Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

DEEP WATER

OK. Newly stern President Obama has presented BP with a $69 million bill for cleanup of the Gulf oil spill. Hurray. But wait. On May 25, BP sent Florida a $25 million “grant” for, well, let’s see. Hazmat suits, sand berms and containment booms to counter the looming threat of oily muck? Well, no. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is using the funds for an “emergency tourism marketing campaign” to preserve and protect, we assume, the image of the Sunshine State.

The 90-day outreach is under way, with ad buys in USA Today, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, plus broadcast time on CNN, ESPN and other networks, not to mention regional print and broadcast buys targeted to 24 regional markets and 65 cities served by Southwest Airlines. The tourist councils and development boards are pleased with what Mr. Crist’s office bills as the “emergency response campaign.” Or maybe it’s just plain “campaign.” November is just four months away.

“Governor Crist is handling the threat of the oil spill on his state in the same way he’s handled other emergencies. He basks in the glow of the media, he calls a press conference to showcase himself and then moves on,” says Alex Burgos, spokesman for rival conservative U.S. Senate candidate Marco Rubio, to Inside the Beltway. “This governor does not respond in the effective style of his predecessor, Jeb Bush, let me tell you.”

BUMPER PATROL

“BP+BO = Disaster”

(New bumper sticker at Zazzle.com)

HOLA, AMERICA

Debate over the Arizona immigration law continues, but assorted American sentiments about the entire immigration landscape remain a constant. A majority of U.S. voters fault the idea of “anchor babies,” for example. Fifty-eight percent of U.S. voters say a child born to an illegal immigrant in this country should not automatically become a U.S. citizen, according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey. Another 85 percent say illegals should not be eligible for state and federal benefits.

“We began polling on this heavily in 2006 when Congress was considering immigration reform. The voters’ views haven’t changed. They felt the same way then,” pollster Scott Rasmussen tells Inside the Beltway. “The only thing that has changed is that people are more frustrated with the federal government. While they’re not mad at immigrants on a personal level, the notion that people violate the law to get here offends people on many levels.”

Mr. Rasmussen, who conducted the survey of 1,000 likely voters June 1 and 2, found that 60 percent of the respondents favor a “welcoming” immigration policy that excludes only national security threats, criminals and those who come to live off welfare. Twenty-six percent disagree with such a policy.

“We found that voters feel laws must be enforced against illegals, but it doesn’t affect their views on immigration policy. Americans continue to place a high value on citizenship and on obtaining that citizenship within legal means,” Mr. Rasmussen adds.

YEAH, BABY

“What makes a great conservative rock song?” asks the National Review’s national political reporter John J. Miller. “The lyrics must convey a conservative idea or sentiment, such as skepticism of government or support for traditional values. And, to be sure, it must be a great rock song.”

Mr. Miller has assembled a list of the top 50 “Rockin’ the Right” tunes that meet such parameters, all showcased in the current issue and at www.nationalreview.com. For those already in a weekend mindset, here are the top 10 tunes, starting with No. 1: “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by the Who; “Taxman,” by the Beatles; “Sympathy for the Devil,” by the Rolling Stones; “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd; “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” by the Beach Boys; “Gloria,” by U2; “Revolution,” by the Beatles; “Bodies,” by the Sex Pistols; “Don’t Tread on Me,” by Metallica; and, last but not least, “20th Century Man,” by the Kinks.

BEACH READING

Let the poring begin. A 160,000-page opus is on its way; that’s about 160 times the length of the typical volume of Leo Tolstoy’s “War and Peace.” Indeed, the William Clinton Presidential Library will open the records on Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s tenure at the White House Domestic Policy Council and Counsel’s Office, this according to the Department of Archives, which notes that the records will be “available in batches as soon as the records are processed,” which means within the “next few days,” a spokeswoman tells Inside the Beltway.

Will it all be compelling, illuminating, revealing? Maybe.

“The job Elena Kagan and I both had at the White House - deputy director at the Domestic Policy Council - was more of a policy-coordinator position than a policy-advocacy one,” says Tevi Troy, who served as an adviser to former President George W. Bush. “For this reason, her e-mails are more likely to summarize the positions of different parties within the Clinton administration than to reveal a great deal about her own thoughts.”

Mr. Troy adds, “In addition, I am assuming that she was as careful on her White House e-mail as she has been throughout her career, which would mean that the e-mails will not have any shocking revelations. Of course, if I’m wrong - and there are 11,000 pages of her sent e-mails to sift through - I’ll be as eager to read about it as anybody.”

POLL DU JOUR

• 64 percent of Americans use social media like Twitter.

• 83 percent of those who use social media understand they are “giving up part of their privacy.”

• 78 percent say what they reveal in social media is “just a snapshot, not a complete portrait” of themselves.

• 38 percent “aim to influence others” online.

• 30 percent share weblinks to news articles.

• 25 percent share their political views.

• 23 percent share religious views.

Source: A Harris Poll of 2,131 adults conducted April 28-30 and released Thursday.

• Chatter, patter, political matters to jharper@washingtontimes.com