| Potomac Confidential
With Marc Fisher
Post Metro Columnist
Thursday, May 8, 2003; Noon ET Potomac Confidential fills the midday lull with discussion of the latest news and a rigorous slicing and dicing of the issues that define who we are and where we live. In his weekly show, Washington Post Metro columnist Marc Fisher veers wildly from serious probing to silly prattle, and is open to topics local, national, personal and more. The transcript follows. Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
Marc Fisher: Bye-bye, MJ! Bye-bye, sellout crowds at MCI! Bye-bye, illusions of success in the Washington sports world!
Bye-bye, Montgomery smoking ban! Bye-bye, Klingle Road park!
Hello, vouchers! Hello, Mr. Mayor's new haircut!
And welcome aboard all on a busy, busy day. Much to talk about, so let's get to your thoughts and questions...
Arlington, Va.: Did you catch the shot of Michael Jordan pulling out of MCI yesterday? Not the side shot, but the rear angle, which shows that his airness's ride was registered in Illinois. Did he drive in from Chicago for the sitdown, or has he been evading the city's registration laws? To me this speaks volumes of why he was shown the road. Marc Fisher: Good eyes -- that was my favorite little symbolic image of this whole fiasco. And that's Abe Pollin's best argument -- Jordan certainly filled the arena, but he produced basically nada as an executive, and he was pretty much an absentee officer of the team during his years in a suit. He never lived here, never even bothered to register his car here.
Washington, D.C.: The District can afford $338 million (to start) for a baseball team? The city can't afford to pave its streets, educate its children or police its neighborhoods. But, hey, the Federal government apparently can afford $90 billion (just for starts) to rebuild Iraq and a huge tax break. Do you have any idea how much each District resident would end up paying in taxes for the baseball team? How much will each American tax payer end up paying for Iraq? Marc Fisher: Lots of government spending makes no sense when you start comparing one category to another. But despite all the whining about how tight the city's budget is, we've got plenty of cash to support a police department that has more officers per capita than any other big city in the country.
And has that given us the safest streets in the nation? Hardly.
The funding formula in the mayor's baseball plan puts all the pain on the baseball players themselves (good, but probably will be hard to make happen), on the city's biggest businesses (logical, since many of them will stand to gain from baseball's impact on the economy) and on sales at businesses around the stadium (obvious, and most equitable.) So this would hardly be taking money from social needs.
Arlington, Va.: Marc, Here in Arlington, battle lines are being drawn on Baseball. Opponents of a stadium are saying that the District is the better place to put it. They think that a stadium in Arlington would be a bad investment and draw traffic and congestion to local neighborhoods. Proponents of baseball say that it would be fun to go to the games without having to cross the Potomac, which no one from Chantilly would ever want to do. They say traffic won't be so bad because people will take Metro, and that it will bring revenues, fame and glory to Virginia and Arlington. How much money do you think Virginia should spend to get a stadium? Is $100m fiscally responsible? How about $300m? Marc Fisher: Again, it depends on where the money comes from. If the bulk of the public money is raised from businesses and people who would most directly benefit from baseball's presence, that's a win-win.
Arlington is a great location for baseball, but a very expensive spot, and the state is in no condition or mood to be very generous. The impact on traffic would be negligible if a stadium is built smack in the middle of Pentagon City or Rosslyn -- if the planners are smart and provide no new parking, people will use Metro, as they do at MCI Center, which produces very little traffic, even at game time.
Friendship Heights, Washington, D.C.: Was MJ that arrogant or just that clueless? What part of the job did he think he did well? Sure, Pollin should acknowledge that Jordan sold tickets, but what else did he do? The Wizards are nothing without MJ, but, aside from the side-show atmosphere of Jordan playing, the Wizards were nothing with him, either! Marc Fisher: There's a boatload of arrogance on all sides of this. Jordan obviously thought he had the job coming to him, even if he ran down the owner to anyone who would listen. Pollin obviously wanted Jordan to get down on his knees and pledge the sort of lifelong allegiance that Unseld and O'Malley have given him.
The easy solution would have been to hand the whole thing over to Jordan for a year or two, at the end of which the Wizards would still be filling MCI, they would still stink, Jordan would be discredited as an executive, Jordan would be bored and he would have moved on of his own accord, without any of this backlash against Pollin.
