Washington Whispers

The Bush boys will be ducking come Saturday night: In Crawford, Texas, President Bush, his dad, former President George H.W. Bush, and his brother Jeb, former Florida governor, will be roasted by their wives at a Republican National Committee fundraiser. The Saturday event is expected to raise a whopping $3.5 million from 500 guests in part because of the unusual angle. "Nothing like this with the three of them there and their wives roasting them has ever taken place," said a party adviser. While details are sketchy, the roast is expected to take place at a ranch near the president’s retreat in Crawford. Despite his low poll numbers, Bush has been raising mountains of money for the RNC, which is outraising the Democratic Party by a wide margin. Much of the money he is helping to raise will be spent on the McCain campaign effort by the RNC. Also, Republican officials tell Whispers that they plan to report that the RNC has over $31 million cash on hand as of March 31.

Continue reading »

Imagine for a minute that you live in a city, walk to work--crossing many intersections--and are blind. Dangerous, for sure, but you’ve learned to listen for car noises before stepping into the crosswalk. But how do you deal with those superquiet hybrids that are the rage in these days of $3.50-a-gallon gas? Enter Washington: Reps. Edolphus Towns and Cliff Stearns, to be exact. With the backing of the National Federation of the Blind, the duo tomorrow plans to propose legislation that will essentially lead to having carmakers install a noisemaker on hybrids to help the blind hear oncoming cars. While no specific noise or noisemaker will be required, the legislation will instead "assess the most effective alert sound," said Dana Grayson of Representative Towns’s staff. But she said the solution isn’t a loud noise. "We want to look at a minimum of sound," she said, noting that the lawmakers are conscious of noise pollution. It looks like it has a good chance: Carmakers tell us that while they like how quiet their cars are, it’s unlikely that they will mount any opposition.

Continue reading »

Former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan has a message for budding national TV talent: It doesn’t matter where you went to school or how long your résumé is. Age, beauty, and even a cool haircut are the secrets to success. In her first book from her new and inspirational news adventure, DarynKagan.com, the brown-haired beauty tells the story of how she went from being a local reporter in Phoenix to CNN, which unceremoniously pushed her out two years ago. She recalls working overtime in Phoenix and building her résumé but finding no takers on the national stage. "I was applying for both reporting and news jobs," she wrote. "I didn’t have a single nibble. And no one would tell me why," she pens in What’s Possible, which we’ll have more on later this week, including an interview in which she discusses her plans to return to TV. Her Phoenix pal, a blond anchor, then suggested that Kagan talk to local agent Jean Sage. So she sent Sage an audition tape, and the response was swift and blunt: Trim and straighten the natural poodle curls, seen in the left picture. "Cut your hair. You’ll be shocked how fast you get a job," Kagan recalls Sage telling her. Naturally, Kagan snapped back. "A haircut? Lady, I went to Stanford, I’ve won Emmy awards, I’m working seven days a week, and you’re telling me it’s a haircut?" So Kagan threw the dice and had her curls cut into a pixie. "Two weeks later, CNN hired me as a sports anchor," she penned. "Talk about dreams coming true."

Continue reading »

Despite a heightened level of threats, Vice President Dick Cheney is eligible for only 180 days of U.S. Secret Service protection after he leaves office, unlike the president, who gets it for at least 10 years. But it will be pricey nonetheless. Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan put the tab at $4 million, or about $22,222 a day for the full-time agents and cars required. But if you think that sounds outrageous, it isn't. The service spends just slightly less protecting each of the two Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama. While no formal request has been made for the service to protect Cheney, Sullivan expects it to come, so he has already set aside the money for the project. It's just one of the chores of the Secret Service. Others this year include protecting the pope during his visit and watching over the Republican and Democratic conventions.

Other spending plans outlined this week in Sullivan's $1.4 billion budget request are $27 million for presidential candidate protection; $4.5 million to hire President Bush's post-presidency detail; and the planned purchase of new "protective countermeasures," such as new armored limos, new locks at the White House, and a mail screening service. During a budget hearing, Sullivan talked at length about the presidential race and the upcoming visit by the pope. He said that the campaign coverage started earlier than ever before and that crowds are huge. "It has gone very, very well," he said. Meanwhile, he said that foreign travel by the first family and the Cheneys has doubled, putting greater pressure on the budget.

Continue reading »