POLITICAL CAPITAL? $$$$

This must be the "capital" W was talking about when he declared victory in November's election. All the pork hidden in his spending bill. I find the cutbacks in the Pell Grants particularly interesting, since his administration so vehemently denied them during the presidential debates.

By Gov. Howard Dean, M.D.

This is one in a series of weekly syndicated columns written by Governor Howard Dean.


Immediately after Election Day, President Bush promised that he would use his political capital to bring unity back to America. Less than a month later, he is about to sign a spending bill which voids all those nice words and promises. It is not what the President says that matters, it is what he does that counts.

These are a few things which the spending bill contains:Pell grants will become unavailable for 85,000 students that were receiving them and another 1.2 million students will have their Pell Grant funding decreased. On the other hand, the bill appropriates $2 million to buy a presidential yacht.

Farmers lose over $400 million of soil conservation money. On the other hand, the bill funds the American Cotton Museum in Texas.

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