David Doherty, Mortgage banker, Snohomish

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"I'm tired of the American public being hurt by all the politicizing that's going on -- on both sides. It's politics as usual. That's cynical, but it's historically accurate. It's not that much different than it was with Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy... it's the American way. It's really sad. And no one can really do anything meaningful because it'll get knocked down or misrepresented."

Ken Goven, Retired, Bellevue

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"I don't think it means a thing -- and I worked for the federal government for 30 years. It's a political football. It's two little boys fighting. From my perspective, there are that many non-essential employees, but the solution isn't political. I personally think Clinton is totally incompetent. By the same token, Gingrich is an idiot. But neither are fools. Clinton's wishy-washy. Gingrich just can't handle fame... There is so much behind the scenes that the general public doesn't know -- the man on the street really has no idea... And this is just political posturing."

Bill Cohon, Teacher, Shoreline

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"I think the Congress should've seen it coming and handled it -- come up with a budget that would've met the necessary conditions that the president set out. Now it is a political struggle so both sides will have to demonstrate their resolve and it'll be a little while before they're finished posturing. And they will, of course, compromise. And it'll end up costing everyone a great deal of money. I don't know how they decided who was essential and that's been bothersome to me. I think the ones considered essential are doing the day-to-day things. I consider the services essential, too."

Karin Carlson, Sales, Redmond

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"I think that both parties really need to come to an agreement quickly and agree that we need to reduce the deficit in seven years. And I think President Clinton needs to come to terms with what the Republican Party is trying to do... I was hoping that they would come to a conclusion by the end of this week, but it doesn't look like it, what with Newt Gingrich taking shots at President Clinton. It's now gotten personal. They need to put their personal issues aside."

Bradley McMurray, Art director, Seattle

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"I know it's affecting and hurting a lot of people with the delays, and I hope that they come to an agreement as soon as possible. I think of who it's affecting and I think that, as a community, we can all see how we can do our part to help. Take the elderly, for example. From what I've heard, there are a lot of widows and veterans who are concerned. I don't know if their payments are being held back but the elderly panic when they are restricted in situations like this... I have no idea when it might end. But if they don't get together by the Friday right after Thanksgiving, we're in trouble... This power struggle between Republicans and Democrats is just another blow to people's confidence in our government, and people lose faith... "

Victor Avilar, Student and cook, Bellevue

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"I have no idea. The U.S. government is good -- the people are good... I like Clinton better than Gingrich."

Copyright © 1995 by the Bellevue, WA-based Journal American newspaper.

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