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A New Bobble Joins the Debate
Tweet Share on Facebook October 11, 2007 CommentFred Thompson finally participated in his first Republican presidential campaign debate and generally won kudos from the pundits. So why'd he join in? "It was getting a little boring without me."
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Cartoon of the Day: Oct. 11, 2007
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Cartoon of the Day: Oct. 10, 2007
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Meathead's Passion for Hillary
Tweet Share on Facebook October 9, 2007 CommentLove or hate Hollywood endorsements, at least Rob Reiner's backing of presidential candidate Sen. Hillary Clinton has humor. The "Meathead" of All in the Family stars in a funny new online video in his real-life job: as director. You'll see some geeky volunteers mildly campaigning for Clinton when Reiner steps in to push for passion. It works, of course. Now if he could give the candidate a little lesson in enthusiasm.
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'I'm One Humble Sister,' Says Donna Brazile
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 Comment (1)They say politics makes strange bedfellows. Well, try a dire sickness. That's what Democratic strategist, CNN analyst, and Al Gore's 2000 presidential campaign boss Donna Brazile found during a series of medical emergencies that sidelined her. "I am one humble sister now," she tells us.
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE CIARDIELLO FOR USN&WR"ok, I thought I was dying," she says, revealing that three weeks ago she had a biopsy to explore a cyst on an ovary. It was cancer free, but the docs found 12 uterine fibroids. Surgery followed, but she was allergic to the morphine. "Yep, the painkillers almost killed me."
Friendship from entries in her bipartisan Rolodex saved the day. Al and Tipper Gore E-mailed regularly. Ex-boss Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton brought chicken soup and protein drinks. But it was Condoleezza Rice's counsel that calmed Brazile, as the secretary of state had the same surgery some three years ago. "She was like an older sister counseling me," says Brazile. Rice even called regularly while traveling in Australia and the Middle East. Prayers helped, too. "I scheduled my surgery on Rosh Hashanah, when my friends would be praying. I wasn't taking any chances." Now recovering, Brazile says a funny hospital dream signaled she'd be fine. "I was screaming for [cnn's] Wolf [Blitzer]. Turn on Wolf, the Situation Room. From there, I knew I'd survive."
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Boys of October Giving Way to 2008
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 Comment (22)The coming end of the baseball season is sad for many but especially for hardball fans in the presidential election world where night broadcasts and box scores provide a little break from their 24-7 routine. "When you spend 14 or 15 hours a day talking and walking politics," says Republican Mitt Romney's spokesman Kevin Madden, "it really is important to just take a few minutes a day to talk baseball or just read the box scores. It reminds you that there is life beyond the campaign headquarters." He's lucky: While he's a Yankees fan living in Boston, his team made it to the playoffs. Not so lucky: Carrie Giddins, Democratic Party spokeswoman in Iowa and a huge fan of the New York Mets, who flamed out at the end. "It was easier not being in New York," she concedes. Amid her gloom, Giddins found one positive. "I'll have a lot more free time in October for my job."
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Hillary, of Course, Says Wes Clark
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 CommentSo onetime presidential hopeful Wes Clark, the retired Army boss at NATO, has endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton for president. But his praise wasn't just a nod to her during a recent interview. He called her a battler extraordinaire: "Women can fight, and women can also lead. America is ready for the right leader." He gushes about her brains: "She does her homework and has a curiosity and pursues the evidence that leads to a logical decision." And "she is very experienced." There's more: "She is a very resolute person." So he's just buttering her up for a chance to be a possible Clinton veep nominee, right? Here he punts: "There's nothing you can say to a question like that."
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A Higher Calling for Clinton's McCurry
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 CommentHe made it big as White House spokesman for former President Bill Clinton, but now Mike McCurry is reaching for the proverbial mountaintop. The flack some consider among the best ever tells us that he's doing a little freebie work for the United Methodist Church. The project: "Nothing but Nets," a program to raise money to buy bed nets for families in Africa who suffer from pesky mosquitoes carrying malaria. "It's really a cool thing," he says. Look for the program the next time you attend an NBA game. McCurry says basketball stars are hitting the boards to support the fundraising drive that's already collected a whopping $16 million.
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Cheney Does Too Care About Troops
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 CommentA lot of things have been said about Dick Cheney, but don't call him callous to wounded troops. We knew he made private trips to local military hospitals for meet-and-greets, but we just learned that he also holds cookouts at his U.S. Naval Observatory residence for the troops and their families. Just last month he had some 50 vets and their families over for a barbecue, with music provided by country's Trey Hensley and southern rocker Charlie Daniels, both strong supporters of the troops. The up-and-coming Hensley, 16, we hear, was a big hit and is featured in new pictures of the event just hung on West Wing walls.
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Old War Horses Team Up Again
Tweet Share on Facebook October 5, 2007 CommentThe duo who orchestrated the first Gulf War, former President George H.W. Bush and his national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, is once again on the same page. We're told that the November reopening of major new exhibits at Bush's presidential library and museum, closed in April for the $8.3 million renovation, will coincide with the official dedication of the Brent Scowcroft Institute at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. Surprisingly, Bush hasn't seen the new exhibits, some based on his family's 100-plus picture scrapbooks. But he's expected to sneak a peek next week when his granddaughter Jenna makes a stop there to promote her new book, Ana's Story.
