Do you have confidence in President Bush?

I was impressed with the State of the Union speech. I think George Bush has come a long way in his public speaking ability. I''m more confident in him than the people he has working for him. I look at him as a delegator.

Has the sour economy affected you?

I was one of those people who thought the stock market was overvalued so I wasn''t surprised. I''m not surprised the economy has gone down either. We had to take a 10 percent paycut at work. We''ve had a fair number of people laid off.

What local issues are you paying attention to?

I was anti-growth until I got my piece. The water shortage just keeps real estate values high. I''d just as soon they didn''t build anymore houses. There''s enough people here, but that''s kind of selfish isn''t it? What else do I think? I don''t like ''no dogs'' on the beach. I used to bring my dog down here. It''s the snowy plover thing.

I''ve lived here since 1980. I love it. Nothing bad about California comes to mind but the cost of living is so high. You do get what you pay for. And it''s not 10 below. What incredible weather we''ve had lately. It''s so mild.

Do you think the environment is well cared for?

I make a living in that industry. I work on diesel engines. I work in cleaning up diesel engines. I understand the issue but I think we''re doing the right thing, not too much in one way or the other. That''s one thing about California is the lack of litter.

Why is the U.S. threatening Iraq?

Ohhh, I''m not so sure we''d be that interested if oil weren''t involved. You could argue it either way. Saddam Hussein is definitely a lunatic so I''d support taking him out. If Bush pulled the trigger I''d get behind him. Better now than later.

Does terrorism, things like germ warfare scare you?

No. I just don''t worry about stuff like that. I just keep my hopes up that we''re keeping the people out who want to do that. No news is good news.

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