Can Your US Senator Draw Your State?

[Are_grits_groceries]

In September Minnesota Sen. Al Franken wowed a crowd at a state fair with his drawing of a map of the 48 continental United States and Alaska and Hawaii. The video of Franken drawing became a internet hit. In October National Geographic sent an e-mail to all 100 senators asking them to take part in Geography Awareness Week by having them draw their home state and add three important highlights.

The e-mail asked the senators to "draw their state from memory. We'd also like to ask that you then identify at least three places ... that are important to you, with the reason you chose each one. We know the maps won't be perfect. We're hoping for your personal depiction of your state."

Of course this would make any person nervous about their drawing abilities, and the politicians responded in kind. So far only 12 senators submitted their drawings to the project. Those that participated though showed a personal connection to their state and allowed themselves to have a bit of fun. See the drawings and the senators comments at Senator' Statements:http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/12/departments/senator-maps

The senators that contributed were:
Mark Begich (D) of Alaska
Sherrod Brown (D) of Ohio
Saxby Chambliss (R) of Georgia
Susan Collins (R) of Maine
Byron Dorgan (D) of North Dakota
Richard Durbin (D) of Illinois
Michael Enzi (R) of Wyoming
Al Franken (D) of Minnesota
Johnny Isakson (R) of Georgia
Claire McCaskill (D) of Missouri
Jack Reed (D) of Rhode Island
James Risch (R) of of Idaho

http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/dpgo_Senator_Draw_State_National_Geographic_fc_200911171258476224567

It will be interesting to see who else will respond. If the numbnuts from WY,CO,UT and a few others don't respond and draw a very good map, they have some real problems.
The rest should be able to with a few more curves but who knows.

[Brickbat]

1. Good God, do the senators from Georgia even KNOW they're from Georgia?

That's the best they could do? REALLY?

Also, woot for my senator, Al Franken and the shoutout to Duluth! Yay!

[Toucano]

7. Pretty sad, isn't it?

The rest are pretty cool!

[liberal N proud]

2. Wyoming, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Kansas, South Dakota and North Dakota

Those should be easy, they are relatively square states.

[eleny]

3. Anybody can draw Colorado...

:rofl:

[Brickbat]

4. Also, I find it interesting what some senators consider "important."

So many talk only about where they were born and/live. Some don't. I think that's very, very telling. And, hee, Dick Durbin marked Metropolis. FTW!

[Dennis Donovan]

5. I remember watching Senator Franken do it on the eve of the '88 election...

...on SNL (Weekend Update segment - sitting next to him was a likely-chagrined Dennis Miller :rofl:). Unfortunately, his assertion that Dukakis was going to eke out a win didn't come to pass...:(

[Captain Hilts]

8. He did it on Letterman too. nt

[sinkingfeeling]

6. Neat. I wish all 100 of them had to perform the task publicly.

[Arkana]

9. Saxby and Johnny were obviously sloshed pretty good when they drew theirs.

[damntexdem]

10. My senators can likely draw an outline of Texas, because such outlines are ubiquitous here.

There are even Texas-shaped paving stones.

But at the same time, the manure emitted as ideology by my senators is also very likely to draw flies.

[Jennicut]

11. Susan Collins actually had a very nicely drawn Maine.

But Franken is the master being able to draw the whole United States.

I wonder how Lieberman would draw CT...nevermind, I don't want to know. }(

[tjwash]

12. Feinstein can sculpt a giant California off of all the money her husband made off the Iraq war.

:mad:

[annabanana]

13. North Dakota & Wyoming?. . Big whoop..pfft

I can draw them.

[DFW]

14. I would suppose that KB Hutchinson could draw Texas

Cornyn probably couldn't draw Colorado

[surrealAmerican]

15. I like this project.

My senator (Richard Durbin) draw a relatively good map, but Susan Collins drew what is clearly the best of the lot. She's got some talent there.