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3/28/06
Not over yet for GOP
President Bush's historically low public approval ratings, the depressing news from Iraq, and internal GOP squabbles over issues like immigration reform still don't have leaders and their political advisers worried about losing the majority in the House or Senate in the midterm elections. Top aides and strategists say that while the Republicans could lose a handful of House and Senate seats, they should remain in the majority. "It's a bit scary, but we don't think we'll lose control," says one strategist. Another says that in House races, most members should win re-election based on local issues and projects the lawmakers can cite for which they brought home federal funding. "Those aren't national elections this year," says the Republican political adviser, adding that the Democrats so far have failed to make the midterms a national election like Republicans did in 1994. The Republican advisers also say that the GOP should maintain control of the Senate, although about half of the four troubled races could go Democratic. Of the Senate re-election bids by Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum, Montana's Conrad Burns, Missouri's Jim Talent, and Ohio's Mike DeWine, the insiders expect only Burns and Talent to win.
3/24/06
The Mehlman parade
Lookout Midwesterners: Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman is on the road again looking to energize GOP grassroots activists and make sure they have the election tools needed to help Republicans in the fall elections. "His top priority is making sure that the national party and local party activists have the resources they need to highlight the choice voters will face," said a party spokeswoman. While he has spent days outside Washington pumping up the local troops, this week has been especially active for Mehlman, President Bush's 2004 reelection campaign manager. He has traveled to 12 cities in four states to conduct 25 events. Today he is meeting with GOP coalitions in Illinois and plans a Lincoln Day dinner in Pennsylvania and a meeting with activists in Ohio. On Thursday, he was in three Wisconsin cities listening to Republican officials and talking with five radio stations. "It's a labor of love," says an RNC insider. "He has so much energy and people at the grassroots level really feed off that enthusiasm."
And he's not alone: Democratic Party boss Howard Dean is also a big traveler who's been whipping up support for the anti-Bush crowd. Look for both to step up their national travels as the 2006 elections near.
Meet Ken Mehlman
Meet Howard Dean
3/22/06
Not yet "Commissioner Rice"
Count Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice out of the running for retiring NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue post. The job she's coveted for years comes open at a bad time for the huge football fan. And insiders say she's not just rejecting it for now; she doesn't want it even if Tag stays on until May 2007. Administration officials said that the timing of the vacancy is not right and that she plans to stay on President Bush's team as it handles world crises in the Middle East. When Tagliabue's resignation was announced Monday, State officials said that Rice for now was interested in staying at the department. But Tuesday officials added that she isn't interested in the job long term. Rice has often jokingly commented that the next best job for her would be NFL commissioner. She is a huge football fan who has attended Superbowls, including that last one, and who sometimes entertains football greats in her State office where she displays three team helmets. Her firm rejection of the NFL bid has naturally led to other speculation that she remains interested in running for vice president or president.
3/17/06
Still Milton and Rose after 67 years
Economic guru Milton Friedman has a
secret for his fellow Hollywood couples
in these days of celebrity divorce:
"Love and tolerance are the keys to a successful marriage." Friedman should
know – he's been married to Rose for 67
years and now that relationship and
their brainy takes on the world economy are getting the star treatement. We
hear that their life, career, and
marriage will be heralded in the new
PBS special, The Power Of Choice: The
Life and Ideas of Milton Friedman. It
premieres March 22 when the San
Francisco-based Pacific Research In-
stitute and Free to Choose Media host
the premier.
See the event here
The Friedman Foundation
3/17/06
Don't tell us Hillary's not running
Do you still need to be convinced that New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president? Then check out the new Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraising letter she just wrote. Over three pages, she rails against the president and Republican Congress in very tough language. "What George W. Bush and the Republican Congress offer are irresponsible, short-sighted policies, and evasion of responsibility." Or: "This is our chance to stop George W. Bush's dangerous and reckless agenda." Here's what's interesting. Facing her own re-election race, which is expected to be easy but still costly, she's devoting time and effort to help raise money for her fellow senators, a move that could have big payoffs in 2008. What's more, the letter is seeking only a measly $2.1 million, an amount Clinton could raise in a couple of fundraisers or her husband could collect with a blast e-mail to supporters. Republicans see her letter as something much more than a plea for Senate dollars. "She's testing the language for a 2008 run," claims one GOP strategist. "I mean, she uses that kind of language just to raise a couple of million dollars?"
