Metal “tapestries’’ would adorn the Eisenhower memorial, a model of which was unveiled yesterday in Washington.
(Eisenhower Commission/Associated Press)
Political Notebook
WASHINGTON — A national memorial to World War II general and later President Dwight D. Eisenhower would include eight-story columns and metal “tapestries’’ of photos, according to plans unveiled yesterday in Washington.
Architect Frank Gehry designed the $100 million memorial, which still needs millions of dollars of funding and the approval of federal agencies to be completed. A commission overseeing its construction expects it to be finished by 2015.
The general’s grandson, David, who is a member of the memorial commission, called the plans an “amazing design concept’’ during a news conference with Gehry. Gehry said that historically, tapestries have been used to tell stories, and that’s why he chose to weave in the photos. Gehry said the 13 columns — 12 feet in diameter and about 80 feet tall — were something he initially needed to hold up the tapestries, but they also created “dignity for the site.’’
Planning for the Eisenhower memorial began more than a decade ago, and the site, about 4 acres of land by the National Air and Space Museum and in view of the Capitol, was selected in 2006.
The federal government has already spent about $29 million to develop the Eisenhower memorial, and the rest will be a combination of public and private money.
Gehry, 81, designed the Stata Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, among other landmarks.
— Associated Press
Romney tries to pinpoint why he lost race in 2008
CHICAGO — Republican Mitt Romney, in a rare moment of reflection about his losing 2008 presidential campaign, said he would have been better served by keeping the focus on his “power alley’’ — the economy and his business background.The former Massachusetts governor said Senator John McCain, his main rival and the eventual nominee, successfully shifted the debate to heightened military engagement in Iraq, a topic that emphasized McCain’s military background and experience in national security matters.
“Senator McCain went on a nationwide, prosurge tour, and he had the credentials to do so,’’ Romney told reporters during a news conference Wednesday. “I mean, you can’t compete with Senator McCain on who’s most experienced in dealing with Iraq, so we were talking about those issues.’’
Romney said that after losing the Iowa caucuses to former governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas and the New Hampshire primary to McCain, he was able to win in his native Michigan by highlighting his career as a venture capitalist and his commitment to rebuilding the US auto industry.
The Michigan primary featured some of the nastiest exchanges of the campaign between Romney and McCain.
“I think that one of the things that’s very important in running a campaign is to make sure that you’re known for the things that really motivate you,’’ Romney said. “And I needed to do a better job to focus my campaign on the economy and getting the economy right and creating jobs. And whether through my ads or through my responses to debate questions or on the stump, my power alley is the economy.
“I understand why jobs come, why they go.’’
The former governor said he hasn’t decided about running again in 2012, but he has been hammering the Obama administration in his new book, “No Apology,’’ and in his 19-state tour promoting the book. His latest stop was Chicago, hometown of President Obama.
— Associated Press
Tenn.’s Corker distances self from fund-raiser offer
WASHINGTON — A Republican senator is disowning fund-raising solicitations from his campaign that offer business leaders in New York and Chicago a meal with him for $10,000 as he takes a lead role in new Wall Street regulations.While such fund-raisers are a routine part of congressional life, Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee said the one sent from a consultant for his reelection campaign was unusually direct and inappropriate.
He said he was canceling any events set up through the solicitation.
Corker is a key negotiator on the financial overhaul being debated in Congress.
— Associated Press 
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