Obama team sees difficulties unique to the Bush(Alaska)

[RamboLiberal]

Source: Anchorage Daily News

BETHEL -- Four of President Obama's cabinet members whirled through a pair of remote Alaska communities Wednesday to hear an earful about the state's novel needs and the borderline third-world conditions in some villages.

Obama administration officials have been on a whistle-stop tour of rural America since July 1, according to the White House. But they won't see anything else quite like village Alaska, where many towns have pockets of homes without running water or flush toilets, and families commute on snowmachines and four-wheelers instead of SUVs.

After arriving late for a hurried town hall meeting in Bethel, the state's largest rural hub, the secretaries visited the village of Hooper Bay on the Bering Sea coast before returning to Anchorage Wednesday night.

People here never forget a guest, Ray Watson chairman a non-profit that serves 56 villages in the region, told Obama's team before speakers outlined problems such as unemployment, soaring fuel costs and fishing allocations that villagers believe are badly hurting local economies. "Your visit reminds us of Sen. Ted Kennedy's visit in 1971, which resulted in improved housing for the region," he said.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack made the trip in khakis and jeans, with Alaska Sen. Mark Begich playing tour guide.

Read more: http://www.adn.com/rural/western/story/896684.html

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Be great if the Obama Admin did more for them than "The Quitter" Palin.