Meet the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
3/17/06
Don't tell us Hillary's not running
Do you still need to be convinced that New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is running for president? Then check out the new Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee fundraising letter she just wrote. Over three pages, she rails against the president and Republican Congress in very tough language. "What George W. Bush and the Republican Congress offer are irresponsible, short-sighted policies, and evasion of responsibility." Or: "This is our chance to stop George W. Bush's dangerous and reckless agenda." Here's what's interesting. Facing her own re-election race, which is expected to be easy but still costly, she's devoting time and effort to help raise money for her fellow senators, a move that could have big payoffs in 2008. What's more, the letter is seeking only a measly $2.1 million, an amount Clinton could raise in a couple of fundraisers or her husband could collect with a blast e-mail to supporters. Republicans see her letter as something much more than a plea for Senate dollars. "She's testing the language for a 2008 run," claims one GOP strategist. "I mean, she uses that kind of language just to raise a couple of million dollars?"
Meet the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
3/15/06
2008's Joe Lieberman
Jewish activist voters appear to be stepping gingerly into the 2008 Democratic presidential race as they size up candidates who plan to take on front-runner Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton in the primaries. At last week's American Israel Public Affairs Committee, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner won kudos for his comments, with several insiders suggesting that he is the "Joe Lieberman" in the race‑a moderate Democrat who strongly supports Israel. "They like Hillary, but not to the exclusion of Warner," said one attendee. "Warner has their attention and he was pretty popular," he added. Several likely presidential candidates attended the conference, which focused on Iran and Tehran's threat to Israel, but only a few made a positive impression. One other was Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh. His speech was called "surprisingly loquacious." But the appearances, even the short one, by Sen. John Kerry were panned. "Kerry's so yesterday's news," said one insider.
3/10/06
Look at what Dollard survived!
Earlier this week, Hollywood director Patrick Dollard explained how he survived a truck bombing in Ramadi while filming his series Young Americans. Now he's sharing exclusive photos.
Dollard writes: Picture one is of the Humvee about two hours after it was blown up. Lt. Fitzgerald was in the back right seat, I was next to him. Corporal Conley was in the seat in front of him. The IED was about 6 inches behind our back bumper. It left a hole about 4 feet deep and six feet wide. The asphalt around it was turned to 'soup' according to one Marine.
The second picture is of the three of us who survived. I'm in the middle. To my left is Private Zachary Kother, the gunner in the turret. He was being blown out to his likely death, but at the last minute a bunch of ammo cans slammed into his legs and stopped him. He's a wrestler, and the doctors told him that if he didn't have such unusually muscular legs, the cans would've broken his shins. He is still unable to run and therefor go out on patrols. The marine to my right is Lance Corporal Eric Cybulski. He suffered minor wounds.
Read our dispatch on Dollard earlier this week.
3/9/06
Hi, I’m George Bush
Top aides to President Clinton were doing a double take Wednesday when former President George H.W. Bush popped into Bubba’s Harlem offices for a meet and greet.
“I looked up and thought man that guy really looks like President Bush. And it was!” said a Clinton aide.
Seems that Bush had no agenda; Clinton wasn’t even there. He was speaking in Canada.
“Forty-one just wanted to come by and say hello,” says Clinton spokesman Jay Carson. “He was really great and our staff really appreciated it,” he added of the 41st president.
It was probably a payback for a Clinton visit to Bush’s offices in Houston recently, others said.
Bush, who was in between flights, spent a half an hour in Clinton’s offices talking with aides and posing for pictures in the latest demonstration of affection between the two ex-presidents brought together by current President Bush to raise money for tsunami and Hurricane Katrina victims.
3/7/06
Why Dollard stays in Iraq
When we scratched out a couple of sentences last week about how Hollywood director Patrick Dollard survived a truck bombing in Ramadi while filming his series Young Americans, we didn't have a long explanation from the hospitalized Dollard yet. Well, that just came in–from Dollard and his publicist. Dollard, who used to be Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh's agent, said he was traveling in a humvee when a massive improvised explosive device went off, killing two marines in the truck and injuring others who were part of a four-humvee convoy. He was injured and hospitalized, but he says he can't leave until he's done with his TV project of traveling in Iraq with marines. First, here's what happened, according to his publicist:
"Dollard was riding in the back left passenger seat of a humvee, the patrol's lead vehicle, in Ramadi in the Sunni Triangle. Seated next to him was the platoon's commander, Lt. Almar Fitzgerald, 23, a graduate of the Citadel, a first-timer to Iraq, and the battalion's only African-American lieutenant. In the front right seat sat the vehicle commander and section leader, Cpl. Matthew Conley, one week shy of his 22nd birthday, married, with the couple's first child due in a few weeks. Another marine drove, and a third manned the gun turret. Suddenly a loud explosion was heard, clearly an IED. Conley immediately got on the radio and discovered that the fourth humvee had been hit by an IED and was engaged in small-arms fire with the enemy. Conley and the lieutenant halted movement of the patrol, and were on the radio to assess casualties and vehicle damage and supervise the battle. Their humvee pushed through an intersection, leaving all the others stopped behind and across it. With a solid dispersion between each vehicle, the little patrol stretched a good distance down the street. After trying several times in vain, Conley was unable to get a clear casualty report (as it turned out two marines in the fourth vehicle were wounded) amidst the firefight and stepped out of the humvee in order to walk back to the engaged vehicle and handle the situation, protecting his marines. After just a few feet Conley stepped directly onto an IED buried beneath the asphalt. An insurgent hidden on a rooftop triggered it, killing Conley instantly."
