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Shoot the Press? Not This Gunslinger
Tweet Share on Facebook May 20, 2007 CommentRep. Xavier Becerra, a California Democrat, had the perfect excuse for "accidentally" whacking reporters: He called a press briefing to stage a shooting to demonstrate new bullet-stamping technology. But instead of holding it in a committee room, he chose the U.S. Capitol Police range in the Rayburn House Office Building. "We just had to do it at the firing range," he says. "I don't think the chairmen of the hearings would be pleased we were firing a weapon in their room." Or reporters and staff: "It's hard to do a press conference if you're going to take a chance the bullet will hit a person."
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Out Loud
Tweet Share on Facebook May 20, 2007 Comment"As the Sopranos would say, I would not travel to Chicago for the purpose of teaching people how to butcher hogs."
Rep. John Dingell, Democrat from Michigan, rapping Democratic presidential hopeful and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama for his speech in Detroit criticizing auto emissions"We've had a Congress that's spent money like John Edwards at a beauty shop."
Mike Huckabee, GOP presidential candidate, at a Republican debate, referring to Edwards's $400 haircut"I think Oprah is far more powerful than a vice president."
Sen. Barack Obama, on the "Oprah factor" in politics"I won't sing it in public. UNLESS I WIN!"
Sen. Hillary Clinton, Democratic presidential candidate, who has created a contest to pick her campaign theme songSources: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, MSNBC Live, HillaryClinton.com
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Cartoon
Tweet Share on Facebook May 20, 2007 Comment
MARSHALL RAMSEY/COPLEY NEWS SERVICE/THE CLARION LEDGER -
Is McCain's Autograph Worth $200?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 17, 2007 Comment (2)For lots of word guys and gals like us in the media, little is as cool as getting a signed book, especially an autobiography. I've got a bunch, though don't ask me where I've put them. Even attended former CIA Director George Tenet's book party at Georgetown University this month to get his John Hancock.
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Of Course Hillary Loves the Dixie Chicks
Tweet Share on Facebook May 17, 2007 CommentSen. Hillary Clinton needs help: She's calling on supporters to pick a campaign song out of nine on her Web page. You know most of the songs: U2's "Beautiful Day," Shania Twain's "Rock This Country," and the Temptations' "Get Ready" among them. Naturally, the Bush-bashing Dixie Chicks have a spot with their "Ready to Run." Our favorite part of the voting site: You can hear all the songs free.
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Jury Duty Means Dad for the Day
Tweet Share on Facebook May 17, 2007 CommentFederal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Joseph Kelliher held the strongest possible shield against tough questions at a news conference this week: his curly-haired 21-month-old son. Young Damien mainly clung to his father's neck, occasionally reaching up to push Kelliher's cheeks together as he explained the agency's stand on nuclear power and its role in the siting of new liquefied natural gas terminals, reports our Marianne Lavelle.
Apparently, even one of the nation's top regulators has trouble finding backup child care; Kelliher had committed a year ago to speak at Deloitte & Touche USA's annual energy conference, months before learning his wife would be called to jury duty this week. Damien sat happily in the audience with Kelliher's staff during his speech to the more than 400 conference attendees. He wailed only briefly--perhaps with the rest of the electric industry--when the chairman turned to the subject of new reliability standards that go into effect this summer.
"I guess he didn't like my answer," Kelliher said, frowning.
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Want Reagan? Try John Cox
Tweet Share on Facebook May 14, 2007 CommentRepublican voters dissatisfied with the current crop of Reagan wannabes ought to check out the only GOP candidate barred from this week's South Carolina debate hosted by Fox: John Cox.
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Secret to Smoking Like a President
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2007 Comment
JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR It was election night 1992, and the popular Georgetown Tobacco shop was busy with political aides looking for one stogie brand: Paul Garmirian, a fave of former Presidents Bush and Clinton. "The Democrats were buying them to celebrate," recalls Garmirian, "and the Republicans for consolation." Never heard of "P.G.'s"? Count yourself lucky: We're letting you in on a secret that Washington and Hollywood big shots have kept for 16 years. Aficionados consider P.G.'s vintage Dominican cigars better than Cuba's storied Cohibas.
"Muy bueno," says former cia Director George Tenet, who used to chew the P.G. Churchill. Garmirian, a regal Lebanese native who literally wrote the book on cigars (The Gourmet Guide to Cigars), tells how a client once offered Clinton a P.G. in a greeting line but Bubba walked past. That is, until he heard, "but it's a P.G." The current prez is a fan, as are California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and David Letterman. "It's a nonpartisan cigar," says Garmirian, who offers cigars, chat, and espresso at his McLean, Va., store. His string of presidential smokers might continue in 2008: Republican Rudy Giuliani likes to chat Armenian affairs with Garmirian over P.G.'s, and Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson recalls talking cigars with the maker at Georgetown Tobacco. "Paul is a master cigar maker," he says, "but an even better raconteur."
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Charming the Grouchy CIA
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2007 CommentBy most accounts, the cia's new boss, Gen. Michael Hayden, inherited a grumpy agency beaten up in the aftermath of 9/11. Now insiders tell us that morale is edging up. And they credit Hayden's charm offensive for the change. His technique: Hayden sends out regular E-mails to staff boasting about their good work and revealing secrets he hears from top politicians. What's more, he sometimes stops by offices to buck them up. "He pulls people aside to say nice things. It works," says an insider. Hayden's got a solid public-relations record: When he ran the National Security Agency, we're told, he used to video his interaction with workers to show he didn't work in an ivory tower. "You could write a management book off his techniques," says one official.
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A President's Day Nominee in 2008
Tweet Share on Facebook May 13, 2007 Comment (1)The rushed 2008 presidential race, already pedal to the metal earlier than ever before, is starting to look as though it could produce likely nominees as early as mid-February 2008. That's more than six months before the actual nominating conventions. The reason: Big states, like Florida and California, are tired of being overshadowed by New Hampshire and Iowa and want to play a larger role in picking the nominee. But now lots of states are following suit and plan primaries and caucuses by mid-February. Seeing it coming, the political parties are already making plans to have their headquarters invaded by the probable nominee's aides. The Republican National Committee, for example, has set aside 15 offices and cubicles for them. The Dems also have space "so we'll be ready to accommodate our nominee whenever (s)he arrives," an insider E-mails us.
