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Richardson Loves His SUV, So There
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 CommentHis presidential platform includes slashing oil consumption in half and expanding America's hybrid fleet. But New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson says he still loves his SUV. And the Democrat is not ashamed, as he says in his new book, Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution. "I'm a big guy, and I don't really fit well in smaller cars," he says. And forget the smaller hybrid Ford Escape. "It turned out to be too small for me" and his security.
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Clinton's Secrets in His Sock Drawer
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 CommentIt's a good thing former President Bill Clinton had lots of socks. It's where he kept all of his secrets, recorded on tape. Author Taylor Branch reveals that Bubba invited him into the residence over 70 times to record Clinton's oral history. Clinton kept the tapes in a sock drawer. He later used them for his autobiography. After the sessions, Branch would tape his own recollections on his drive home. His tape-based book, Wrestling History: The Bill Clinton Tapes, is out next year. Finding room for the tapes wasn't hard because Clinton "had a lot of socks," Branch said in an appearance at the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.
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Elvis Music TeacherSaw No 'Stardust'
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 CommentWashington, it turns out, has a better connection to Elvis than that old picture of Richard Nixon meeting with the King. Seems that outgoing Federal Aviation Administration chief Marion Blakey's grandmother was his music teacher in East Tupelo, Miss. While her "grandmom" thought his guitar playing was good, she wasn't wowed by his voice. "He had a sweet voice, but not particularly strong," Blakey recalls her elder saying. Even after he appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show, says Blakey, there was "no real stardust as far as she was concerned; but then he moved to Memphis and, you know, life changed."
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Bush's Loss Is the Cabinet's Gain
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 CommentIt's starting to feel a bit lonely in the White House, now that the president's closest aides from his Texas days—former spokesman Scott McClellan, lawyer Harriet Miers, communications czar Dan Bartlett, political ace Karl Rove, and Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, have bailed. And as a result, top aides believe there will be a shift in influence from the West Wing staff to the sometimes ignored cabinet. "Bush can't just say, 'Karl, figure this out' anymore," says one insider. "He'll have to turn to the cabinet more, and it's a great opportunity for the cabinet to get its agenda on the president's desk instead of the other way around."
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Eyes on Your Fries...and Steny Hoyer
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 CommentHe may dress like a million bucks and carry himself like the Donald, but House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer is still a rural southern Maryland boy at heart. Case in point: He needs a regular fix at the Golden Arches. "He's not an adventurous eater," says an associate. Which is why his staff added a McDonald's stop in Israel during his August tour as the head of a congressional delegation. It happened as their bus headed to the Lebanon border. "They took our orders, called it in ahead, and we stopped to pick it up on the way up," says the associate.
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Out Loud: September 2, 2007
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 Comment"We will finally have a president who doesn't mind pulling over and asking for directions."
Sen. Hillary Clinton, on the Late Show With David Letterman, joking about what a female president would offer
"Embarrassing. No wonder...we're going down the tubes."
Dave Karsnia, a Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport detective, when Sen. Larry Craig denied soliciting sex from the officer in a men's bathroom before pleading guilty
"Well personally, my friends and I, we know exactly where the United States is on our map."
Caitlin Upton, Miss Teen South Carolina, cleaning up her flubbed geography answer at the Miss Teen USA contest
"Thanks for finally letting me ask a question. At least I had cancer."
Lance Armstrong, Tour de France champion, to long-winded Hardball host Chris Matthews during a presidential candidate forum on cancer that they cohosted
Sources: AP, USA Today, AP, Washington Examiner
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Cartoon: September 2, 2007
Tweet Share on Facebook September 2, 2007 Comment (1)
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