LIFE goes on in Washington, even on the verge of a presidential
election, which everyone wishes was over.The Washington Redskins, for
example, are not finding it as easy as they'd expected to move to a
greatly enlarged stadium across the Potomac river. In fact, they've had
to abandon the idea.
Virginia's Governor Douglas L. Wilder, who had offered the team 300
acres for new quarters on the outskirts of Alexandria, found that the
local citizenry and the state legislature didn't share his enthusiasm
for the plan.
Jack Kent Cooke, the Redskins' owner, says he was ''flabbergasted'' by
the Virginia voters' negative reaction to the prospect of turning a
large area known as Potomac Yard into a home for his internationally
famous football team.
''I thought they would welcome the Redskins with open arms,'' Cooke
pouted. ''It hurt me very deeply.''
He complained that people jumped to conclusions about the cost of the
projected stadium. Virginia's state lawmakers, after evaluating the
deal, said Cooke would have to give up or share some of the huge profits
offered him by Governor Wilder, and none of his counter-proposals seem
to have come to anything.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly, who, earlier this
summer, characterised Cooke as a ''billionaire bully'', is biding her
time. When the prospect of the Redskins' moving came up, in early
summer, she allocated $60m of the city's money to improve their present
home, the RFK Stadium, and she offered Cooke a share in the money
generated from parking lots and concession businesses. She also
reassured taxpayers in the hard-pressed District of Columbia that they
wouldn't have to pick up the tab for any new building, not with so many
people here so hard-pressed and homeless.
Now that the Virginia deal is off, Jack Kent Cooke is quietly meeting
with representatives of the District of Columbia, and presumably trying
to reopen negotiations although he says he doesn't want to deal directly
with Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly. Not after what she said about him. But
the Redskins do need a home base, and what they have at present in
Washington is better than nothing.
WHOEVER lives in the White House over the next four years will enjoy a
beautifully restored mansion. The outside of the famous building has
been enveloped in dustcloths for months but now they're coming off, in
time to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the laying of the
foundation of the presidential home in October l792.
The house is built of sandstone and the blocks were cut by Scottish
stonecutters. The original interior was gutted by British troops during
the War of l8l2, and since then many changes have been made in both the
public and private quarters. Every First Lady has had her own ideas, and
over the two centuries the l32-room house has been gradually modernised.
Structural repairs became so necessary in the late l940s that the
First Family had to move out and live across the street in the Blair
House, which was designed for visiting heads of state.
History-conscious President Harry Truman insisted that the restoration
be meticulously accurate. Later, Mrs John F. Kennedy brought in interior
decorators and made the residence the beautiful showplace it is today.
The present First Lady hasn't had much time, lately, to enjoy her
house. Barbara Bush, always far more popular than her husband, has been
campaigning tirelessly for him, together with her daughter Doro, three
daughters-in-law, and even a few grandchildren.
Looking like everyone's favourite grandmother, Mrs Bush delivers sharp
answers to questions about the economy and international affairs. She
likes to be photographed in schools, emphasising her interest in
literacy. Her book about Millie, the First Dog, has now been translated
into German and Japanese, and brought in over a million in royalties
this year, all of which went to charities.
Millie gets 7000 letters a year, according to her owner.
If the Clintons replace the Bushes in the White House, the First Pet
will be a black and white feline of the breed politely called American
domestic shorthair, in common parlance an alley cat.
Currently, staffers in the White House office quarters are said to be
busily writing and sending out resumes, in case they find themselves
among the unemployed in January. President Bush did make a stronger
impression during the third and last debate with the other two
candidates, and no election is a sure thing, but whatever happens, there
will be a big turnover in jobs in the next administration.
ALTHOUGH it's estimated that people enjoy celebrity status in America
for only 15 minutes, Professor Anita Hill, the quiet young woman who,
this time last year, accused the Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas
of sexually harassing her, remains in the news. And her credibility has
increased.
During those three gruelling days in October l99l when she testified
before the all-white (and all-male) Senate committee appointed to
confirm the judicial appointment, public opinion polls found people
believed Thomas's flat denial of impropriety rather than Anita Hill's
accusations by a ratio of three to one.
Exactly a year later, public opinion is running 44% in her favour. One
reason is Judge Thomas's record on the bench. During the hearings, he
claimed he had no knowledge of or opinion on the controversial Roe
versus Wade legislation which permits abortion.
Once confirmed, however, he demonstrated in the various decisions he
has prepared that he did indeed have strong opinions. He's against a
woman's right to control her own body.
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