Word: conrad
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...CONRAD: Perhaps it's because I come from a state in which we have relatively modest demands for ((political)) money, but I don't feel this pressure from groups. As far as I'm concerned, the real problem here is time or the lack of it. As I left for home the other evening at 7 o'clock, which is usually the case, I looked back on the day and decided it was typical: meetings with constituents from home, fund raising, committee meetings. I'm on four committees. Three of the committees met at the same time that particular...
...CONRAD: Yes, and the answer is because nobody's got time during the day. You have endless meetings and endless demands: speeches, appearances, getting your picture taken with the kids from back home...
...CONRAD: There are four things that create weakened leadership. I'd start with finances. We are separate operators. We raise our own money. So that creates a dynamic. Second, the advent of the 30-second ad, which I think has a very real impact on how things work up here. We're having many more votes -- at least that's true in the Senate -- partly because people want to get out there on some narrow issue and turn it into a 30-second ad. We've spent hours and hours on legislation, amendments, that are really designed to create...
...CONRAD: Maybe, but I think it depends on the kind of President you have. Today I think we have a leadership failure of substantial proportions...
...CONRAD: I think the media also bear substantial responsibility for the frustrations people feel about government. Reporters are chasing every rabbit of scandal, and it's not healthy. Journalists have gone from a healthy skepticism to a destructive cynicism. The House bank story has got far more attention that it deserved. Meantime, virtually no attention is being paid to the $400 billion worth of hot checks being written by the Federal Government. I think the media fail to deal with substance in favor of any minor scandal that comes along...