Entries for May 2008

ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR

Her ramrod-straight posture, the coiffed hair, even the eyes like chipped ice. They all have Cindy McCain fighting the image of a Stepford Wife. In Vogue this month, the millionaire wife of Sen. John McCain lets her hair down, literally, while reclining barefoot, in comfortable jeans, on a deck chair. Just another staged photo op? Not necessarily. Cindy can cut loose, say the folks at Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Phoenix. The 53-year-old mother of four has developed a taste for the track since 2004, the year she suffered a stroke.

"My son Jack is the one who really made me get up after the stroke and push myself again," she tells Whispers. Jack happens to be a racing fan. In defensive-driving courses at Bondurant, Cindy rammed the cars of mock bad guys and took out roadblocks. "She was steady as a rock," says Mike McGovern, the school's chief instructor. Cindy was a "gung-ho student"—the first to volunteer to try out the skid car, which trains drivers to recover from spin outs. With Jack, who's enrolled in the U.S. Naval Academy, she even jumped in a Pontiac GTO at Bondurant to learn the swerving style of street racing called drifting.

"I learned that I could push my limits and exceed my goals," she says. "After the campaign, hopefully, we will be able to go out again."

Libertarians like their chances this year. The party nominated Las Vegas oddsmaker Wayne Allyn Root as its No. 2 on a ticket led by ex-Republican Rep. Bob Barr. So, just what are their odds of winning the White House? Ladbrokes in London, one of the world's biggest sports oddsmakers, gave Whispers its take. It puts Sen. Barack Obama as a 10:11 favorite; Sen. John McCain is at 5:4, and Sen. Hillary Clinton is 8:1. The Barr/Root ticket comes in at 25:1—not too bad when you consider the country's history with third parties. "In times of difficulty in the United States," says Patrick Jay, sports director for Ladbrokes, "somebody who isn't attached to one of the main parties has a chance." Root calls those odds "fair and realistic." He adds, "I don't think we're favorites to win. I'm not delusional."

You won't find a baker or candlestick maker in the 110th Congress, but there is a former butcher—Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, who plied the trade in a company store in his youth. A new report by the Congressional Research Service peers into the former lives of federal lawmakers and finds a host of humble beginnings or odd jobs, such as carpentry, waitressing, and driving a taxi. The CRS also unearthed a former furniture salesman, a cement plant worker, and a lowly bellhop. Still, most wind up in politics, law, or business management before graduating to Capitol Hill.

When his donation was returned by Barack Obama's campaign, lawyer and corporate lobbyist Thurgood Marshall Jr. wasn't surprised. The presidential hopeful had barred contributions from lobbyists. (He sent in $500 before he knew of the ban.) But what the son of the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall couldn't figure out was why the campaign returned more than he gave. Turns out Marshall, who served in the Clinton administration, shelled out $30 for campaign hats and T-shirts before his son, Will, began his internship in Obama's Senate office last summer. And that qualified as a donation. "So, basically," Marshall chuckles, "I got the things for free." For the record, Marshall, who hasn't endorsed anyone, has given to many Democrats—including Hillary Clinton. Note: She hasn't returned the donation.

Regime change in Pakistan means a new public relations effort in Washington. The country is turning to lobbyist and Democratic strategist Mark Siegel, who held the lobbyist job the last two times the Pakistan Peoples Party was in power. Instead of focusing on military aid, Siegel is pushing to get his client a social and economic aid package of $1.5 billion for the next 10 years. It's a proposal members of Congress are warming up to. Democratic Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware plans to introduce it shortly. "It seems like a lot," Siegel says. "But we spent $10 billion on military aid to Pakistan since 9/11, and it's pretty hard to account for the money and any success that money has brought us."

Politicians collect supporters like some people collect baseball cards. Now the tables are being turned. The Upper Deck baseball card company unveils special-edition insert cards this week that feature caricature parodies of the White House contenders and hot election-year issues. Illustrating the healthcare debate, one card shows Hillary Clinton in a tense standoff with John McCain a la New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens and New York Mets catcher Mike Piazza during the 2000 World Series. The Iraq card shows Obama, a base runner, and John McCain, a catcher, in a donnybrook. "We have both sides of the coin: Barack versus McCain and Hillary versus McCain," says Terry Melia of Upper Deck. "We have covered the bases, so to speak."

Has your excitement for Barack Obama given you Baroxysms? Have you noted the fervor of some female Obamazons? Learn more about this political fever in Obamamania! The English Language, Barackafied, to be released in July by the editors of Slate. The satirical dictionary delights in the many possible permutations of the candidate's name, while taking some light jabs at Obama and his avid supporters. Obombies (zombielike supporters who cannot name a single policy position) and Baracademics (Obama's professorial base) get lampooned. If Obama gets the nomination, this book could be essential reading—even for those who don't believe in the Obamessiah.

"My BS-o-meter didn't flicker once around [Sen.] Harry Reid, and it usually goes crazy around politicians."

Pamela Anderson, after lobbying the Senate majority leader on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

"I'm a young person who's interested in politics, [and]I thought, 'Why not?' "

Thomas "T.J" Wells, a 20-year-old Barack Obama supporter, on getting a full-color portrait of the senator tattooed on his right calf

"Why don't you learn something about the monument?"

Sen. Hillary Clinton, refusing to take media questions during a stop at South Dakota's Mount Rushmore

"What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary."

Scott McClellan, former Bush White House spokesman, in his new insider tell-all, What Happened

Sources: The Washington Post, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne, Ind.), ABC News

CHRIS BRITT/COPLEY NEWS SERVICE/SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE

No Whispering this week, sorry. I’m out on the streams and will return next week. In the meantime, check out our blogs and news pages for the latest scoop. And don’t forget to take our Capitol Bobbles poll at right.

I'll be back Monday, June 2.

Washington Whispers editor Paul Bedard is now podcasting on the city's political buzz and gossip. But he's not just reading his column into your computer and iPod. No sir. He's putting more tidbits and details on the table and offering some news that's not in his magazine column or online. In this week's edition, for example, he gives some more detail on that call Mike Huckabee made to Barack Obama after he told a bad joke at the National Rifle Association convention. And he reveals just who Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace has his sights trained on. Every week, Paul will update what's going on in Washington with his new podcast. Better yet, listen now or subscribe and download on iTunes and with RSS.