Entries for February 2009

By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers

FDR spent his first few days in office fixing the banks, and then he legalized beer. President Obama has buoyed the banks; what about legalizing marijuana? asks Keith Stroup, the attorney who founded the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in 1970. For decades, Stroup has argued that legalizing pot would produce mega tax windfalls, and now, officials of states zonked out by the fiscal crisis—Texas, Tennessee, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania—are asking Stroup for the 411 on ganja green. "As smokers," he adds, "we're raising our hands and saying: 'Tax us!' "

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

It is considered a White House state dinner, and it happens every year when the nation's governors come to town. So planning for the event began even before President Obama was elected. Food would be seasonal and wine regional, an American farm-focused pattern pursued by former first ladies Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush. But then Barack and Michelle Obama arrived, and, well, change happened. The kitchen staff, inspired by the Obamas' organic focus, tweaked the menu and even the wine choices to highlight organic foods.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Americans are not a happy bunch, according to our new Whispers poll from Synovate. The latest downer: Those polled say the income-tax break that amounts to about $13 a week is so small that they won't even notice it. And practically nobody said it was enough to even prompt a McDonald's splurge. Asked what they will do with the much-heralded $13 when it arrives beginning in April, a whopping 63 percent said that it is so small that they won't even notice it. Twenty-five percent said that they would simply apply it to bills. And a combined 12 percent said they'd either go to the movies or take the kids to McDonald's. Men were especially depressed, with 66 percent telling our pollster that the break was chump change. And women sounded more responsible, with 28 percent pledging to use the money to pay down credit card bills. Here are the grim statistics:

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Al Qaeda learned a lot in Iraq about how the United States intercepts telephone calls and has shared the information with its allies in Pakistan, according to a knowledgeable intelligence source. The United States has hunted down Al Qaeda in Iraq kingpins, including leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, using superelite units made up of Delta Force, the National Security Agency, the CIA, and a military intelligence group, Task Force Orange. Iraq rebuilding has included an extensive cellphone network. The special units tap into that network to track the whereabouts of hundreds of the most wanted. If a terrorist is on the phone long enough, the unit can pinpoint his whereabouts to within 10 yards and go get him.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

He helped craft the House GOP 1994 Contract With America, was declared the hottest pollster in the country, and just performed a political triple-double: Advising governors and House and Senate members from both parties. So, is Frank Luntz, the former Republican golden boy who provided the party with so many winning words and phrases, the model of modern, Obama-style bipartisanship or a GOP traitor?

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

We've caught him viewing controversial movies in the past, so it didn't surprise us too much to find out that movie buff Donald Rumsfeld recently viewed Oliver Stone's W. The former defense secretary said it wasn't intentional. The movie, which portrays the Bush administration and has actor Scott Glenn playing Rumsfeld, happened to be on TV at a hotel where Rumsfeld was staying. And while he wouldn't divulge how closely art imitated life, he did offer this: "It was funny," he said, pausing. "Not the movie, but that I actually saw it."

By Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers

The president and his CIA chief seem to be reading Foreign Policy Magazine, which recently suggested that the incoming administration change the nature of the daily intelligence updates to the White House. Today, CIA Director Leon Panetta told reporters that his agency was producing, at the request of the Obama administration, a new "economic intelligence brief" and distributing it to key policymakers. Reflecting the comments of the director of national intelligence, who called the economic crisis a serious national security threat, the new brief will focus on global economic issues, Panetta says. "It will cover overseas developments, economic, political, leadership developments," he says. "Obviously, the implications in terms of the U.S. economy will be analyzed as well." The first EIB was sent out today to "key players" in the administration.

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

Sure, it was Barack Obama's big night, but before the president arrived on the Hill, members and staffers were all aflutter over another special guest—actor Sean Connery. Connery was in town yesterday, along with Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond, to cheer the formation of the Senate Friends of Scotland Caucus. So what's this caucus all about? "Golfing, drinking, eating, and world peace—in that order," Sen. Lindsey Graham told Whispers. Graham waited patiently in line with many other members of Congress to snap a picture with the Hollywood legend, who gave only brief remarks. While in line, he told us his favorite Connery flick was The Untouchables . "I like that, and I like the James Bond movies, but it would be boring to say that," he explained.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

With some help from Rome, this is the Year of Italy in Philly. Consul General Luigi Scotto tells Whispers that it starts March 1 with the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, where the theme is "Bella Italia." Says Scotto: "It will be like visiting Italy." Then in April, the city will host the first ever display of Galileo's telescopes outside Italy. "We are truly honored, and it is a great compliment to Italy," says Scotto of the Italy-focused events. "Italy is very fashionable now."

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

A new and thorough biography of Sen. Edward Kennedy pushes the talk in Democratic circles that the liberal lion wants his wife to replace him in the Senate. Family sources have suggested that Kennedy, battling a brain cancer, is bidding to have Vicki Reggie named, should it come to that. Now that line has been picked up in Last Lion, The Fall and Rise of Ted Kennedy by Boston Globe writers. They write that his marriage to Reggie seemed contrived. "But it soon proved to be a love match," they add, "so much so that some wondered if she should one day be heir to his Senate seat."

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

We just got a briefing on what President Obama plans to say in his first address to Congress tonight. "Tonight, he wants to be like the doctor helping to diagnose and then heal a sick patient," said a congressional official who joined others in a briefing from White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "They want to tie together everything they've laid out over the past few weeks and make the case to America that, 'We're on the ball,'" said the official.

Including applause, Obama plans to talk for 50-60 minutes, the typical length for a State of the Union address, although it's not called that because Obama hasn't been in office long enough to size up the state of the union. As of 4:28 p.m., Obama was still working on his address with his speechwriters, but it generally has four sections.