Plane Pelosi

I really enjoyed our discussion Thursday about the Nancy Pelosi plane controversy. We had plenty of calls from both critics and defenders.

I still thinki Hannity, Gingrich and the rest of the conservatives are merely trying to embarrass the new Speaker. She's made it clear that she is willing to fly commercial. The House sergeant-at-arms has made it clear that HE was the one who requested the larger plane, not her.

I like Al from Nipomo's argument that if Pelosi were in her home district in a time of a crisis, we would want her to get back to DC as quickly as possible and not have to worry about stopping to refuel.

But what do you think? Here's the latest update on the issue. Feel free to weight in.

"For most of the past five weeks, House Republicans could do little else but watch as majority Democrats passed major legislation without giving them a chance to propose changes or offer alternatives. So when they finally got a chance Thursday to air pent-up frustrations over how Democrats were running things, the Republicans decided to make some noise — and how. They aimed high, all the way to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

Reports swirled on Capitol Hill that she had requested a bigger, swankier government airplane than her Republican predecessor had used for trips back to her home district when Congress isn't meeting.

For Republicans, feeling muzzled and still blue over losing control of the House, the irony was too good to ignore.

A waste of the taxpayers' money, some said, claiming her trips would cost $15 million a year if she used planes such as the military version of the Boeing 757-200. In its commercial configuration the 757-200 usually seats 175-190 passengers.

Pelosi should lead by example, argued others, because a bigger plane consumes more fuel and contributes more to the global warming she expresses concern about.

"The jet that Pelosi has produces 10,000 pounds of carbon dioxide an hour, far more than the previous speaker used," said Rep. Patrick McHenry (news, bio, voting record), R-N.C. Pelosi's predecessor was Rep. Dennis Hastert, R-Ill.

"By commandeering a huge government plane for her personal transport to California, this is totally contradictory to the alarm bells we heard her ringing in the Science Committee just a few hours ago," Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (news, bio, voting record), R-Calif., said.

Amid the hubbub, House Sergeant-at-Arms Bill Livingood, who is charged with the speaker's security, issued a statement saying it actually was he, not Pelosi, who had requested that the military provide the larger plane so Pelosi could fly nonstop to the West Coast.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Pentagon agreed to provide the House speaker, who is second in the line of presidential succession behind the vice president, with a military plane for added security during trips home. Hastert flew in a commuter-size Air Force jet.

"The fact that Speaker Pelosi lives in California compelled me to request an aircraft that is capable of making nonstop flights for security purposes, unless such an aircraft is unavailable," Livingood said in a statement. "I regret that an issue that is exclusively considered and decided in a security context has evolved into a political issue."

The Pentagon informed Pelosi's staff this week that she would get a plane, based on availability, and that nonstop service could not be guaranteed.

Pelosi said Thursday that she'd be happy to fly commercial.

"We never asked for a larger plane. This is a myth that (the Republicans) are talking about on the floor," she said. "They have nothing to say to the American people about the war, the economy, global warming and the rest. So they have this game they're playing."

The $50 Question

OK, here's what I did today. I went to the Web site for Barack Obama and I made a $50 donation, only the second time I've ever donated $$$$ in a presidential campaign.

This is certainly not an endorsement and I fully expect Obama to flame out under the intense media scrutiny that he's about to receive. But I opted to make a token donation because I want this guy to have a chance and I want to know more about him.

This is what I think. I don't want anyone named Clinton or Bush in the White House ever again. We've had 20 years of these two families. It's time for new blood.

I once respected John McCain, but it's hard to maintain that now. He's sold his soul to the devil. He would say anything, do anything, to be president. Guiliani has been able to coast on 9/11, but people seem to forget how he was stumbling as mayor just prior to that tragedy. The Republican I like is Chuck Hagel, but I don't know if he'll run. Hope so.

john Edwards? Please. There's nobody home there. How about Mrs. Clinton? Well, how about her? I think she took too long to come around on Iraq, a Joannie-come-lately if you will. And I'm not trying to be sexist, but it's painful to listen to her speeches. She's not her husband, which is good and bad. I think she's been an excellent senator and I wish she'd stay there.

Everything I've read about Obama says he wants to run a nontraditional campaign. Yep, he's young and inexperienced, but, hey, George W. Bush had degrees from Yale and Harvard, had a dad who was President, was a governor, and he still ended up being our worst president. So perhaps it's time to go in the other direction and think outside the box.

The key word is perhaps. Don't know yet. But I want to give the guy a chance to make his case. $50 sure isn't going to make him, or break him, but I'd be interested in your reaction.

Home Safe

Just wanted to say a quick hello to everyone and let you know I survived my Antarctica adventure. Arrived home on Friday and I've just been sleeping most of the weekend, tryiing to readjust to the SLO Life. Will be back on the radio starting Monday and I look forward to sharing my adventures with you and pursuing the issues of the day.

Also want to give a huge THANK YOU to the bloggers who kept this thing going in my absence with almost 200 posts on everything from Iraq to racism (by the way, Rich, I agree with you whole-heartedly. The media over-hyped the race angle in their Super Bowl coverage). I appreciate deeply your support of this venture and I promise to renew my own blogging this week.

And thanks to the litany of guest hosts who covered the show in my absence, allowing me such an extended vacation. It's not easy doing that job and I appreciate the spirit and the variety of topics covered.

Pleased to announce that Conservative Bob returns to Hometown Radio on Tuesday to mark the birthday of his hero, Ronald Reagan. Jeanne Dugger joins us on Wednesday to report on her recent lobbying trip to D.C. regarding No Child Left Behind. We'll spend this week getting back into the groove.

In terms of Antarctica, I'm not sure what to tell you. Still processing. It was the most incredible experience of my life. Truly. The only thing that could possibly compete would be space travel. I snapped about 600 photos and will try to organize one of those on-line photo albums and let you judge for yourselves.

Anyway, good to be back and we'll catch you on Hometown Radio!