Connie Lawn: The View from the White House

Hello readers and friends. First of all, congratulations to “Werewolf” and “Scoop” and best of luck! What a terrific idea! I knew you were going places when I first met the Scoop people at the Auckland APEC Convention 10 years ago. I am glad you stuck to it and succeeded.

The Werewolf theme is especially appealing to me. There have been so many times over the years when I missed special friends in NZ. I would go outside, look at the full moon, and commune with them. I still have not figured out whether your full moon comes at the exact same time as ours, but - never mind! And, although I have a soft spot for wolves and dogs which are close to the wolf family, I have never gone out and howled at the moon!

The fun part about blogs is, they are free wheeling, and you can say what you want. But, I guess it is time to write about serious things. I will focus on Kiwi events when there is something of interest. Other times, I will tell you about my day at the White House, which I have covered since 1968.

On our Monday, the White House had a relatively slow day. They focused largely on the economy, the hard labor prison sentence given to two Chinese-American women journalists in North Korea, and the elections in Lebanon. Also, since Mrs. Obama and the two daughters remain in Paris, President Obama and dog Bo are free to watch their favorite basketball game on t.v.

First, about that trip. The White House advisors believe it was wildly successful with its outreach to the Moslem countries. President Obama is determined to achieve a two state solution in the Mideast, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. Others have tried this, but he may have a chance.

The President’s visit to the concentration camp at Buchenwald, and the graves of Normandy, were gut – wrenching. His great Uncle, who was traumatized after helping to liberate one of the camps, did not go to Buchenwald. But he joined other surviving WWII Veterans at the D Day Ceremonies.

By the way, only about 100 reporters and technicians accompanied the President on this trip. Average cost to them is about $50,000 each, and fewer media outlets can afford that type of money. So, most reporters cover from the numerous transcripts emailed to us from the White House. Glad we have them, but I am happy I was able to actually travel when Bill Clinton went to NZ!

Now, onto the events of the day. The White House began with an excoriating statement, blasting the government of North Korea for sentencing two women journalists to 12 years of hard labor. They work for Al Gore’s t.v. organization, and apparently crossed from China into North Korea when they were doing a story about human smuggling. The US government says they are not spies, and wants them returned to their families. Al Gore may go over in person. But, the problems with North Korea become more grave each day.

The White House is delighted with the apparent victory of a pro-Western government in Lebanon. They hope the anti-Syrian and anti- Hezbollah coalition holds, and there will be no further bloodshed.

On a personal note, I covered stories in Beruit in 1982. I tried to look up families of my New Zealand Lebanese friends, and actually met some Kiwi soldiers who had signed on with the French Foreign Legion! I also managed to get kidnapped for a few hours, and was separated from my precious green Air New Zealand flight bag. But, all got resolved.

Finally on the events of the day, President Obama says he will work harder on the economic stimulus plan. He hopes to create or retain 600,000 news jobs in the next 100 days. With unemployment nearing 10%, we all hope he succeeds. But, there is still much criticism and concern about the stimulus package and the multi trillion dollar US debt.

The US auto companies continue to fail, but the sale of Chrysler to Fiat has been halted by the Supreme Court, pending further arguments.

One man who could bail them out is a Western cowboy. He was in severe financial trouble, until he won the 232 million dollar lottery!

So, there were the events on a slow day at the White House. It is enough to make President Obama and his dog Bo want to go outside and howl at the Moon! Yours, Connie Lawn in Washington.

Connie Lawn has a passionate love for NZ. She worked for Radio New Zealand for 20 years, and then for Radio Live for a few years. Connie has covered the White House and the world since 1968. Her other passion is skiing, and she calls herself "the skiing White House reporter." Her ski stories are on dcski.com and other outlets. Connie is also heard on thousands of radio stations, but firmly believes the internet is the future. She can be reached at connie@scoop.co.nz

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