Friday, August 25, 2006

HOV Traffic Waits for No Man, Even the President

It doesn't matter where you're from or what party you align yourself with, this has got to be one of the most boneheaded ideas you, or I, have ever heard. If you think otherwise after reading the following article I’d love to hear it in the comments section of this post. It goes a long way in displaying how out of touch those at the top of the political spectrum are with the average, hard-working, hard-commuting American.

The idea that a politician (and in this case, not just any politician) would consider crippling the D.C. evening rush hour for a partisan fundraising event is infuriating at the very least. This official in question is (currently) a Washingtonian; he knows the hell people go through on the area's major arteries just to get home after a long day. I think my lovely wife Kelly said it best, “It’s not that [politicians] don’t realize what they’re doing, they just don’t care.” George Allen, host of the aforementioned event, is still trying to save face after the whole "Macaca" fiasco, I’m not sure he wants to have every DC commuter pissed off at him as well.

Besides, who takes 395 to Mount Vernon??

From today’s Post…

Wouldn't it be nice to have the highway all to yourself? All alone during rush hour, whizzing down Interstate 395 with not a single car or bus to get in your way? Alas, even the leader of the free world doesn't get that kind of treatment.

Not that he didn't ask.

On Tuesday, the Secret Service asked Virginia officials if they would be kind enough to shut down all of the HOV lanes on I-395 from 1 to 7 p.m. the next day so President Bush could get where he needed to be, according to state officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussing the president's travel.

The request was made ahead of a fundraiser for Sen. George Allen (R) held at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at a house near Mount Vernon -- a good hour's drive from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. during a typical rush hour. Read more...

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