Entries for February 2008

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR

In public, they were oil and water. As president, Bill Clinton distrusted then House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and the Republican felt the same way about Clinton. But in a shocking revelation, we're learning that the political foes—desperate for a heroic legacy—made a secret pact to fix the nation's most problematic programs like Social Security. The plan crashed, however, in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. "Monica changed everything," says former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles.

It was in 1997, when the budget was flush and partisanship at a lull, says Steven Gillon, a History Channel host and University of Oklahoma professor who reveals the deal in his upcoming page-turner, The Pact. "This was a moment where everything came together to create this possibility in 1997-98," he says. "Those circumstances will probably never be duplicated." Using Gingrich's notes and interviews with Bowles and other Clintonistas, he describes months of meetings leading to a face-to-face in the Treaty Room on Oct. 28, 1997. The plan: Clinton would propose fixing Social Security and Gingrich would back it. Both would work their sides to pass it after the 1998 elections. Other deals would follow. But the Lewinsky saga broke first, returning partisanship. "It really did matter, and it destroyed this moment of bipartisanship that both of them had worked hard for," says Gillon.

It's a sign of the times that some see as proof Iraq's war-tattered economy is on the mend. Our people in Baghdad report that the, ahem, sex business is back in the saddle. The proof: Two brothels located outside the highly protected Green Zone are experiencing a resurgence in customers.

Sen. John Kerry is among the first in Washington to get a cool new hybrid Chevy Tahoe truck. He traded up from his Ford Escape hybrid (34 mpg) to a Chevy Tahoe suv (22 mpg). But styling he's not when compared with the upgrade former Vice President Al Gore is getting. We hear that the world's spokesman on global warming is buying a Cadillac Escalade hybrid that also gets 22 mpg.

Conservative talker Laura Ingraham gave her a big break, and now former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright wants her own radio show. "I think it would be so much fun," she tells us. "I love talking, listening, and asking and responding to questions." Albright was recently on Ingraham's show talking up Sen. Hillary Clinton when she felt the urge to have the mike to herself. "I like to be provocative and like to be provoked," she says. "Having been on many radio shows, I know they provide great opportunities to learn about many different subjects and allow you to have fun while doing it—all without having to put on makeup!"

The race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is weighing down the diplomatic pouches Washington ambassadors are sending home. Top Embassy Row diplomats tell us that the regular stuff of trade deals, treaties, and military talk is playing second fiddle to the fascination in Europe's capitals with the first-ever presidential primary race between a woman and an African-American. One top diplo tells us he can't deliver enough news to his bosses. "It's getting to the point that it's difficult to talk to them on the phone," says the diplomat. "They want forecasts and predictions," he says. "It's what they mostly want to talk about."

Here's another reason the press, Democrats, and presidential convention delegates are aching for a convention fight between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. New lobbying rules have all but ended the freebies and lavish parties corporate America and K Street like to throw. "Denver will be a dog," says one K Street lobbyist, referring to the Democratic National Convention set for that city in late August. Ditto for the GOP confab in Minneapolis-St. Paul, he adds. All-night parties used to be the lure for delegates, especially because most conventions lack political theater. One firm, which tells us that it used to haul in rock stars to perform for lawmakers and delegates, isn't showing up. "The rules have killed all the fun," says another lobbyist.

Surviving war, the Hanoi Hilton, and political life in Washington has made Sen. John McCain one superstitious guy. And now it's spread to his campaign headquarters across the Potomac River from Washington in Crystal City, Va. Insiders tell us that while the campaign suite is on the 13th floor, mentions of it have been erased. Instead, the floor is simply called "Suite M" for McCain.

Last year's troop surge hasn't just made things better in Iraq. Fewer active duty service members are being buried at Arlington National Cemetery. "It's not as busy," says Superintendent John Metzler. He says that the facility, which is running out of space, has averaged 124 war-related burials a year.

Finally, a federal proposition we can all get behind. The gang at Guinness is pushing Proposition 3-17. Yes, March 17, St. Patrick's Day. The goal: Make it a federal holiday. "The spirit of St. Patrick's Day is too much to contain in one day alone," Master Brewer Fergal Murray tells us. "By officially recognizing March 17, we are in essence providing people with another day on which to celebrate one of the world's greatest holidays." Guinness is seeking 1 million signatures on a petition it will submit to Congress on St. Paddy's Day. Too bad they didn't try this last year. It might have given us a three-day holiday this year.

"Um, Medved—Medvedova, whatever."

Sen. Hillary Clinton, at the Democratic presidential debate last week in Ohio, stumbling over the name of Russia's likely new president, Dmitri Medvedev

"At least we've got somebody older than me in the race. That's good."

Sen. John McCain, the 71-year-old GOP presidential candidate, on the decision by Ralph Nader, 74, to enter the race as an independent

"I don't answer those humiliating questions. But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em."

Sen. Barack Obama, choosing a different path than Bill Clinton did in the past in refusing to answer the question: Boxers or briefs?

"He's a really good guy. He's finally going to be the son that George never had."

Laura Bush, the first lady, on her daughter Jenna's fiancé, Henry Hager

Sources: New York Times, Chicago Tribune, US Weekly, CBS Early Show

STEVE BREEN/COPLEY NEWS SERVICE/SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE