Entries for April 2009

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

It's the end of the road for The Beltway Boys, Fox News Channel's Saturday evening political chat with newsmen Fred Barnes and Mort Kondracke. Whispers hears that the show has run its course. 
A Fox spokesman confirmed this when contacted for comment. No replacement has been named.

Theirs was a fun mix of the week's politics, a peppy version of some of the other Saturday media political reviews. They talked about "hot stories," the week's big events, and sized up personalities in the "Ups and Downs" segment.

While it's now off the air, those in the know say that Barnes and Kondracke remain hot properties within the Fox family and will stay on to discuss political issues during special broadcasts and Bret Baier's nightly Special Report.

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

At Day 100, President Obama's approval rating was still remarkably high. But there's a little bit of bad news. It seems that Obama is just not quite as buzzworthy as he was during his inauguration. The folks at Zeta Interactive, who measure the Internet buzz, cranked out the latest numbers for Whispers and found that Obama's Web buzz has dropped off dramatically. It's not that the public has really turned against Obama, the Zeta folks tell us, it's just that the prez had nowhere to go but down. The tone of Web users has changed as well. Thanks to the continued recession, the kerfluffle over AIG bonuses, and other sour topics, the percentage of negative buzz about the president has increased by 9 points since Inauguration Day, from 23 percent negative buzz to 32 percent negative buzz. So why should we care about how people are perceiving the president online? "Blogs and online communities have become very viable influencers since the last time a president served his 100 days, and their authority will only continue to grow," writes Al Diguido, CEO of Zeta.

Here's Zeta's analysis:

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

It's brand new, but already the Obama vegetable garden has historical overtones. That's because some of the heirloom veggies come from the same types of seeds sown by slaves at former President Thomas Jefferson's Monticello in Virginia. Among them are brown Dutch and tennis ball lettuces, Savoy cabbage, and prickly seed spinach. "They were Jefferson's favorites," says Peter Hatch, director of gardens and grounds at Monticello. "There's this really profound Jefferson legacy for not only gardening but also the promotion of local food and New Age cuisine in the president's house," Hatch says.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

The Democrats think they can grab six more House seats from the GOP in the 2010 midterm elections, but 1988 Democratic presidential nominee Michael Dukakis isn't so sure. "In advance of 2010, I'd like to see building a precinct base in every state in this country," he urges. He fears the party is dillydallying on what he considers a dry run for President Obama's re-election. "Get moving on this. We don't have time to lose here," Dukakis frets.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Now that the World Health Organization has raised its swine flu warning to the next-to-highest level, talk of shutting down city subways systems, like Washington's Metro, has begun among congressional staffers and federal officials involved in transportation. Sources tell Whispers that what started simply as speculative "buzz" yesterday has turned into serious discussions of the implications of shuttering major transportation systems until the crisis is over.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Sen. Arlen Specter's switch to the Democratic Party amid an uphill GOP primary battle in Pennsylvania has fidgety Republicans worried that others will follow—specifically, Maine Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and the 2008 presidential nominee, Sen. John McCain. But top congressional leadership aides are dismissing the talk of GOP copycat switchers. "The lefty media would love to make this into a larger story about the status of the GOP, but in reality it is not," says a top Senate Republican leadership aide. He explained that Specter told Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell that the switch was made more because he was losing in state GOP primary polling than because of any problem with the Republican Party. "If the polling said he would need to turn into a rabbit to keep his job, they'd be stocking up on carrots at campaign headquarters," says the aide. As for the Maine senators, GOP officials say that they don't have any problem winning elections there as Republicans. And McCain's past status as the Republican presidential nominee most likely prevents him from switching parties. In the House, there are no Republicans identified as leaning Democrat. What's more, officials say that the Democrats don't have much to offer Republicans who switch because there is a long line of senior Democrats angling for chairmanships.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

The fight for veggie lunch options in public schools is landing on Capitol Hill, the White House, and Sidwell Friends School, where the Obama girls are students. Wyntergrace Williams, the 14-year-old daughter of TV's Montel Williams, is coming to Washington to lobby Congress to amend the Child Nutrition Act to add veggie options and is sending a letter to Malia and Sasha Obama asking for their assistance. "We want as much support as we can get on this," says Williams, an eighth grader at Central Middle School in Greenwich, Conn.

By Deborah Kotz, Washington Whispers

At a lunch today sponsored by the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, White House domestic policy adviser Melody Barnes revealed a few tidbits about herself. First, she disclosed that she's a reader of Oprah Winfrey's O magazine, having devoured a recent article on how few daughters really get the "sex" talk from their moms beyond the birds and bees mechanics of baby-making. "I was lucky," she added in a nod to her mother's broader sex talk with her. "My mom gave me all the information I needed about sex and making smart choices. I want to thank her for that."

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

House and Senate members and staffers, already worried about the government's overdrive campaign to raise awareness of the swine flu found around the globe, is in "freakout" mode over a new memo from the Capitol doctor that raises the threat of a pandemic. Calling the cases found in North America, particularly Mexico, and New Zealand a "concern," the attending physician's memo provided to Whispers says: "It is unknown if the current swine influenza strain could trigger a pandemic. However, the potential exists. . . ."Brian Monahan's memo provides links for staffers to find out more about the situation and advises those with flu symptoms to stay home. Referring to the memo, a top Senate aide said that the chamber is suffering a "freakout about the swine flu."

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Former Secretary of State James Baker, one of several past top diplomats who've called for the closing of Guantánamo Bay prison camps, said the call to probe the lawyers who wrote the so-called CIA torture memos is a "banana republic" move that would undermine President Obama's larger agenda. "The one thing that we need to stay away from at all costs is criminalizing our policy differences," he said, referring to Democratic efforts to investigate those who penned the memos justifying harsh interrogation methods under former President George W. Bush. "There's a strong flirtation to do that, but we ought to stay away from that." Speaking last night at a private Virginia girls' school, he said a probe would hurt Obama and make the country look silly. "I think it would suck a lot of the oxygen out of the air on some very important things that they are going to try and get done. But we are not a banana republic, and we ought not be in the business of criminalizing policy differences," he said. Baker joined virtually all living past secretaries of state last year to call for the closing of the prison camp. But yesterday, he acknowledged that there remains a problem of what to do with the accused terrorists there. "That's easier said than done," he said. "We don't really have a good solution to where we send these people. They are dangerous people. You can't just turn them loose. Most of their native countries won't take them back."

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

Take your run-of-the-mill Capitol Hill luncheon filled with members of Congress, staffers, reporters, experts, and activists, and add fitness guru Denise Austin. What do you get? A roomful of members, staffers, reporters, experts, and activists stretching, tightening, and squeezing, all in the name of better health. Women's Policy Inc. and the Office of Women's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services hosted Austin, along with Reps. Gwen Moore and Debbie Wasserman Schultz and former Rep. Pat Schroeder, among others, to celebrate 10 years of advancements in women's health. And did Austin ever draw attention. "Everybody stand up—we're going to stretch a little," she ordered the confused, mostly female audience. "OK, everybody, stretch your arms up, stomach in, and lengthen your spine," she yelled. "Now squeeze the buttocks, tighten that tooshie. If you don't squeeze it, no one else will," she later added. This wasn't the first time Austin had led members of Congress through an exercise routine, but she gave this group high marks. "These women are fit. The one from Miami, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, is great," she told Whispers. Austin couldn't resist showing off her own fit body as well. "Feel my tummy!" Austin said to Representative Moore, who gave the 52-year-old Austin's stomach a quick pat.