Capitol Hill: HOW many millions to reopen Klingle Street? I'd be glad to take down the barricades and the "Closed" sign for, oh, half a mil.
Marc Fisher: Many, many millions to repave a short, narrow road through Rock Creek Park for the benefit of a relative handful of commuters. On the other hand, why is it justifiable to permanently shut down a road that was closed solely because it got washed out in a storm?
This has been one of our city's longest running and most volatile debates over something that is truly insignificant.
Derwood, Md.: Marc - A quick math problem: Since, on average, Klingle Road is flooded every 20 years, Klingle Road has been closed for 10 years since the flood that destroyed the road, and it will be another 3-4 years before the road reopens to traffic -- the road first needs to be re-surveyed, re-engineered, put out for bid, then reconstructed -- how many years of service will suburban cut-thru commuters like myself get out of Klingle Road before it is wiped out by the next 20-year flood? (Since I don't have hydraulic charts for that area, I made up those numbers, but I think the point is valid.) I would be a smug suburbanite about this except that it seems we're no better about solving transportation problems. Over in Annapolis, Governor Bobby was quoted as saying "I'm going to build that damn road (the ICC) if I have to get a shovel myself and start digging." Doesn't that doofus know that politicians normally start the digging during ground breaking ceremonies? Marc Fisher: Yes, perhaps, but other roads in the park seem to weather storms just fine, so I don't know that there's anything inevitable about another washout.
And this in no way compares to the ICC or Techway or other such huge projects. This is a tiny street through the park.
I can only hope ... : Bye, Bye Bill Bennett? Every time I saw him on deck on Hannity or some other show, I mentally groaned. He is the biggest sanctimonious windbag going. And he only sings one note. Who knew he was as immoral as Clinton or Neil Bush? Well, hopefully he will now go away as the national morality czar. I always felt he had something to hide. Marc Fisher: Ah, you speak too soon of Big Bill's departure. Sure, he'll stay off the Sunday morning shows for a few weeks, but I bet he makes a mea culpa appearance on Fox News within three months, then signs to write a book about his gambling problem and then he's, you'll excuse the expression, off to the races.
Virginia: So did you hear about Jim Moran's latest fracas -- a screaming match with the Rev. Michael Dobbins outside Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria? It was reported in Wednesday's Roll Call. I actually like Jim, and would never vote GOP, but enough is enough! Marc Fisher: I've only seen what's in Roll Call: Rep. Jim Moran
(D-Va.) got into a nasty battle with the Rev. Michael Dobbins, a Roman Catholic priest, at the Congressman's parish of Blessed Sacrament in Alexandria, Va., this past Sunday.
A red-faced Moran was spotted after the 9 a.m. Mass exchanging heated words with Dobbins. "Moran was screaming and pointing his finger at him," said one parishioner who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "He went ballistic."
Somehow, this is less than surprising. When will voters finally tire of this sad man's antics?
Arlington, Va.: Looks like Moran is going to embarrass himself and his constituents all the way until Nov. 2004. I am a Dem that voted against him. I hope my fellow Dems get it together and boot him out. Marc Fisher: It will take more than hope. It will take big money and lots of organizing.
Adelphi, Md.: Marc, please visit the Web site: Frank Talk Web Site, and read about recent outrageous indignities at the private school, Barrie in Silver Spring. Barrie community members have had to resort to an anonymous Web site to express themselves freely. Recently seven students were expelled for alleged drug and alcohol use, without any real evidence. In addition, the current administration's tactics towards faculty, students and parents is causing people to leave the school. The upper school student newspaper has been censored, faculty have been intimidated, and parents have been threatened with having their kids kicked out, if the parents remained vocal. Marc Fisher: Interesting stuff -- internal politics of a private school bared for all to see, kids expelled for drug and alcohol use. Sounds like a school that's trying to clean up its kids' acts, but is doing so in a way that ticks off parents and faculty alike. Sounds like a good story.
