Online Chat
Sen
Leahy:: Hi. I am luke albee,
sen. leahy's chief of staff. sen. leahy is questioning folks at a baseball
hearing and will be with you shortly. any snowboarders up
there?
Thet7th::
We have a few snowboarding seventh graders
here.
Thet7th::
We also have some skiiers too
Sen Leahy::
down here, everybody wants to be a vermonter these days -- given our gold
medalists.
Thet7th::
We are proud to be Vermonters
Sen Leahy:: to
give you an idea of a senators day, this morning we won a huge victory on the
senate floor by defeating an amendment that would have hurt our dairy farmers.
sen. leahy then had a meeting on the middle east peace process. now its back to
baseball. and in a minute it is on to thetford. here now is senator
leahy
Sen
Leahy:: \Hi this is Pat Leahy
and I've just stepped out of the hearing. Great to be with ou - wish I could be
in Thetford [excuse my poor typing]
Thet7th::
Good afternoon Sen. Leahy. I am here with some seventh
graders at Thetford Academy. We have been studying how our government works and
we had some questions for you.
Sen Leahy::
GoHWs
Sen
Leahy:: Go
ahead
Thet7th::
We thank you very much for taking the time to talk with
us today. Our first question comes from Aaron Chambers. he wants to know how you
found the time to talk with us today.
Sen Leahy:: Aaron every day is a
tight schedule but I always try to give priority to these online chats. I think
that the young people of Vermont are so important and just wish I had had this
opportunity when I was growing up in Vermont
Thet7th::
Our next question comes from Brian Gillingham. He wants
to know how many meetings you attend in a given month. (We actually have a bet
going on your answer)
Sen Leahy:: Most days I have
between 7-12 meetings. Some can take hours while some are short ones. Meetings
with the President tend to go on time - some end up being a lot longer or
shorter than planned. Next week I will have meetings all over Vermont and than
get to spend the weekend with my family in Vermont
Thet7th::
Tyler Mousley would like to know what is the hardest
part about being a Senator.
Sen Leahy:: I'd like to know how
many Brian had bet! Tyler the most difficult part is trying to be knowledgeable
on subjects ranging from dairy to military weapon systems. I read several
hundred pages of material every day and have a wonderful staff whe help me
prepare for meetings.
Thet7th::
Nicoleta Traub understands that you might have
different opinions from the people who voted for you. She wants to know what you
do when that happens?
Sen Leahy::
Nicoleta
Sen
Leahy:: Nicoleta on almost
every issue there will be a difference of opinion among Vermonters. I have to
use my best judgement about what is best for Vermont and the nation. I have cast
more votes than all but 22 people in our nation's history in the Senate and I am
sure in retrospect I might have wanted to change some of them. As a Vermonter I
do always try to get it right.
Thet7th::
Todd Thurston would like to know how many letters you
receive a day.
Sen
Leahy:: Todd I get thousands
of letters a day but hundreds of pounds of mail have been held up and may never
reach me because of the anthrax attaack. We get a hundred or so a day from
Vermont and a large number o e-mails. I also try to call a number of Vermonters
every day just to see what is on people's mind
Thet7th::
You mentioned an upcoming trip to Vermont. Emma Cohen
would like to know what is your favorite town in Vermont.
Sen Leahy::
Emma I love all of Vermont.I was born in Montpelier, my mother in South Ryegate,
my father in Barre , my wife in Newport, I have a tree farm in Middlesex and
vote in Burlington where I was married. I feel fortunate to have all of those
places and , as you know, Thetford is really nice. It would be hard to pick a
favorite place but I feel most at home on my tree farm.
Thet7th::
In keeping with your thoughts about Vermont, Wes Smith
would like to know what you think about Gov. Dean's potential bid for U.S.
President.
Sen
Leahy:: Wes when Bill Clinton
ran for President everyone said it would be impossible for an unknown from a
little state to win. He won two terms. I have no idea who will be the nominee
but Howard Dean has as good a chance as anyone especially with his record on
health care.
Thet7th::
On another Vermont-related topic, Mollie Sadoques would
like to know what you thought about Jim Jeffords decision to become an
Independent.
Sen
Leahy:: Mollie this was a
very difficult decision for Sen Jeffords. I know he seems much happier now and I
respect his integrity for doing it. He has been a good Senator for Vermont and I
would repect him as a person no matter what party he was in. He has made it
possible for tiny Vermont to have two Chairmen in the Senate and that helps all
of us in Vermont
Thet7th::
Kayla Konya speaks for many of our students when she
asks if you have any pets.:-)
Sen Leahy:: Kayla I don't but
that is because I go back and forth between Washington and Vermont all the time
and it would be impossib le to have them. My son and his wife who live near ujs
in Vermont have two choclate labs and they are always in our home. Our daughter
has a Jack Russel terrier and our other son and wife have two
Rottweilers.
Thet7th::
Another popular question is asked by Bryan Shay. He
wants to know about your hobbies and other activities you take part in during
your free time.
Sen
Leahy:: Bryan I enjoy
photography and have had many photographs published in national magazines [and
some I have just for my own enjoyment]. This time of the year i like to
snowshoe. I also do a lot of target shooting and love to scuba dive with my
wife.
Thet7th::
Do we have time for a few more questions?
Sen
Leahy:: I have time for a
couple more - you must be great students with wonderful teachers because your
questions are great!
Thet7th::
Of course!;-)
Soren
Anderson would like to know what you would do differently, if anything, from the
way President Bush is handling the war in Afghanistan.
Sen Leahy::
Soren the President has done a very good job in Afghanistan but now he has to
make sure the precedents he establishes with prisoners, alliances etc. carry
through in a way the United States should want them to during the next few
decades.
Thet7th::
Ian Flett would like to know what your opinion was of
President Bush's State of the Union address. (And two final quick ones: Red Sox
or Yankees? Your favorite food?)
Sen Leahy:: Ian you get the last
question. The President's SOTU was good on the war but left a lot of questions
on domestic politics. Red Sox even tho they break my heart every year and
because I am Italian - American on my maternal side I have always enjoyed
Italian food the most. [of course Vermont maple syrup on Ben and Jerry's vanilla
ice cream isnt bad]
Thet7th::
Senator Leahy, Thetford Academy and its seventh grade
students greatly appreciate the time you spent with us. We hope you will able to
visit our great school. You will be hard pressed to find a school in Vermont
with a better view. Thanks again.
Sen Leahy:: Thanks for letting me
be with you - have a great day
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