ranks 9th of all House incumbents in the share of money received from in-state donors. As of Sept. 29, roughly 87 percent of his total came from in-state residents, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
The political parties’ strong stakes in the battle for the seat, as well as its location in the third-wealthiest state in the union, are probable reasons that both campaigns are able to raise the level of money they consistently have, political experts say.
“Shays has the [House Financial Services] Committee, and if Himes tapped into the network of people he knew in the financial services industry, there’s a lot of money there,” Schlichting said. “This has just been a competitive district for a long time, since Shays is the only Republican who can win in the area.”
Shays has faced competitive races almost every year since coming to Capitol Hill in 1987, but the gap seems to be narrowing each cycle. In the 2006 and 2004 races – both against Democrat Diane Goss Farrell – Shays won by only 1 and 4 percentage points respectively.
Current polls indicate that the two candidates are in a dead heat. One poll, conducted in late September by the Sacred Heart University Polling Institute, showed Shays ahead by 10 points, but a Roll Call poll conducted Monday and Tuesday by SurveyUSA put Himes in the lead by three.
“With the error margins and the shifting data, the polls are statistically tied,” Schlichting said. “The interesting thing will be to watch Bridgeport – there’s a big pool of Democratic votes there, but it’s also where Shays lives. It’s hard to call, but it will certainly be interesting.”
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Top Clinton, Romney Donors Switch Parties for Presidential Election
DONORS
New London Day
Dan Levy
Boston University Washington News Service
October 16, 2008
WASHINGTON – He was the region’s most prodigal Mitt Romney supporter. During the presidential primaries, Augustus Kinsolving poured $2,300 – the maximum legal donation – into the former Republican candidate’s then-flourishing campaign.
Now, the Fishers Island, N.Y., lawyer is pledging his money and vote to another presidential hopeful: Democratic nominee Sen. Barack Obama.
“I have a very distinct opinion that Barack Obama is needed by this country right now,” said Kinsolving, a registered independent who considered himself a Republican “as a young man” – but who admired Democratic President John F. Kennedy as a college student in the early 1960s.
“Barack Obama reminds me of Jack Kennedy,” he said.
Kinsolving is not the only benefactor of a doomed campaign who has turned away from his preferred candidate’s party. In Southern Connecticut, only a few of the most generous supporters of Sen. Hillary Clinton – whom Obama defeated in a long, bitter contest for the Democratic nomination – have opened their wallets for Obama, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Some of Clinton’s top donors say they don’t think the notoriously deep-pocketed Obama campaign needs their money; indeed, Obama’s fundraising prowess played a key role in Clinton’s defeat. But others still refuse to support the Illinois senator’s bid for the presidency.
“Basically I’m on the McCain side now,” said Donna Carroll, a registered Democrat, environmentalist and abortion-rights advocate who donated $500 to Clinton’s campaign.
Carroll praised Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee, for his “experience,” and compared Obama to an idealistic college graduate who is not “ready to go to work.”
“You think you’re going to be able to step into the workplace and make all sorts of contributions right away,” Carroll said, explaining the comparison, “when in reality, there’s a learning curve.”
While Kinsolving and Carroll have jumped decisively to the other side, many disappointed Clinton donors remain on the fence.
Thomas Haggerty and Gail Shea, a retired married couple from Pawcatuck, were enthusiastic Clinton supporters; he contributed $1,250 to the New York senator’s campaign, according to reports filed with the election commission.
Although Haggerty remains “very disappointed [Clinton] didn’t get the nomination,” he said he looked forward to voting for Obama.
Shea, however, said she would only do so reluctantly.
“I can’t vote for McCain, so I guess I have to,” she said. “What do I do, not vote?”
Neither has sent money to Obama’s campaign so far, though Haggerty said he would “if I thought for a moment he really needed my money.”
Several of Clinton’s top local donors, including Deborah Moshier-Dunn of Waterford, said this was their first time donating to a presidential campaign.
Moshier-Dunn, who gave Clinton $500, said she has come around to voting for Obama, but continued to donate to Clinton after the primaries to help pay off the former First Lady’s campaign debt.
“I’m not worried about Obama,” she said, referring to his fundraising abilities.