Forestville, Md.: How many freakin' times did the Post, especially washingtonpost.com, think it was necessary to tell everyone that Alexandria's new mayor is -- take a deep breath -- BLACK! As a black person, I was more than a little aggravated. Hon, it's 2003, this is not banner news. We get elected to stuff. It can be mentioned as part of the story, especially since William Euille grew up in segregated Alexandria, but that is not the headline. Of course he's black; the only candidates from either major party were both black. One of them was bound to be elected. The Post beat this horse to death during the race for mayor. Let it go, already! Sheesh! Marc Fisher: Good question, and this is always a tough one for editors and reporters. At what point do "firsts" become so common that they are not news? In a city that has had as much racial division and discord as Alexandria has over the years, it certainly says something that voters have elected a black mayor. It says even more that both major party candidates were black. I think that's a legitimate and important story especially given the pressures of gentrification and the resulting strain between poor blacks in subsidized housing and rich whites who eye the land where those apartments sit.
Washington, D.C.: Hmmm ... I'm sensing a little too much glee over this MJ thing among white people. Seems they are always happy to see one of us "put in our place" get reminded of who really runs things in this world. Am I just an overly sensitive black man Marc? Marc Fisher: I don't know -- it's hard for me to see this as a purely racial issue. After all, Wes Unseld made the same transition under Abe Pollin that Jordan was seeking to make. Now, you could well argue that Unseld is a more pliant kind of person and was more willing to take Abe's directions and that therefore Unseld fit a racist and servile stereotype of blacks in management. But you could say the same sort of thing about any of George Steinbrenner's GMs and managers and they've almost all been white. So no, I don't see this as racial nearly as much as I see it as an arrogant old man protecting his turf against an arrogant younger zillionaire who thought he had this team coming to him.
Re: Michael Jordan: "Pollin obviously wanted Jordan to get down on his knees and pledge the sort of lifelong allegiance that Unseld and O'Malley have given him." You made me spit out my coffee. LOL.
Marc Fisher: Send your dry cleaning bill to Abe Pollin, Washington Sports and Entertainment, MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.: I have to assume there are people out there, consultants or academics, who have produced reports about the future viability of professional sports. Will the fan base be there for the "big three" (basketball, football, and baseball) in the future as more sports establish professional leagues and college athletics continues to resemble more and more its professional counterparts? Have we reached a point of saturation with regards to pro teams? And if not, is that saturation point in the near future? Marc Fisher: It's not a matter of saturation--Washington is the best example of an underserved market. But yes, there is a major problem in professional sports' future. By turning games that were once accessible to people of modest incomes into playthings for the rich and the super-rich, the leagues have turned their backs on future generations of fans.
By taking the TV networks' every wish as their command and running games deep into the night, the leagues, and especially baseball, have made it virtually impossible for kids--their future customers -- to watch most games.
The huge salaries have eroded the economic foundation of pro sports, so yes, there are big problems to come. But that won't stop well-run teams in good markets from doing well.
Washington D.C.: Mark, How can you be so sure that Jordan would fail as an executive? He rid the Wizards of overpriced, underproducing talent like Juwan Howard and Rod Strickland, and energized the team with youngsters like Jared Jeffries and Kwame Brown. Yes, Brown has taken a while to develop, but nearly all players who go straight from high school to the pros don't emerge until their 3rd or 4th year in the league. Since when did you get such an accurate crystal ball? Marc Fisher: Find me one basketball executive who thinks the Wizards are on the path to the playoffs. If he exists, he's been awfully quiet of late.
Laurel, Md.: Marc, have you seen the attendance figures for the Orioles series against Detroit Mon-Wed? As measured in ticket sold (actual bodies in seats is probably about half these numbers): 17, 23 and 22 thousand. You suppose anyone's noticed the Washington-area fans' boycott?
Marc Fisher: You think that's the DC boycott in action? I wish you were right, but I think it's more likely that Baltimore's fans have tired of Angelos' antics and see little reason to support a team whose owner isn't trying to do anything but block a Washington franchise.
Gambrills, Md.: It seems to me that the firing of his Airness wasn't so much about Jordan/Pollin as it was about Pollin/Leonsis. Do you think Leonsis precipitated this confrontation when he dared to publicly snipe at Pollin about the way the Capitals had been treated by Washington Sports and Entertainment? Marc Fisher: No, this didn't happen because of Leonsis. But the Leonsis unhappiness with Pollin is another symptom of the same illness -- an owner whose methods are outdated and unsuited to the way bigtime sports works these days.
