Was Rep. Patrick Kennedy Drinking Before His Accident?

Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:

Denies Drinking

Congressman Patrick Kennedy continues to deny that he'd been drinking before wrecking his car on Capitol Hill last month, blaming the accident on prescription medication. In his first statements since leaving drug rehab at the Mayo clinic, Kennedy noted that the waitress who claimed to serve him that night also works for Republican congressman, Roy Blunt of Missouri, saying, "The most she said she served me, if she did, was one drink."

Kennedy also denies asking for preferential treatment from Capitol police, adding that he's prepared to be arrested just like anybody else.

Want Ban, But No Amendment

Fifty-eight percent of Americans think same-sex marriage should be illegal, but only 42 percent say the issue requires a constitutional amendment. That, according to an ABC News poll in which 51 percent of respondents favor leaving the issue to the states.

But 85 percent of conservative Republicans oppose gay marriage and 56 percent support the amendment currently before the Senate. What's more, the issue carries a lot of political weight among supporters of the amendment, with 63 percent of them saying they could only vote for a candidate who also supports a constitutional ban on gay marriage, compared to just 24 percent of the amendment's critics.

Racism Redefined?

A Seattle public school's Web site spelling out the district's policy on racism has come under fire for citing such things as planning for the future and individualism as examples of "cultural racism."

The school defines racism as any aspect of society that attributes "value and normality to white people" but devalues people of color... including, "having a future time orientation, emphasizing individualism as opposed to a more collective ideology," and "defining one form of English as standard."

The district's director of equity and race relations says the site wasn't intended to "develop an 'us against them' mind set," but that it also wasn't designed to "hold onto unsuccessful concepts such as melting pot or colorblind mentality." The school has since taken the site offline.

American Attitudes

Pro-immigrant groups have accused U.S. anti-illegal immigration activists of "racism," but a new AP poll reveals that Americans have a more positive opinion of immigrants than Europeans.

While 52 percent of Americans say immigrants have had a positive influence on the country, less than half of French and British citizens say the same thing.

Twenty-two percent of Americans think immigrants have done more to improve the community than to create problems, compared to less than 10 percent of France, England, Germany and Spain. And more than 40 percent of Spanish and Italian citizens say immigrants are more likely to be involved in criminal activity than native-born citizens, while 19 percent of Americans agree.

—FOX News Channel's Aaron Bruns contributed to this report.