Kathleen Naparty of Ledyard donated $1,450 to Clinton’s campaign— her first political donation. But she’s not ready to vote for Obama, much less add to his campaign’s coffers.
In fact, Naparty blames Obama’s fundraising success for Clinton’s defeat.
“He comes out of nowhere, gets all this funding, and she goes broke?” she said. “I’m really disappointed.”
For the first time in her adult life, Naparty said she plans to boycott the polls this November. And she doesn’t see herself spending money on a presidential candidate any time soon.
“I’m kind of sick of the whole electoral process,” she said.
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Army Issues New Policy for Media Coverage of Funerals at Arlington Cemetery
ARLINGTON
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/10/08
WASHINGTON – In the face of criticism, the Army for the first time has written a policy outlining media access to military funerals at Arlington National Cemetery, giving clear but limited control to mourning families while reserving the final word for cemetery officials.
Of the 43 Connecticut members of the military who died in Iraq or Afghanistan, at least 12 have been laid to rest at the 624-acre military cemetery across the Potomac River from Washington.
“The policy is now official on the Army level,” said Col. Catherine Abbott, the Army’s director for media relations. “It’s about paying honor and respect to our fallen comrades.”
Under the new policy, family members will be able to grant or deny varying degrees of media access to funeral services: none, visual or visual and “limited audio.” In the latter category, the main speaker is outfitted with a wireless microphone to transmit the eulogy to the media; reporters cannot hear family members speak or approach them at the site.
When a family does grant media coverage, according to the new policy, journalists are permitted to report only from a “designated media area,” chosen by the cemetery's superintendent, that is "close enough to allow visual recording . . . without intruding on the ceremony or the military formation."
Before these regulations were implemented last month by the Secretary of the Army Pete Geren, the cemetery had a near-identical “informal” policy, said Kaitlin Horst, a spokesperson for the cemetery. Like the official policy, the informal policy allowed families to make the initial decision on media access, but gave cemetery authorities ultimate control over what reporters saw by designating where the media could locate inside the cemetery gates.
“(Our policy) has basically been to allow access to Arlington National Cemetery in coordination with the family’s wishes,” Abbott said. “That is paramount for us. But concerns were voiced from different areas that that wasn’t happening.”
The informal policy came under fire this spring when The Washington Post ran a story about the media being kept from covering Lt. Col. Billy Hall's funeral, even though the Marine's family gave reporters permission to be there.
“[The military] arranged the Marine’s burial yesterday so that no sound, and few images, would make it into the public domain,” Dana Milbank wrote in the article. “Journalists were held 50 yards from the service, separated from the mourning party by six or seven rows of graves, and staring into the sun and penned in by a yellow rope.”
Concerns regarding the informal policy were voiced not only by members of the media. Gina Gray, hired as Arlington’s public affairs director in April and fired three months later, told the Post this summer that her dismissal was a direct result of her push for a more lax media policy regarding funerals.
The Army is conducting an internal investigation into her firing, according to Abbott, who declined to comment because of the investigation.
During a discussion of the proposed policy in August between Army officials, journalists and members of veterans groups, several in attendance recommended that the provision outlining the “designated media area” be worded more precisely so that a situation such as the one Milbank experienced could be avoided.
Abbott said it was a nice idea, but impractical for the sprawling cemetery.
“They wanted to say, be 10 feet away every time, but because of the terrain, that’s not possible – you could either have a great shot or be behind a tree,” Abbott said of the proposed correction. “Plus, each service is different, depending on the branch of the military and the honors applied. The folks at Arlington know best where [the journalists] should be.”
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Conn. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Gay Couples
MARRIAGE
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/10/08
WASHINGTON – The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to marry, making Connecticut the third state in the country to allow same-sex marriage, following Massachusetts and California.
In a 4-3 ruling that reversed a lower court decision, the Supreme Court determined that the state’s marriage law discriminated against gays and lesbians because it violated the state constitution’s equal protection principles. The case was brought by eight same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses and sued the state in 2004.
“In light of the history of pernicious discrimination faced by gay men and lesbians, and because the institution of marriage carries with it a status and significance that the newly created classification of civil unions does not embody, the segregation of heterosexual and homosexual couples into separate institutions constitutes a cognizable harm,” Justice Richard Palmer wrote in the court’s majority opinion.
