Undeterred, Obama keeps calling Cao
by Molly K. Hooper (excerpt)

The Hill

Rep. Joseph Cao voted against the economic stimulus measure, climate change legislation and President Barack Obama’s budget, but that hasn’t stopped the White House from trying to get his vote on healthcare reform.

The vulnerable GOP Louisiana lawmaker told The Hill that the White House legislative liaison assigned to lean on Cao, Jim Papa, recently contacted his office. But Cao says the White House will have to wait because he is still reading the bill, which is over 1,000 pages long.

Many political analysts believe that Cao is a dead man walking, politically speaking. He represents a district that used to belong to indicted ex-Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.). Obama won nearly three out of every four votes in Cao’s New Orleans-based district.

But his GOP colleagues believe Cao can beat the odds — as he has throughout his life. Cao was on one of the last flights to the U.S. after the fall of Saigon in the Vietnam War. Cao was raised by an uncle after his parents and five sisters did not make it out of the country.