The most intriguing question looking forward is what Leonsis' next move is. Does he wait out Abe and sit patiently through years of further failure on the court, or does he ditch the whole thing and try his hand at auto racing or something else he can run from Day One? Or can he somehow get Pollin to hand over the Wizards sooner? If that's Leonsis' move, watch for him to try to rally public anger against Abe as subtly but as powerfully as he can.
Bollocks: "The funding formula in the mayor's baseball plan puts all the pain on the baseball players themselves (good, but probably will be hard to make happen)" Which means it will never happen, and is merely a smokescreen. ", on the city's biggest businesses (logical, since many of them will stand to gain from baseball's impact on the economy)" And will be passed through in higher prices to the general public. Ergo, it's just a sneaky way of taxing the general public with one step of separation. "and on sales at businesses around the stadium (obvious, and most equitable.) So this would hardly be taking money from social needs." The only real, and good idea. Here's the deal, I'll support dumb jocks if everyone involved will sign a "promise to resign" pledge (including rah-rah journalists) the minute one cent of general taxation is spent on this. Otherwise, why should I have to support your dumb jock addiction (aka "entertainment choice") out of my wallet? Can I use the coercive power of the state to force you to subsidize my alt-rock at the 9:30 club? Marc Fisher: I'd go along with requiring pols to sign that pledge -- there's no excuse for using general fund money to build a stadium.
And yes, governments support your music needs in a big way, not by subsidizing the 9:30 club, which presumably makes a nifty profit all by itself, but certainly by pumping in big money for larger venues that do need public money -- Wolf Trap, Kennedy Center, the Armory, MCI, etc.
Washington, D.C.: Your response to the "overly sensitive black man" was most unsatisfying. What happened to MJ had nothing to do with race. Your reader is looking for racism where none exists. Please, let's reserve the "race card" for instances in which there are real problems to be solved. Marc Fisher: You're probably right, but his is a natural and reasonable question to ask, especially in a business like basketball, which for many years has consisted largely of white owners and black players. In this case, I don't see race as the governing issue, but you have to admit that there have been any number of cases where race did play a role.
Arlington, Va.: One thing that has always amazed me about Abe Pollin and his organization is how money hungry they are. One example that upsets me greatly is that you have to pay a surcharge to Ticketmaster to buy a ticket at the box office. Pollin owns Ticketmaster. I really suspect that the sports events at the arena are loss leaders for the enormous profits of food and drink, much of the money the concessionaires have to give to Pollin. Marc Fisher: Somehow, these teams have to recoup the massive player salaries and other bloated costs they face. If you think those megamillion salaries aren't being passed on to the fans in some way, you're dreaming. But concessions have always been the big profit center in many entertainment industries -- movies are the best example. Theaters make more at the popcorn stand than they do at the box office, always have.
Bethesda, Md: What with the various Washington-area teams being mediocre and fan-unfriendly antics from the owners -- who cares about it any more? Not me, anyhow. Marc Fisher: Enough people care to have sold out MCI for every game during the Jordan years. The Skins still sell out. The Mystics have led the WNBA in attendance every year of their existence. The Caps do well when the Caps are doing well. The Terrapins are a perpetual sellout.
Baltimore, Md.: You're absolutely right about why the attendance figures are down for the Orioles. A friend and I have split season tickets for the last five years. We finally got fed up with the lousy product Angelos was putting on the field and decided against renewing the season tickets this year. Baltimore will be so much better off when Angelos finally sells the team. If and when I go to a baseball game this year, it will be to the Bowie Baysox, or maybe up the road to see Cal Ripken's Aberdeen Ironbirds. Marc Fisher: Right, but I wonder what impact that declining attendance will have. Angelos is clearly betting that he'll be able to use depressed turnstile numbers to show that the region cannot support two teams. D.C. and Virginia boosters will have to point to the O's many years of box office success to show that we can.
Virginia: Ahhh Bill Bennett -- here's what I see happening -- he'll be bigger (no pun intended) after being "crucified" in the press and doing the coming to Jesus routine. You're right -- he'll be more successful than ever after fending off those pesty liberal reporters and making a deal with God. Is it any wonder that I'm cynical about politics anymore? If anyone in Clinton's cabinet with any remote kind of moralizing going on did this, it would be all over Rush Limbaugh and the AM radio stations. (Ditto if Clinton had pulled that fly boy stunt like Bush did.) No, I'm not a Democrat but I do have some credit for having some brains and seeing hypocrisy. Marc Fisher: I'm afraid you're right--the Bennett story has been remarkably underplayed, in my view. It's a juicy little hypocrisy story.