Janet Peck – a plaintiff with her partner of 33 years, Carol Conklin – said that she started crying immediately upon hearing the decision.
“We are just so, so happy – there are not enough words to express how happy we are,” said Peck, a mental health counselor from Colchester. “I am thrilled that after our 33 years together, we have finally been legally recognized, and that so many other gay and lesbian couples will have the equal protection they deserve.”
Peck said that she and Conklin will be getting married soon, but that their “families have been waiting so long for this, it is important that they be able to celebrate with us.”
“We are thrilled with the ruling,” said Carisa Cunningham, public affairs director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) – the group that represented Peck and the other plaintiffs in the case. “Today’s decision represents the hopes and dreams of lesbian and gay couples to live as full and equal parties in the eyes of the law.”
The Connecticut Legislature passed a law in 2005 allowing civil unions for same-sex couples, but the plaintiffs argued – and the court agreed – that the unions did not afford the same benefits or protections as marriage.
The Family Institute of Connecticut, a political action committee opposed to gay marriage, quickly spoke out against the ruling.
"Even the legislature, as liberal as ours, decided that marriage is between a man and a woman," said the group’s executive director Peter Wolfgang. "This is about our right to govern ourselves. It is bigger than gay marriage."
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said she disagreed with the court’s decision, but said Friday that she would not fight it.
"She is opposed to the ruling," said Luigi Fulinello, assistant to Rell. "However, it is a Supreme Court decision, and there’s nothing she can do to overturn that. She does not believe any attempts to reverse the decision through the Legislature would be successful at this time.”
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said in a statement that an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is impossible since the decision was based solely on “an interpretation of state constitutional law.”
“The State Supreme Court is the ultimate authority on all state law, and its ruling on the state constitution must be respected,” he said Friday.
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4th District Foreclosure Rate is .097 Percent
HOTPADS
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/10/08
WASHINGTON – Connecticut’s 4th Congressional District has a mortgage foreclosure rate that is lower than 63 percent of the country, according to new real estate data on the Web site hotpads.com.
The data, compiled in partnership with foreclosure listing site RealtyTrac and updated nightly, reveals a foreclosure rate across the district of .097 percent – significantly lower than the country’s highest rate of 4.6 percent, found in the 18th District of California. The 18th District encompasses San Joaquin Valley cities such as Modesto and Stockton.
Seven of the top ten worst foreclosure rates are in California, with Nevada and Florida rounding out the remaining spots. The lowest foreclosure rates are found in Washington, D.C., southern Virginia and New York City. In Republican congressional districts, the average rate of .51 percent is slightly higher than the Democratic districts’ .47 percent.
In a breakdown of foreclosure rates in all 435 congressional districts, the five Connecticut districts rank between 152 and 188. All of the state’s members of Congress voted for both the Foreclosure Act signed into law in June, and the financial bailout bill signed into law last week.
“If you are facing foreclosure, reach out to a local non-profit counselor or see if you qualify for legal aid,” said Chris Kukla of the Center for Responsible Lending. “Find all the help you can get, but make sure you do something – it may save your home.”
Kukla said that, no matter what, avoid payday lenders or car title lenders.
“Both of these options are designed to trap borrowers in debt rather than solve a financial emergency,” he said. “Instead, take a cash advance on your credit card, visit your credit union or local bank for loans, or ask family or friends for help. Payday loans seem easy and anonymous, but they cause more problems than they are worth.”
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Household Education a Factor in Children’s Health
HEALTH
New London Day
Dan Levy
Boston University Washington News Service
October 8 2008
WASHINGTON – Connecticut children aren’t as healthy as they should be, according to a national report that shows how family background has an impact on kids’ health.
White, wealthy and educated parents have the healthiest children in Connecticut, but even these kids are ailing more than their counterparts in other states, the report, published Wednesday, finds.
The report was commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a health and health care philanthropy that in 2007 awarded $480 million in grants, and authored by two researchers at the University of California, San Francisco. Their aim was to “look beyond the medical care system,” according to the report, and explore how social factors affect the health of children.
