Lunch with Rummy $9,995 More Than Obama's

If the price that people are willing to pay to have lunch with a Washington big shot indicates the importance of the guest, then former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's fans might be right when they say he's bigger than even President Obama.

For a Veteran's Day charity event, Rumsfeld is offering a lunch in his office for three and autographed copies of his new book Known and Unknown. He's hoping for $10,000, all of which will go to his Rumsfeld Foundation. By noon today, the bidding was up to $1,350. Compare that with the $5 campaign contribution that gave several fans dinner with the president recently.

Rumsfeld's offer is one of several from notable Washingtonians on the auction site run by CharityBuzz.com. Others include former Iraq Ambassador Paul Bremer, Pulitzer Prize winner David Hume Kennerly, and Fox & Friends co-host Brian Kilmeade.

The auction is rasing money for nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing veteran soldiers with support. [See a photo gallery of Bush's legacy.]

It is the first auction of its kind for for CharityBuzz.com, a leading destination for online charity auctions. They are calling it the first annual "Veterans' Remembrance Auction" in honor of the women and men who have served our country in one of the branches of the military. [Read 10 Things You Didn't Know About Condoleezza Rice.]

Rumsfeld told Whispers, "On the heels of publishing my memoir, the proceeds of which are going to military charities, we're delighted that we have a chance to raise some more money for those organizations that support America's troops, wounded veterans, and military families. The CharityBuzz Veterans' Remembrance Auction is a terrific way to give to charities to assist those who have served and sacrificed for our nation. I look forward to having lunch with the auction winner in my Washington office, and I encourage people across the nation to make a bid to give."

Here is the list of all the items up for sale.

• Check out our editorial cartoons on Afghanistan.
• See photos of the prison at Guantánamo Bay.
• Read Brad Bannon: Obama, Not Bush, Gets Credit for bin Laden Killing

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