While some 200-thousand people are fleeing the path of Hurricane Isabel as it approaches the East Coast, Iowa Senator Tom Harkin won’t be among them. The massive storm, with sustained winds of 110-miles an hour, is due to hit the North Carolina coast at midday and move northward. Harkin says his drive to work this morning found Washington D.C. nearly deserted. The federal government has shut down and President Bush has headed out of Washington a day earlier than planned. And, House and Senate leaders canceled all floor votes until next week to give lawmakers the chance to leave the capital and return home. Harkin says “I just don’t think it’s that big a deal…a little rain, a little wind, so what?” Harkin says he sees no reason to do anything other than what they normally do.While the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia brace for the wrath of Isabel, residents in Pennsylvania are getting ready for flooding once the storm moves inland. Forecasters predict heavy rains for the already saturated area.
