Entries for April 2007

Here's something we don't see very often: A House member just gave birth to a baby boy. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers gave birth to Cole McMorris Rodgers early Sunday at Bethesda's National Naval Medical Center. Cole came into the world a bit early–and, at 3:14 a.m. Sunday, early in the day–and a little small, at 5 pounds, 9 ounces. As a result, he's in the neonatal unit "to address minor complications," said the lawmaker's office. But we're assured that all is just fine for the new parents, Cathy and Brian Rogers.

Read the release here.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jill Strait
April 30, 2007
(202) 225-2006

McMorris Rodgers Gives Birth to Baby Boy

Washington, D.C.—Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers and husband Brian Rodgers yesterday welcomed the arrival of their son Cole McMorris Rodgers. He was born at 3:14 a.m. on April 29, 2007 at Bethesda Naval Hospital.

"Brian and I are overjoyed by the birth of our son," said McMorris Rodgers. "Although he arrived early, both the baby and I are doing well and recovering at the hospital. We look forward to soon being able to bring our son home."

Cole was born four weeks premature. He weighed five pounds nine ounces and is currently in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to address minor complications.

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

War critics are holding an anniversary party of sorts for President Bush: Americans United tomorrow begins airing an ad nationwide that draws attention to the president's Mission Accomplished speech four years ago.

The group ties the ill-conceived event on an aircraft carrier to the current battle over war funding and Bush's pledge to veto it because it seeks to bring the troops home. This ad is a big deal: It will cost well over $100,000 to air Sunday on Meet the Press and starting Friday on daytime CNN and Fox programming and later on in prime time on MSNBC's Hardball, CNN's Anderson Cooper, and Fox's O'Reilly Factor.

See the ad here.