“Why people stay healthy or get sick in the first place often has little to do with [access to medical care],” Sue Egerter, co-author of the report, said in a conference call Tuesday. “We need to recognize that there is more to health than health care.”
In Connecticut, the report shows that children in poor families are roughly 4.5 times as likely to be unhealthy – as reported by their parents – than children from wealthier families. Similarly, kids in households without a high school graduate are 4.5 times as likely to be unhealthy than those living with someone who went to college.
Education and income are related but separate factors, according to the report. While educated parents can secure better jobs with higher income, they also make better role models for children, lowering their exposure to unhealthy conditions such as secondhand smoke.
“[Education and wealth] are hard to disentangle, but we see independent health effects of both factors,” said Dr. Paula Braveman, who directed the study and co-authored the report.
The researchers rank Connecticut 18th among states based on the gap between the overall rate of unhealthy children – 12.7 percent – and the rate among higher-income families – 6.9 percent. California has the widest gap, while New Hampshire has the narrowest.
The study defines higher-income households as those with incomes four times the federal poverty line. For a family of four, that means families earning roughly $82,500 or more.
But even Connecticut’s higher-income families reported a higher rate of sick children than the “national benchmark” of 3.5 percent. This benchmark refers to the lowest rate of unhealthy kids from high-income families in any state – in this case, Colorado.
The failure of other states to match this benchmark shows that all families need to live healthier, more productive lifestyles, said Dr. David Williams, staff director of the foundation project.
“This is not just a problem for the poor or minorities,” Williams said. “As a society, we are not doing as well on health as we could.”
Obesity and asthma are two prevalent – and often preventable – problems that affect privileged and poor children alike, according to Elizabeth Brown, legislative director for the Connecticut Commission on Children, which helps guide children’s programs in the state.
Brown said the state needs to work with schools and families to develop a more preventive approach to health, citing the nutrition movement in public schools as an example.
“We have a crisis type of health system,” Brown said. “There’s no money in preventative health right now…. We really need to work with parents to inform them how they can help their children grow to their fullest potential in a more holistic manner.”
This spring the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will recommend strategies to improve the health of Americans based on its children’s health report and other research.
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President Welcomes Olympians to the White House
OLYMPIANS
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/7/08
WASHINGTON – On what he described as a “special day for the White House,” President George Bush Tuesday welcomed more than 500 U.S. Olympic and Paralympic athletes on the South Lawn.
To an audience of roughly 200 friends and family members, President Bush described his August trip to Beijing as “one of the greatest experiences” of his life.
“But more impressive was the decency and character that these Olympics brought on the world stage,” Bush said from a podium nestled among the athletes. “Whether you won a medal or not, it really doesn’t matter in the long run. What really matters is the honor you brought to your sports and to your families and to your country.”
On an unusually brisk morning, the grinning athletes – including medal winners Michael Phelps, Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson – stood on the balcony and steps of the White House in a dynamic cascade of blue and red Team USA jackets.
The 597 members of the 2008 summer Olympic team gave one of the best performances in Olympic history – not only earning the top medal count with 110 medals, but also setting a new U.S. record for medal production. During the games – watched by almost 5 billion viewers – 43 world records were broken, 13 of which were by members of Team USA.
Phelps, of course, led the record-breaking charge, earning the most gold medals at a single Olympic Games as well as the most gold medals cumulatively – eight and 14, respectively.
“People say, did you ever get to meet Michael Phelps?” Bush said to a swirl of laughter. “I said I did. So was that the highlight? I said, not really; meeting his mother was more of a highlight.”
The 2008 Paralympic team also had a banner year in Beijing – finishing third overall with a medal count of 99 – and the swimming team led the medal standings for the first time, with 17 gold medals.
After Bush’s remarks, Paralympian Jennifer Armbruster presented the president and Laura Bush with team jackets, naming them both honorary members of the 2008 Olympic team.
As the military band resumed playing, the president and his wife spent 10 minutes shaking hands and posing for photos with the athletes before walking past a dog bowl and toy volleyball, heading back toward the west wing.