We should have a contest to see how long it takes before Bennett is riding the bestseller list again, this time as a penitent ex-gambler heading down the road to Oprah and the Today show to peddle his apologies.
Hill: Did the NYT's slavish devotion to "diversity" in their newsroom so blind them as to overlook a clear pattern of behavior by Jayson Blair? Shades of Janet Cooke? Marc Fisher: Hard to say. It seems clear that the Times management knew their reporter was big trouble and that there had been red flags galore throughout his meteoric career. On the other hand, hindsight is 20-20 and what initially appeared to be isolated problems may only look like a pattern of fraud in the rear view mirror.
Did he get a free ride because he is black? Not likely. His stories were consistently well written and ahead of the pack; of course, they turned out to be plagiarized and fraudulent. Did he get early and helpful boosts in his career because of the desire to diversify newsrooms? Much more likely. And yes, there is a parallel there to Cooke's case.
Capitol Hill loves bikers!: So, how 'do' we get those silly vehicular commuters to respect bikers' rights in this city? I have to wonder, after two days in a row of fighting with suburban drivers who seemed to think it's OK to tell me to get out of the street -- MY street that I'm by law required to ride in! Marc Fisher: The city installed a whole bunch of bike lanes a few years back, eliminating car lanes in the process on some very busy commuter routes, such as Calvert St. NW. The result is much more auto congestion, and I've yet to see a single bike commuter on that particular street.
On the other hand, there is a proposal to extend the recreational and bicycle use of Beach Drive in Rock Creek Park from just weekends to seven days a week, and the Park Service is going to make its decision on that in July. It would be an excellent way to boost bike commuting and force some of those Maryland commuters out of their cars.
Washington, D.C.: Now that it's getting warmer outside, it must only be a few weeks before the first RED ALERT for ozone/healthy air (free ride on buses!). Have the local governments revised the code system, or will everyone panic at the first Red Alert (as folks think the alert is for terrorism)? Marc Fisher: I think they will switch to a system of all-grey alerts, the Shades of Grey or SOG color code, suiting both our fashion sensibility and our general approach toward life in these parts.
Arlington, Va.: Jim Moran was at 9 o'clock mass? Sounds like he's trying to mend his ways. Marc Fisher: Why, does he strike you as more the Midnight Mass sort?
Speaking of Sports: When, oh when is Hizzoner or the city council going to do something about the D.C. Sports Commission. I mean if I didn't know better, I would think that they answer to no one but themselves! Marc Fisher: They don't seem to answer to anyone at all. One scandal after another, nothing but failures in their daily work, yet nothing changes.
Alexandria, Va.: Marc,
I can't believe Arlington is considering putting a baseball stadium where the Costco is in Pentagon City. Have you seen the evening traffic both north and southbound across the 14th street bridge during evening rush hour. The northbound side is routinely backed up to the Pentagon City exit, sometimes as far as Glebe Road. 7-7:30 p.m. ball games 3 times a week would be a nightmare. Marc Fisher: My bet is that a stadium on that site, which is directly above a Metro station, with a potentially good view of the D.C. skyline, would produce negligible new traffic from the District, so the 14th Street Bridge experience would be unchanged. There'd be no incentive to drive to such a ballpark from Washington. Check out how people from the city get to Pentagon City Mall -- it's largely by train.
Washington, D.C.: My neighborhood (Georgia Ave. area) has been declared a drug free zone. How do I know this? The D.C. government has posted signs all over the place. Of course I haven't noticed a stepped up police presence and the signs have been promptly torn down by guess who? Drug dealers and drug users! As a homeowner I'm frustrated that the house across the alley from me is an open air drug market (that has been repeatedly reported to the police) while they're posting signs all over the place. Marc Fisher: Those signs are an expensive and cynical joke, just like the similar signs that have been posted at schools for so long that many of them are fading. What possible use are they? Are dealers supposed to look at them and say Oh, goodness, my wares are not wanted here, I shall go hawk them at a more socially responsible location!
