07/29/08 Grenwich Time News Links For Tuesday - Whitnum was 20 minutes late for the taping, which she later blamed on Interstate 95 traffic

News 12 moderator Tom Appleby, center, prepares for a debate between 4th District congressional rivals Jim Himes, left, and Lee Whitnum, at the News 12 studio in Norwalk yesterday.

(Bob Luckey Jr./Greenwich Time photo)

TOP STORY

HEADLINES:

The greatest area of disagreement between the two candidates was over the war in Afghanistan

Himes says the U.S. military should focus its efforts and resources, not on Iraq.

Whitnum says the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks created a pro-Israel foreign policy of the U.S., saying that is inflamed Muslim extremists.

QUOTES:

"He talks a lot and says absolutely nothing," Lee Whitnum said after Himes commented about the impact of the war in Iraq on the economy and on middle-class families.

"The fight is in Afghanistan and Pakistan," said Himes, 42, who was endorsed in May during a party convention that Whitnum boycotted.

THE STORY:

Himes, Whitnum face-off

NORWALK - In their first and only debate before next month's primary, Democratic congressional foes Jim Himes and Lee Whitnum clashed yesterday over foreign policy, the war on terrorism and domestic spying programs.

The tension between the candidates, both from Greenwich, was palpable even before the start of the News 12 debate, which was taped during the afternoon at Cablevision's Norwalk studios and scheduled to air last night.

Whitnum was 20 minutes late for the taping, which she later blamed on Interstate 95 traffic. When she finally did arrive, she brusquely walked past the party-endorsee Himes and onto the set, where the rivals went back and forth for 28 minutes in a "open format" moderated by anchor Tom Appleby....

....At the end of their debate, the candidates diverged when asked how they felt about domestic spying programs.

Himes said that the Bush administration has thumbed its nose at civil liberties and hurt the nation's credibility when dealing with other countries such as Russia that suppress human rights or quash the press.

"How do we say that if we have not been true to our own values?" said Himes, a former chairman of the Democratic Town Committee of Greenwich.

Whitnum disagreed.

"I don't think we have given up our civil liberties that much," Whitnum said.

Please Read The Full Greenwich Time Story

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Pool prez defends actions

The president of a Stamford pool company charged in the drowning of a six-year-old town boy could not have foreseen the boy getting trapped in a suction valve in the pool his company built, according to his lawyer.

Golfers hit the links for the Witherell

Bill Kowalewski couldn't have been happier with his performance on the golf course yesterday, even when he was lagging behind much of the competition.

Son nabbed after party, burglary at parents' home

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Gas prices begin rolling back

STAMFORD - Fairfield County drivers may be in for some eye-rubbing relief at the pump - gasoline prices, which have started sliding in recent weeks, may get down to as low as $4 per gallon at certain stations this week, according to one well-known expert.

Town is working on building character

A colleague calls it "The Great Wall of Greenwich." It's proper name is North Street, and it's a beautiful byway through the midcountry and stretching on into the backcountry, past Conyers Farm and Banksville to New York state.

It's misguided to hit Democrats on ANWR drilling

To the editor:

In his letter to the Greenwich Time on June 29, Edward D. Dadakis, former chairman of the Greenwich Republican Committee, blamed the Democratic Party for the high prices of gasoline. He particularly criticized Democrats for opposing oil drilling in the Alaska Natural Wildlife Refuge.

But in selecting energy policy to strike out at Democrats, Mr. Dadakis may not have made the most felicitous choice. For one thing, our current Republican congressman, Christopher Shays, states on his Web site: "I oppose drilling in the ANWR and for the past six years, I have been an active and vocal opponent of numerous legislative attempts to drill in ANWR."

Until now, I thought that only Democrats arranged their firing squads in a circle.

Anyway, the U.S. Energy Information Agency estimates that the price reductions that might follow full-scale ANWR production would range from only 1 cent per gallon to 3.4 cents per gallon.

On the demand side, conservation receives short shrift from the Bush administration. Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed it as nothing more than "a sign of personal virtue." Asked at his press conference on July 15, 2008, why he had not urged consumers to conserve, the president replied: "They're smart enough to know whether they want to drive more or less." Yet leadership in this area could accomplish a lot.

Regardless of politics, energy prices were bound to go up. The market for energy is global, and rapidly rising demand, particularly in China, has been the main culprit.

But members of the current administration could have done a great deal to moderate the impact of this development on American consumers. They have been in power for going on eight years while these developments unfolded. Theirs is a record of missed opportunities and failed leadership.

Gerald A. Pollack

Old Greenwich

The writer is a member of the Democratic Town Committee and a retired Exxon economist.

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