Entries for June 2009

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

It's going to be hard to do, but the administration and some lawmakers are interested in using an international grading index for American schools. Reason: It shows how well, or poorly, U.S. students are doing compared with others around the world, a key to President Obama's effort to boost math and science stores to levels of high-performing countries. The hurdle: state and local officials who sneer at international grading benchmarks. Still, the administration has taken a keen interest in a new American Institutes for Research study that reveals the shortfalls of U.S. education compared with other countries. How bad is it? Asian students outperform ours in math. We do our best in Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Kansas, and Vermont, where fourth graders perform at B levels on the international scale. The study by the influential nonprofit provides a pathway for schools to implement the standards.

By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers

First dog Bo is a chewer. First lady Michelle Obama has revealed that the Portuguese water dog likes to nibble her feet. And now top White House adviser David Axelrod says fashion is also a target of Bo. "The first time I met Bo, I leaned over to pet him and he chewed my tie," Axelrod told a group of school kids today at a Department of Education reading event. "Maybe I had a bit of my lunch on it," he added, earning loud squeals from a group of youngsters.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, armed with his new book, Saving Freedom, and a Toby Keith-like song, is hitting the nation on a bus wrapped in patriotic colors to pitch his claim that the administration and congressional Democrats are pushing the nation into socialism.

"We've got to stop the slide to socialism," he tells Whispers. "Freedom is dissolving. We don't even teach what it is anymore."

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Lame-duck Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a potential Republican 2012 presidential candidate, got a crash course on how crazy a presidential campaign can be when he headed to an Arkansas speaking engagement last weekend. Our Suzi Parker reports that the two-term governor was scheduled to fly into Little Rock Friday afternoon in time to rest, shower, and shave before speaking at a state Republican fundraiser that night.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Max Cleland, the triple-amputee Vietnam War hero and former Georgia senator, has some great tales to tell in his upcoming bio, Heart of a Patriot: How I Found the Courage to Survive Vietnam, Walter Reed and Karl Rove. In one, he recalls a return trip to the Senate in January where he saw his old friend Sen. Edward Kennedy. Cleland embraced Kennedy, who suggested "another meeting of the Senate Water Resources Committee," code language for their Jacuzzi sessions in the Senate steam room. Another story takes place on 9/11 and concerns a meeting in his Senate office with Gen. Richard Myers, then chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The meeting started about the time the twin towers were attacked and just before al Qaeda terrorists smashed Flight 77 into the Pentagon. Months later the two met again, and both mused that Myers might be alive only because of their previous meeting.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

For Liz Cheney, it's the project of a lifetime: working with her dad, former Vice President Dick Cheney, on his still-untitled bio being published by Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions. She gave us some insight on what the story she's helping to research and write will cover. "It's going to be a political memoir of unparalleled interest and significance," she promised us. "His career has spanned four decades, service at the highest levels of Congress, in the White House, at the Pentagon, and in the private sector." The stories will stretch from his being kicked out of Yale, twice, to stringing power lines across the West, through his days as former President George H. W. Bush's defense secretary and eventually W's veep. "He has seen and been part of most of the key policy debates and some of the most momentous events since the early 1970s. It's a great story and—on a personal note—really special for me to have the chance to work on it with him," says Liz. "It's just a wonderful project, and he's a wonderful dad and great American."

Pollster John Zogby regularly updates our ObamaMeter. Each week, Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a rating of between 1 and 100. The ObamaMeter, however, is not a poll-generated job approval number. Instead, the Washington Whispers ObamaMeter is Zogby's judgment on the performance of the president once multiple factors are considered. In this week's ObamaMeter, Zogby says that the president did well on Iran but is facing hurdles on healthcare.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Over the next two years, Ronald Reagan is going to gallop back into our lives as his posse prepares a string of events to celebrate his centennial birthday, Feb. 6, 2011, and take into account just what an American giant he has become since leaving office in 1989. And it's being done in a very Reaganesque way: at no cost to taxpayers but instead from donations.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Who knew defrocked GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff was so interesting? First we heard that actor Kevin Spacey was huddling with jailed Jack to get tips for his Casino Jack movie, due out in 2010. That's the same name Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney had picked for his documentary. Gibney's folks say his picture will be out later this year, and they're E-mailing anybody involved to try to get them in front of a camera.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

Now that he's had a couple of days to review the impact of Gov. Mark Sanford's affair and reconciliation with his wife, South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint isn't pushing to have his friend kicked out of office. However, he said strongly in an interview that he is disappointed in the "conservative icon" who had been on several 2012 Republican presidential short lists.

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

For a second week, a GOP sex scandal has helped an aspiring 2012 presidential candidate. This time, it's Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, who takes over the Republican Governors Association from South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who admitted, in detail, his affair with a woman in Argentina.

Barbour is somebody to watch, say his Republican allies. He served as head of the Republican National Committee under Ronald Reagan, was a successful lobbyist, and then won praise for his Hurricane Katrina cleanup despite the Bush administration's bumbling efforts there. He's dismissing the talk, for now, as he focuses on helping Republicans win election to the House and Senate in 2010.