Lexington Park, Md.: Marc, I wrote in a few weeks ago about the unfair flight restrictions around Washington, D.C. I'll try to help you understand what's so unfair about them. First, we need to file with the gummint before even entering within 30 miles of the Washington Monument (further in some places). Student pilot training (the money maker for most airports) is not allowed in the area. Planes not equipped with proper equipment (very expensive) may not enter the area. We pilots bend over backwards to try to make the public feel safe to our presence, but it's never enough. Imagine, if you will, that after OK City the gummint began closing roads for "safety." Oh wait, they did it to Pennsylvania Ave. and there has been a wide outcry about it. Now, if this were like what the FAA and Homeland Security are doing to us pilots, it would involve any driver driving anywhere from Charles County north to Northern Montgomery county to Loudon County, Virginia needing to file exact intentions with the gummint. Then, D.C. would be closed to the general public but commercial traffic would still be allowed in. Is this fair to you? Marc Fisher: I think a plane can do a bit more damage to protected sites such as the White House and Capitol than a car could do. The airspace restrictions seem reasonable -- unlike the street closings, which are overkill and strangle an entire city, not just a handful of pilots.
Adams Morgan congestion : Oo the increased traffic congestion into Adams Morgan is due to the fact that there is a BIKE LANE now on Calvert Street (which by the way is used quite heavily)? Does that sound simplistic to anyone else? By the way, bike lanes are never going to be used to their full potential, if they are not connected. What do you do when you are on Conn Ave. and Calvert? Marc Fisher: True, so doesn't it make more sense to concentrate on creating extended bike lanes, such as the length of Rock Creek Park or along Connecticut, rather than jamming up traffic on random blocks to install tiny pieces of bikeway?
Arlington, Va.: Marc- What's your writing schedule? I had always assumed it was Tuesday - Thursday with an occasional Sunday column. However, lately they don't seem to keep to that schedule. Marc Fisher: Thanks for noticing. Yes, I've temporarily rolled back the frequency of the column in an effort to make progress on a book I'm writing. The column still appears in the usual spot on alternate Sundays and most Tuesdays and even a few Thursdays--it's way too complicated to map out, but suffice to say that the reduced sked is only for a few months and then I'll return to the regular gig of every Tues and Thurs and alternate Sundays. And we'll continue to meet here Thursdays at noon throughout this period. Thanks again.
LA: I've seen the drug free zone signs for sale on eBay. My dazed and confused 25-year old slacker son bought one for his room in the garage. Very shabby chic! Marc Fisher: Cool. Can I get one too?
Re: gummint: Is this a new term? Marc Fisher: Been around as long as the South.
Re: Drug Free School Zone: How come they have signs to tell you're entering one, but not when you're leaving?
Marc Fisher: You just created jobs for 843 new gummint workers.
Washington, D.C.: Marc, The following item appears in today's METRO section: "Schools Have Proficiency Plan The District school system has submitted a plan to the U.S. Department of Education that specifies percentages of students who are expected to achieve proficiency in standardized testing. The plan, required by the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, applies to both traditional and charter schools and requires the approval of federal education officials." It says that for D.C. elementary schools this year, 30.3 percent of students are expected to test proficient in reading, and 38.4 percent in math. For high schools, the percentages are 13.7 (reading) and 19.8 (math). Those standards will increase gradually until the 2013-14 school year, when all students will be expected to be proficient in both. Schools that fail to meet the standards will receive additional support and could face consequences." The DCPS can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that there is no state agency that can take over the system. These proficiency figures are a disgrace. I predict that the U.S. Department of Education and the D.C. Board of Education will accept the figures and that there will be no public outrage. Any thoughts ... comments? Marc Fisher: The numbers are indeed a disgrace, as is the pathetically low level of expectations.
Derwood, Md.: Today, the Post reported that a fraudulent credit card factory, operating in a home, was shut down in PG County (Huge Credit Scheme Alleged, (Post, May 8)) It is too bad the accused hadn't set up their operation in Montgomery County. The zoning inspectors and nosy neighbors would have shut them down months ago! Marc Fisher: But in MoCo, they could have paid their fines online by credit card, which would have suited them just fine, right?
We're way over our allotted time, folks, so thanks for coming along and we'll see you again next week and in the paper on Sunday. Write if you get work.
washingtonpost.com: That wraps up today's show. Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion.
© Copyright 2003 The Washington Post Company | 
