Since I was in Washington this week, I figured I'd stop by the Capitol to pay our congressional delegation a visit. Also, because it's heated.
I caught a few minutes (and I do mean a few... like, seven) with a very busy Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (above), who said that this session, "priority number one is to get this economy turned around." She mentioned creating jobs -- especially the green kind -- and energy independence as goals.
Asked whether her own family had felt the impact of the recession (Wasserman Schultz's husband is an investment banker) the congresswoman said, "I don't want to get into personal financial issues, but my husband's bank has suffered similar impacts" as all of the rest.
She wouldn't get into speculation about who might run for Mel Martinez's senate seat next year, but noted that she became vice chair of the DNC this week, and as such would help see that a Democrat wrangled the seat away from Republicans.
And as for those murmurs that in a post-Hillary world, she might one day make a run for the world's top job? Wasserman Schultz laughed. "I'm very flattered, but very happy to be here in the House of Representatives. And I'm only 42 years old! Hopefully there will be many years of opportunity for my constituents to send me back here."
I stopped by to see newly elected Rep. Tom Rooney (who took the seat of serial philanderer Tim Mahoney) but he was out and his staff was still setting up his office. Rep. Hastings was likewise unavailable, but I liked the sign on his door, which was so big I had to put it after the jump:
I also hounded Wexler and Klein to no avail and Senators Nelson and Martinez were busy on the floor (I watched the Senate vote to table a bill and witness the swearing-in of Joe Biden's replacement). So, even though that was it for one-on-one meetings, I did find one more encouraging sign from a week of encouraging signs in the Capitol: They compost almost everything from the cafeteria. Even the forks!
