Q: How does President Barack Obama’s time spent on fundraising compare to other recent presidents? Why is this permitted?
—Mary McIntosh, Alpharetta
A: Obama has attended 393 fundraising events (through July 16) in his six years in office, more than any president dating to Ronald Reagan. Obama went to 321 events in his first term and has appeared at 72 events in his second term, 34 in 2014 alone, the Washington Post reported.
Obama’s pace trails only Bill Clinton among presidents in the past three decades. Clinton attended 638 fundraising events in two terms, followed by Obama and George W. Bush, who attended 318 in his two terms. Presidents are the most prominent person in their political party and tickets to events they attend are in high demand, often going for at least five figures. Obama had helped the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee raise $38 million this year through June 20 as the party prepares for November’s midterm elections.
Q: Does Kirk Mellish live in Atlanta? You never see him. You just hear him. Does he do the weather for other cities, or just for Atlanta?
—David Davis, Newnan
A: Mellish, the meteorologist for 95.5 FM and AM 750 WSB, has lived in the Atlanta area since 1987, when he began working for WSB. "I have done some occasional fill-in work for TV2 in the past, but I have always forecast for WSB Radio, and WSB radio alone, no other stations around the country," Mellish told Q&A on the News in an email. Mellish lived in Dunwoody and Smyrna before moving to Kennesaw in 1992.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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