Biden Begs: No Swimming Pools!
(AP)
Looking to strike fear and compliance in the hearts of local officials, Vice President Joe Biden warns that if they use money from the economic stimulus fund to build what he regards as the wrong kind of projects, “I’ll show up in your city and say this was a stupid idea.”
“No swimming pools!” he implored. “No tennis courts!” he begged. “No golf courses!” he pleaded. “No Frisbee parks!” he exhorted.
“This can’t be government as usual,” he told an assemblage of local officials invited to the White House from around the country.
Even if they can promise him that building their projects will create jobs and generate revenue, Biden wants none of it.
“The answer is no, no, no!” He said “it’s got to pass the smell test.”
He urged the officials to think about how their constituents would react if the projects they launched were plastered on the front page of their biggest local newspaper.
“If it doesn’t automatically make sense, don’t do it!”
