Entries for April 29, 2007

JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR

History is being made inside the Pentagon press room, and the trailblazers in skirts and lipstick say it's a change for the better. For the first time ever, about a third of the historically male Pentagon press corps is female. The latest addition, Fox News Channel's Jennifer Griffin, brings the number of regular female reporters to nine (including our very own Anna Mulrine). "It's better than ever," says CNN's Barbara Starr. "The more the merrier," adds AP's Robert Burns.

There have been few hurdles. "I've never ever experienced any sexism from the military," says ABC's Martha Raddatz, a war correspondent who also covers the White House. "I don't feel the least bit constrained," adds Starr. "I'll stop short of following [male military brass] into the men's room, but I'll wait for them outside."

But there is a difference in coverage. "Women," says Griffin, a mother of two, "have a certain layer of empathy and emotional intelligence that they bring to a beat like this." Adds Starr, who devotes coverage to injured soldiers: "You must show the human dimension."

Still, it's no girls club. "It's not some sit around and sew in the afternoon society," says Raddatz. And yet, they do look out for each other. Consider Starr's advice for newbie Griffin: Wear sneakers or flats. "Your ultimate weapon in this building is comfortable shoes."

We hear that correspondent Bob Franken wasn't happy when cnn didn't extend his contract. And now insiders aren't happy with his goodbye note. It takes a shot at cable star Wolf Blitzer and ends with a promise to take his show to "another stage." What happened? The star reporter wanted to cover the presidential race, but cnn wanted him to be a utility player. And insiders say he thinks he has that job lined up at another network.

Antiabortion conservatives, burned in the polls when they tried to stop the family of Florida's Terri Schiavo from removing her feeding tube, are planning another assault. But this time it won't be targeted on a single person. Instead, conservative lawmakers and activists say they'll focus on states where liberal legislatures are planning to ok euthanasia legislation. "Much of the pro-life fight is going to expand on the end-of-life questions," says Sen. Sam Brownback, a gop presidential hopeful.

Success hasn't gone to Howard Dean's head, despite the fundraising and political victories the Democratic Party chairman has collected in the past year. We hear that he still tries to get home to Vermont every weekend and still lives in a hotel near Democratic Party hq when in town. He likes to eat at his desk, where he sometimes tries to book his own flights around the country. "He knows all the connecting-flight schedules, he's traveled so much," says a friend. And he won't use a limo to get around town, instead keeping the number of a favorite cab driver—a Mr. Singh—handy.

When you hail from the town Al Capone made famous and play politics as aggressively as Chicago's old Mayor Richard Daley, then you've got to have a bag of tricks and treats for most every occasion. That's certainly the case of Rep. Rahm Emanuel, the Democratic dynamo who gets lots of credit for returning the Democrats to power in the House. We are just learning that he makes a good student of the Godfather. Example: Back when he was just a House aide, he sent a dead fish to a pollster he was upset with, according to a new bio, The Thumpin', by the Chicago Tribune's Naftali Bendavid. But nowadays, he's more likely to send treats. "He's a big fan of sending cheesecakes as 'Thank-yous,'" says an aide. And not just any cake: His fave is Chicago's famous Eli's Cheesecake.

If there's one Washington-based charity the socialites are flocking to, it's Innocents At Risk, a group that aims to stop the trafficking of women and children for sexual purposes. Just last month, the group held a benefit that drew administration officials and lawmakers who in return were given swanky gifts like a Neiman Marcus bag and a $250 gift credit for Van Cleef & Arpels. But another is drawing snickers from the socialite crowd: a gold bracelet made for the event by Washington jeweler Ann Hand. No, it's not that it wasn't nice enough; it's a beaut. But the name of the charity and a key word are misspelled. The engraving reads: "Help prevenf child trafficking. Innocence at Risk." Says an attendee: "It's a good thing it wasn't for a Literacy Foundation gala." Hand isn't taking the blame, claiming the charity supplied the misspelled name itself and the "factory made the goof" on the "t." Still, she cheers, "It's now a collector's item."

The opening of the reconstructed Mount Vernon distillery where George Washington first stewed his hooch got us wondering about the history between politicians and their booze. And it seems to be a rich one. With the help of Willard Intercontinental Hotel bar manager Jim Hewes and Ben Jenkins of the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, we learned that Honest Abe Lincoln ran a saloon and his father toiled at Kentucky's Boone Distillery on Knob Creek, now the name of a fancy small-batch whiskey. FDR fancied Scotch and brandy. Richard Nixon's medicine was rum and Coke. Of late, we've shared Miller Lites in Kennebunkport, Maine, with former President Bush, though his successors—Bill Clinton and Bush son George—don't drink. But neither banned booze in the executive mansion: White House guests are still offered top-shelf liquor, and we're told that Bush has nonalcoholic Buckler beer chilling at his Texas ranch. And finally, with the Kentucky Derby coming up, we went to the state's elder senator, Mitch McConnell, for his recommendations on making a mint julep. "One key ingredient," he says: Kentucky bourbon.;

"I hope Al Gore enters the race. I think that would be good for the country."

"It's like going into the Senate. You know the first time you get there you're all excited—'My God, how did I ever get here?' And then, about six months later, you say, 'How the hell did the rest of them get here?'"

"Don't touch anything in here. It's very dirty."

Sources: AP, New York Times, Washington Post

—Nick Anderson, Houston Chronicle/The Washington Post Writers Group