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Patrick Hruby

phruby@washingtontimes.com

Patrick Hruby was a writer for The Washington Times.

Articles by Patrick Hruby

In 2007, Amber Lee Ettinger’s video “Crush on Obama” was a YouTube sensation; early this year, she wasn’t sure who she would vote for in 2012. (Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: Obama Girl

Model and actress Amber Lee Ettinger became a national sensation when her 2007 YouTube video "Crush on Obama" tallied nearly 25 million hits, eventually landing the 29-year-old New Yorker on "Saturday Night Live."

October 3, 2012
Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson, 69, is the oldest manager in Major League Baseball and a leading contender for the National League’s Manager of the Year award. Scientists have learned that lifestyle choices can help keep the aging brain flexible and resilient. (Associated Press)

Nationals’ manager Davey Johnson maintains sharp mental edge

Davey Johnson's success raises an intriguing question: How does he remain mentally proficient at his age, particularly in a line of work that requires statistical command, stellar memory, quick decision-making and astute emotional judgment? The answer may lie in his brain — and in the emerging scientific concept of neuroplasticity.

October 2, 2012
Bernard Shaw, the CNN anchorman famous for provocative questions to guests, talks with viewers on the CNN set in 2000. He joined the network in 1980 and retired in 2001. (Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: Bernard Shaw

While moderating the final 1988 presidential debate, former CNN anchor Bernard Shaw triggered gasps from the press room and national controversy by asking Michael Dukakis, "Governor, if Kitty Dukakis were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?"

October 2, 2012
In 2008, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the Republican presidential nominee, takes the microphone from Gayle Quinnell who said she read about Sen. Barack Obama and “that he was an Arab,” at a town-hall meeting at Lakeville South High School in Lakeville, Minn. (Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: Gayle Quinnell

Gayle Quinnell, a 75-year-old McCain-Palin volunteer from Minnesota, called Barack Obama "an Arab" during a 2008 campaign event, leaving a flabbergasted John McCain to respond, "No, ma'am. [Mr. Obama is] a decent family man, citizen, that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues."

October 1, 2012
The Rev. Jeremiah Wright poses with President Obama in Chicago in 2005, three years before the pastor’s comments shook the Obama campaign. (Trinity United Church of Christ via Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: Jeremiah Wright

"God damn America!" Those three words were replayed ad nauseam in 2008, when video of a fiery sermon delivered by the Rev. Jeremiah Wright threatened to derail Barack Obama's presidential aspirations.

September 30, 2012
James Stockdale was remembered more for his philosophical opening line in the 1992 vice presidential debate than his recollection as a war hero. (Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: Adm. James Stockdale

James Stockdale, the former pilot and bona fide Vietnam War hero, received a Medal of Honor after spending more than seven years in a North Vietnamese prison. None of that mattered in 1992, when his memorable opening line in the vice presidential debate — "Who am I? Why am I here?" — became comedy gold.

September 25, 2012
Monique Corzilius was 2 when she was the face of the most notorious attack ad in presidential campaign history implying that electing Republican Barry Goldwater could lead to the world’s destruction. Now 50, Monique Luiz says she was paid $150 for appearing in the ad, which ran only once because of the backlash. (Screen grab from President Johnson's campaign)

Where Are They Now?: Daisy Girl

A freckle-faced toddler, Monique Corzilius was the face of the most notorious attack ad in campaign history, 1964's "Daisy" spot.

September 24, 2012
Eyestrain was starting to get to Judge Robert Rosenberg until he started bringing a magnifying glass to his work examining disputed ballots at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., after the 2000 presidential election. He said he’s still recognized thanks to photos of him. (Associated Press)

Where Are They Now?: The hanging chad guy

Even today, the photo remains iconic, the snapshot seen 'round the world: a man holding a magnifying glass, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, peering at a disputed punch card ballot, riddled with questionable holes.

September 23, 2012
A man who refused to give his name to The Washington Times prays in a designated Prayer Room in the Charlotte Convention Center during the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Thursday, September 6, 2012. (Barbara Salisbury/ The Washington Times)

In DNC prayer room, lots of quiet time

If you want to escape religion at the Democratic National Convention, there is only one place to go: the official Charlotte Convention Center prayer room.

September 6, 2012
**FILE** Rep. Jason Chaffetz, Utah Republican (Associated Press)

Surrogates play high-stakes game of political football

For Democrats, this week's convention is an opportunity to meet, greet and put a collective best foot forward to the national electorate. For Republicans, it's an opportunity to poke and prod, issue rebuttals, and generally make like the snarky Stadler and Waldorf from "The Muppet Show."

September 5, 2012
Police officers use their bicycles to create a perimeter to keep protesters inside a designated area along Stonewall Street in Charlotte, N.C. on Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. Protesters are allowed to march and demonstrate at the Democratic National Convention but are being kept well away from DNC venues. (Barbara L. Salisbury/The Washington Times)

Free-speech zone proves audience-free

Standing atop a creaky wooden platform above a muddy, fenced-in field, protester Bob Kunst gave a dozen or so cardboard rubbish bins near the Democratic National Convention a piece of his mind.

September 4, 2012
Illustration by Greg Groesch/The Washington Times

Chief Justice John Roberts and the right: Six steps toward reconciliation

For faithful right-wingers, Chief Justice John G. Roberts' switcheroo on Obamacare is basically akin to a romance gone wrong. Yet here's the rub: He isn't going anywhere. The man is 57, has a lifetime appointment and, ironically, a great government health plan. He'll be rocking the black robes for a long, long time to come.

July 31, 2012
Colorful golf balls wait for players, who will find some of the holes of the National Building Museum’s 12-hole minigolf course deceptively difficult. One challenges golfers to aim for “par 40 instead of a par 4.” (Ryan M.L. Young/The Washington Times)

Building museum’s minigolf scores hole-in-one

Befitting a game best known for Mad Hatter dimensions and a deep appreciation for all things pirate and/or windmill, the National Building Museum's minigolf exhibit is by turns whimsical and thought-provoking, kitschy and surreal. It's also brutal on visitors' scorecards.

July 26, 2012
Colby Anderson delivers an argument during his midterm last week for Mr. Di Resta’s class, “The Not-So-Dark Art of Campaign Research.” The eight-week course has been offered three consecutive summers. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

Learning to love oppo researchers, whistle-blowers of democracy

Brett Di Resta teaches students how to find and spread information that can be used as political ammunition. With a presidential campaign gone bitterly negative before the opponents have even tapped gloves, and a new breed of free-spending Super PACS set to pour millions into opposition research, it's a timely skill set.

July 17, 2012
Rep. Tim Ryan, author of the book "A Mindful Nation" speaks at BuddhaFest, in Arlington, Va., June 15, 2012. (Preston Keres/Special to The Washington Times)

Washington was making Rep. Tim Ryan sick … until he found mindfulness

Rep. Tim Ryan asserts that mindfulness not only can help individuals cope with the pressures of modern life, but also help treat traumatized veterans, raise better-educated children and reduce ballooning health care costs — all while fostering a less divisive, more productive Washington culture in which solving problems takes precedence over scoring political points.

July 11, 2012
First lady Dolley Madison rescued a portrait of George Washington when she fled the White House set afire by the British in August 1814. (Associated Press)

The War of 1812 at 200: All it wants is a little respect

Currently enjoying its bicentennial, the War of 1812 occupies a musty, forgotten junk drawer in America's collective cultural consciousness, stuffed somewhere between the liberation of Grenada and the time Will Smith punched that extraterrestrial fighter pilot in the face.

July 3, 2012