After the 15-minute ceremony, Phelps appeared for an informal press conference in the White House driveway amid a flurry of camera flashes – looking like a veteran celebrity in dark sunglasses and a brand new goatee. He described his experience at the White House as “an honor,” and revealed a private exchange he had with the president moments earlier.
“Well, my mom texted me this morning – ‘tell the president I said hi,’ so I did that,” Phelps said to laughter. “He said, ‘your mom’s an amazing lady, just like mine.’ ”
Phelps – famous for his 12,000 calories per day diet during training – also added that since he’s only gotten into the pool three times in the past five weeks, he is back to eating two to three meals a day, like most Americans.
During his address, President Bush said that the Department of Health and Human Services released new physical fitness guidelines Tuesday and held up the athletes as shining examples of the human body’s capability.
“We urge our fellow citizens to look at these guidelines and to take time out of your day to exercise,” the president said. “Not every one of you has to ride a mountain bike, but if you walk just 20 minutes a day, you’ll help America and help yourself.”
The new guidelines were designed to show the American public how easy it is to incorporate physical activity into daily life and to include activities they enjoy. According to the guidelines, two and a half hours each week of moderate aerobic exercise provide substantial health benefits for most adults, and children thrive with an hour of exercise each day.
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Shays Says Vote for Bailout Bill is ‘A Legacy Vote’
REACTION, Update
Norwalk Hour
Jordan Zappala
Boston University Washington News Service
10/2/08
WASHINGTON—Rep. Chris Shays knows that the vote he will cast Friday in favor of the emergency financial stabilization plan is one he will take to his grave.
“This vote [is] a legacy vote,” Shays, R-4, said Wednesday. “It’s one of the biggest votes you’ll ever be making. That’s why you have to vote with your conscience and live with it the rest of your life.”
On Friday, the House is expected to vote on the rescue plan for the second time this week – this time taking up the version the Senate passed late Wednesday night.
Democrat Jim Himes, Shays’ opponent in the 4th district House race, said that if given the chance, he too would vote in favor of the bailout bill.
“Yes, I would [vote] for the bill,” Himes said Wednesday. “Now I say that holding my nose, because it is nothing short of outrageous that this was necessary, but our economy is resting on a knife’s edge.”
Shays was one of 65 House Republicans who voted for the failed version of the bill on Monday – which would have released $700 billion that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson requested last week in an effort to increase fluidity in the now-frozen credit markets. The House rejected the measure, 205 to 228.
“On Sunday night, I thought it would pass, but on Monday morning, I felt it slipping away,” Shays said. “I was surprised on one level because a ‘no’ vote was kind of like playing Russian roulette, but I also understand because many people had strong feelings against the bill.”
Shays said Wednesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that, prior to Monday’s vote, constituent response to the bill had been 30-1 against it, but that after the vote, the phones began to ring largely in favor. But the calls have become primarily negative once more, he said, highlighting the confusion that seems to be surfacing throughout the country.
Himes said his experience with 4th district residents has been different.
“Our district is heavy with financial services so, more than elsewhere, people understand the connection between financial services and the real economy,” he said Wednesday. “A businessman I spoke with today said…he was having trouble borrowing money to meet his payroll. The economy is grinding to a halt, and everybody’s angry.”
In an unexpected move, the Senate voted for its own version of the bill late Wednesday, before the House returned from its two-day recess. The Senate bill included several tax incentives designed to sway conservative Republicans wary of the rescue plan, and also would raise the limit on insured bank deposits from $100,000 to $250,000 per account in an effort to inject consumer confidence back into the banking system.
“I tried to get a $300,000 increase, so I’m thrilled this is part of the plan,” Shays said about the Senate’s new provision. “One of the reasons I stayed in D.C. [during the recess] was to advocate for this amendment.”
He said that the Senate’s decision to vote so quickly showed real leadership and that he largely supports the revised plan.
Himes said he, too, saw the changes as a bold step in the right direction.
“I think forward progress is critical, so if this gets us to a point where we’re able to restore confidence in the system, I think the decision is the right one,” Himes said.
On C-SPAN Wednesday morning, Shays said that while the Senate bill's new provisions might attract votes from several House Republicans, it has the potential to drive away more House Democrats, making the outcome of Friday’s vote uncertain.
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