-
Rumsfeld Aide Holds Firm on Times Pulitzer, Criticizes Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2009 Comment (4)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
After we published this Whisper, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's aide Keith Urbahn, who slapped the NYT story in our original item, came out punching again. He told us: "Since the New York Times got a Pulitzer for its discredited reporting, perhaps the administration deserves Olympic gold for its latest backflip. Typical for the Obama administration, this is a 'change' we can't believe in."
-
Pentagon to the New York Times on Pulitzer: Never mind
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2009 Comment (5)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
What the heck is going on with federal investigators? First Justice scraps the case against former Sen. Ted Stevens, saying that the probe into charges he misused his office was junk. And now, at the Pentagon, the same inspector general's office that trashed a New York Times story that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize is saying, "Oops."
The "never mind" came just days after Whispers quoted two allies of former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld citing the inspector general's reporting in saying that the Times and reporter David Barstow didn't deserve journalism's gold medal for detailing a PR campaign to get retired military officers to talk up the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan on TV.
-
Dan Glickman: A Bad Economy Means People Turn to the Right
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2009 Comment (2)By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers
He's known as the movie guy now, but before his stint as the head of the Motion Picture Association of America and before he was Bill Clinton's agriculture secretary, Dan Glickman was a Democratic congressman from Kansas. So it's not a huge surprise to see Glickman make a cameo appearance in the upcoming documentary What's the Matter With Kansas ? the film version of the popular Thomas Frank book. "It's an interesting movie," says Glickman. "Thomas Frank makes the point that—it's not always Kansas but America—where the economy will turn bad and as people's problems get worse, they will turn to the right as opposed to the left."
-
The Supreme Court Wants Minorities
Tweet Share on Facebook May 6, 2009 Comment (3)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
The ranks of minority law clerks at federal courts stink, but Supreme Court justices are at least trying to hire blacks and Hispanics. "There is not a plethora of them coming from the [schools] that we choose from," says Clarence Thomas. Still, he says that of the court's 36 clerks, 13 are women and four are minorities. "Members of the court to a very great extent have bent over backwards making an effort," adds Thomas. Still: "I would like to see it increased," says the court's black justice.
-
Aargh! Video of Liberty Sun Pirate Attack
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (3)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg's hearing today into the recent rash of pirate attacks on U.S. ships will include dramatic footage of the April 14 assault on the Liberty Sun, which flicks off two pirate boats and sails to safety. And the subcommittee has shared the dramatic footage with Whispers. You can clearly hear the mate who took the video bark directions to crewmen. "I want you to go with God," he says at one point. And you can hear the gunshots fired by the pirates who attacked on two powerboats.
-
Congressional Play: More Middle School Than Shakespeare
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (3)By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers
Members of Congress are known for giving long-winded speeches on the House and Senate floor, so it shouldn't be a stretch for them to recite a little faux Shakespeare. Well, it was last night. Lawmakers and political journalists gathered on stage to perform A Mid-Session Night's Dream, the story of a youthful Senate page who falls asleep during a filibuster. After "Senator Anonymous," played by California Rep. Jane Harman , puts the boy to sleep with her never-ending speech, he dreams of bringing William Shakespeare to Washington to inject his flowery language into Washington's debates on major issues.
-
Sorry, Al Gore, but Public Cares About the Economy, Not Global Warming
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (88)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
He admits that it's counterintuitive, but Gallup Poll Editor Frank Newport says he sees no evidence that Al Gore's campaign against global warming is winning. "It's just not caught on," says Newport. "They have failed." Or, more bluntly: "Any measure that we look at shows Al Gore's losing at the moment. The public is just not that concerned." What the public is worried about: the economy. Newport says the economy trumps the environment right now, a strong indicator that President Obama's bid to put a cap-and-trade pollution regime into operation isn't likely to be politically popular.
-
Obama's 2012 Opponent: Jon Huntsman?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (2)By Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers
When it comes to 2012, there's no potential Republican opponent who makes David Plouffe shake in his shoes. But there is one who makes Obama's former campaign manager a wee bit queasy. "I think the one person in that party who might be a potential presidential candidate is Gov. Jon Huntsman of Utah," says Plouffe. "I think he's really out there and speaking a lot of truth about the direction of the party." But who really knows? "Well, first of all, four years ago Sen. Barack Obama wasn't even in the conversation, so it may very well be someone that none of us are really talking about right now," says Plouffe.
-
Pelosi's and Clinton's New Hair Dos
Tweet Share on Facebook May 5, 2009 Comment (25)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Washington hair salons are all abuzz over the new bobs of Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Both have been sporting cute dos: shorter, face-hugging cuts. Clinton sometimes even has a little flip. Says a friend of both, "It's a small thing, but it makes them both look younger and full of energy."
-
White House Pet Stories: Socks and Buddy Vs. Millie
Tweet Share on Facebook May 4, 2009 Comment (2)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Our memories are short when it comes to presidential pets, but of the most recent top dogs and cats, Americans prefer Bill Clinton's Buddy and Socks over either of the Bush pets: George W.'s Barney or George H. W.'s Millie. In our latest Synovate eNation Internet Poll, we asked for your choice of favorite White House pet stories. Top dog: Thirty-four percent chose the teaming of Socks and Buddy to pen a children's book. Way down, and mostly forgotten, was LBJ's famous singing with Yuki, at just 10 percent.
