Font ResizeSen. Orrin Hatch has been in the Senate for a while. Actually, 32 years, slightly longer than either of us have been alive. But he definitely has not been there since the very start.
While praising Sen. Robert Byrd on becoming the longest serving senator, Hatch took to the floor and almost flubbed what year he was elected.
"When I got here in 1976 -- I almost said 1776," Hatch said, catching himself. "But when I got here in 1976 -- some people think I have been here since 1776 -- Robert C. Byrd was the majority leader in the Senate."
So, for the record, Hatch did not help Thomas Jefferson draft the Declaration of Independence nor was he one of the original signers of the Constitution.
Fact-checking Hatch's health reform claim
Among Hatch's litany of criticisms about the Democrats' health reform plan is the fact he thinks it is simply way too long.
The day after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid introduced the 2,074 page bill, Hatch complained that it was heftier than Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace .
The intrepid, and may we add Pulitzer-prize winning site, Politifact.com decided to check the senator's claim.
By page length, Hatch is clearly right. War and Peace came in at a little more than 1,300 pages. But Politifact thought word count would make more sense because font size and page margins matter. In this comparison, the Democrats reform bill is more than
Politifact determined Hatch's claim is "Barely True."
Whether Hatch saw their account or he amended his statement on his own, he took to the Senate floor late Thursday to once again rip the bill. In that 30-minute speech, he said: "My gosh, 2,074 pages. Tolstoy's War and Peace was about a little more than 1,400 pages."
Word of the day
Rep. Rob Bishop was on the floor last week, extolling the evils of the Democrats' health care bill when he dropped in a not-so-common word.
"Our goal should be to provide people with choices and options that ennoble their souls and allow them to control their own destinies," Bishop said.
The word ennoble, in case you don't have a dictionary handy, means to convey nobility.
Huntsman happy to be out of Dodge
NBC News' Chuck Todd had a chance to chat with Jon Huntsman Jr., the U.S. ambassador to China, during President Barack Obama's trip through Asia.
Todd filed two tweets from the conversation.
Tweet 1: "I asked ex-UT Gov. Huntsman, a Republican serving as Obama's Amb. To China, about the current ideological fight in the GOP."
Tweet 2: "Huntsman answered, 'it's a good time to be in Beijing.'
Burr and Canham report for The Tribune from Washington. They can be reached at tburr@sltrib.com or mcanham@sltrib.com.
