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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neeka who wrote (5899)	8/25/2003 4:12:57 PM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793691

I made and lost a fortune on Qualcomm, (Sob). Leno's offer tantalizes, frustrates candidates By Patrick May Mercury News To Leno or not to Leno? That is the question facing the candidates for governor of California. Jay Leno has invited all 135 of them to be on ``The Tonight Show'' Sept. 22. Well, not exactly on the show, like his buddy Arnold Schwarzenegger when he announced his candidacy earlier this month. More like in the audience. Some are plotting their own media events -- in Burbank, the same day as the taping, to tap into all the press hype expected around the Leno show. But many others have eagerly replied to NBC, even if they have to pay their way there and back. Leno ``can poke fun at us all he wants, but it's really tough to get this sort of public exposure,'' said David Laughing Horse Robinson, a candidate from Bakersfield. ``Any time you can get free PR, you're a fool if you don't accept it.'' Diana Foss of San Jose is thrilled to be going: ``I see it as a perk of running for governor. How often do I get a personal invitation to go on Jay Leno?'' But others are conflicted. Won't Jay simply exploit them as comic fodder, use them as human props? Darin Price, a chemistry professor at Humboldt State University, says Leno can stick it up his monologue. ``Hell no, I'm not going,'' he said. ``Why would I pay $400 to fly down there to sit in the audience and be made fun of? Not only am I not going to respond, I'm thinking of selling my invitation on eBay. It's got a nice little address card and envelope.'' It's a tough decision for many candidates, financially strapped and desperate to get their message out to as many voters as they can. Having your mug on TV, even for a flash, is a powerful aphrodisiac for many aspiring governors out there. ``Initially I thought this was just entertainment and not something I'd be interested in,'' said Bill Vaughn, a structural engineer from Lafayette. ``But I talked to my sister-in-law and she said: `Bill you have to go. You never know how it might turn out. Maybe they'll decide they want to pull you up on stage or something. Who knows?' '' Doubtful, says Marc Valdez, a Sacramento air-pollution scientist who is boycotting the event. He feels Leno is abusing serious candidates by using them as part of the show but not letting them up on stage. ``Other candidates tell me I'm all wrong, that I should look at it as an invitation to a party,'' he says. ``But in my view, the party came and went when Arnold made his announcement on Jay's show. That was the party. This would be a consolation party, because we're not the guests of honor.'' Sacramento political consultant Gale Kaufman agrees. ``I'd say don't go, because if you're a serious candidate you should get the play that Arnold got. Anything less is just for Leno's purposes.'' This being California, a mini-revolt has broken out over the invitation. Angry e-mail is flying back and forth as candidates wrestle with the invitation. Audie Bock of Oakland thinks Leno should be ashamed of himself for blatantly exploiting the lesser-known candidates while giving Schwarzenegger ``the complete forum.'' Peter Camejo's media representative, Tyler Snortum-Phelps, says the Green Party candidate ``has better things to do than to sit in the audience of `The Tonight Show' and have Jay Leno make fun of him.'' Cheryl Bly-Chester, a Roseville business leader, said, ``If Leno's going to use his platform to make clowns out of us, we'll use him right back.'' She suggested candidates take advantage of all the reporters who will be on hand before and after the show. Studio City lawyer Lawrence Steven Strauss, another candidate, contacted Burbank officials to get a permit to hold mass interviews outside the NBC studios. He hopes to hear back this week. Now it appears the real show Sept. 22 may not be in Leno's lair at all, but on the grass across the street, in Johnny Carson Park. bayarea.com bayarea.com

To: Neeka who wrote (5899)	8/26/2003 6:34:54 AM
From: LindyBill	Respond to of 793691

GOP Renews Hopes for Alaska Oil Drilling Blackout Boosts Energy Bill's Prospects, but Democrats Stand Firm on Keeping Refuge Off-Limits By Juliet Eilperin Washington Post Staff Writer Tuesday, August 26, 2003; Page A04 Renewed interest in a major energy bill has raised Republicans' hopes for a cherished goal: drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But the Bush administration and congressional leaders face fierce resistance from Senate Democrats, raising serious doubts that a green light for drilling will be part of a final bill. This month's massive blackout across the Northeast and Midwest has given new political momentum to legislation, backed by the White House, that would provide tax breaks for energy companies. The House approved its version of the bill in April; the Senate passed a different energy plan just before the August recess. One of the most controversial provisions in the House plan would allow oil companies to drill in ANWR, as the refuge is called. Advocates of drilling in the vast area, home to 123,000 caribou and other wildlife, have tried for years to achieve a congressional accord and presidential signature. By mean estimates, about 10.3 billion barrels of oil lie beneath the plain, compared with approximately 13 billion barrels that companies have extracted from Alaska's Prudhoe Bay in more than 25 years of production. Some labor unions also support drilling, saying it would produce new jobs. The current House has voted twice in favor of drilling in ANWR as part of a broad energy bill, most recently in April. But the Senate has rejected that approach, voting 52 to 48 against it as part of a budget resolution vote in March. As a result, its version of the energy bill has no such provision. For months, Republicans have said drilling in ANWR is a critical component of any comprehensive energy plan. But in recent interviews, top Republicans said they recognize the difficulty of overcoming the Senate's resistance. "I don't think we can afford not to try," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.). "We have a moral obligation to continue to fight to find a compromise for the sake of the country." House Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.) was even more firm, saying he feels "very strongly that production has got to be part of the final bill." "If you really want to produce a balanced energy bill, you want something on the side of production," he said, adding that ANWR "represents our best shot at bringing on a substantial oil reserve." But Senate and House Democrats describe any new drilling in Alaska as a deal-breaker. "The Senate has made it very clear we're not going to support legislation that would call for opening of ANWR," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.). "That's something that would jeopardize passage of a final bill." Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said Republicans will have a hard time arguing that new drilling would do anything to address problems linked to the massive blackout that started Aug. 14. "The Republicans are saying to find the answer to the electricity crisis by going to the Arctic," Markey said. "The Democrats are saying to find the answer to the electricity crisis, go to Cleveland," near the spot where the problems began. "It's very difficult to argue it's related to the electricity crisis, because we don't use oil to generate electricity." But Tauzin said Democrats were obstructing an environmentally friendly approach to drilling that would boost the nation's oil reserves. He suggested critics of the plan should try to "live in the dark and see how they like it." House Republicans have tried to make their proposal more palatable by including language that would devote some of the drilling proceeds to a federal heating assistance program. Outside groups are readying their troops to do battle over ANWR. Alysondra Campaigne, legislative director for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said her group is "educating the public on the issue. This is a huge priority for our organization." For its part, the oil industry is talking to lawmakers, staff, consumers and corporate allies such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to spread the message about why to pursue new production in Alaska. "We're making sure people understand from our point of view the resource potential there," said Betty Anthony, general manager for exploration and production at the American Petroleum Institute. The battle over ANWR has raged for more than a decade. President Dwight Eisenhower founded the refuge in 1960, one year after Alaska received statehood. Congress expanded it 20 years later and gave it its current name. A plan to develop oil in the plain was derailed in 1989 after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Republicans tried in 1991 and 1995 to open the refuge for drilling, but Democrats blocked them. Now the two sides are gearing up for a contentious political debate. Over the past few years Democrats have painted the GOP as insensitive to vulnerable animals. Republicans argue that Democrats are greatly exaggerating the impact of limited drilling within the vast reserve. They point to a Clinton administration report that said drilling could be pursued in an ecologically sensitive way. Tauzin said that with the "horrible politics" surrounding this issue, "it makes it pretty hard to reach a compromise." washingtonpost.com