In an e-mail to us from Iraq, Dollard added a few details and explained exactly why he isn't turning tail and returning home. "Vehicles get rocked with IEDs all the time," he says, and "usually it's no big deal, no real damage, no one hurt. But this IED was a rare monster, a killer that blew apart a fully up-armored humvee. To live through that, fully conscious from start to finish, to fly through the air and have to crawl back into the carnage, to be wounded and to know so precisely what I may have to live through again, well, frankly, every time I roll out that gate, which is every day, I am no longer dogged a bit by fear, but seized with unrelenting abject terror. You have to remember, the IEDs go off on the streets we patrol every day, without fail. But apparently it isn't enough to send me packing. I keep my focus. I do my job. I could not turn to my marine friends and say, 'You guys deal with this by yourselves, I'm out of here.' Many have told me, flat out, that they can't believe I'm staying."
Dollard says his is a personal mission to tell the story of the marines in Iraq. "I don't want any after-the-fact narration in this series, so I speak a lot to the camera, turning it on myself every night to summarize things," he says. "Anymore it's not so much to an audience; it's to my 10-year-old daughter. I cover things with a little more detail, the marines a little more personally. I want the full story available in the event I'm no longer here to shepherd its telling. But mostly I just worry more about the marines. I worry more about everybody."
3/3/06
Phoning Bill, watching Kerry
Attention, political staffers: Your junk could be gold. That's right, the Kerry for President fan or note from Bill Clinton could be worth hundreds, if recent auctions on eBay and memorabilia sites are right. This week, we came across two strange ones: Sen. John Kerry's DVD and a Clinton-era telephone. Kerry's Sony DVD playeris on craigslist for $25 with this note, "It works fine and is in excellent condition. The remote is missing, however (universal remote will do fine). The kicker is that this player belonged to Sen. John Kerry. So if you want to buy it just to smash it up cause you hate liberals, that's fine w/ me also." A Kerry ally E-mailed us that he's considering buying his boss's gear. Stuff from winning candidates seems to cost more. A Clinton White House phone just sold on eBay for $103.03, plus $12 shipping. "This phone was removed from the White House communications division in the early part of the George W. Bush administration, when the phone system was updated to touch-tone phones with black color," says the seller. Of course, the seller didn't say just how he got it.
The Clinton phone
The Kerry DVD
2/24/06
Labor maverick does it again
It's no huge surprise that a new book edited by former Clinton White House aide Andrew Rotherham and Jane Hannaway of the Urban Institute is shining a spotlight on how the "outmoded" contracts negotiated by teachers unions often don't serve kids' interests. After all, centrist Democratic Rotherham — codirector of the new think tank Education Sector and proprietor of the irreverent blog eduwonk.com — is well known for reformist views that often put him at odds with the edu-establishment. But one of the glowing blurbs on the back cover of Collective Bargaining in Education might just raise a few eyebrows: It comes from Andrew Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union. He's the union maverick who made a high-profile break with the AFL-CIO last summer. Sure, the book being released next week is scholarly and evenhanded, but this is no pro-union book and Stern's endorsement is sure to stir up the debate over the power of teachers unions.
Here's what Andrew Stern had to say about Collective Bargaining in Education:
"It is unfathomable that, in light of recent efforts to close the student achievement gap, the body of research examining the impact of collective bargaining by teachers on public education is so scant. What are the facts and how do we find them? Hannaway and Rotherham rightly raise the issue and put forth real alternatives."
You can see the book here
2/23/06
School of Hillary–or Michael Moore
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's colorful attack on private-school vouchers this week has drawn sneers from Republicans who say she has more in common with liberal moviemaker Michael Moore than with middle Americans seeking an alternative to public schools. Newsday reported that the likely 2008 Democratic presidential candidate said that vouchers could lead to a government-funded "School of the Jihad," if radical groups seek the same kind of government cash to run their schools as Catholic or other church institutions. Here's what she said in the South Bronx, according to Newsday: "First family that comes and says 'I want to send my daughter to St. Peter's Roman Catholic School' and you say 'Great, wonderful school, here's your voucher,' " Clinton said. "Next parent that comes and says, 'I want to send my child to the school of the Church of the White Supremacist....' The parent says, 'The way that I read Genesis, Cain was marked, therefore I believe in white supremacy. ... You gave it to a Catholic parent; you gave it to a Jewish parent; under the Constitution, you can't discriminate against me.' " The foe of vouchers then said, "So what if the next parent comes and says, 'I want to send my child to the School of the Jihad?' ... I won't stand for it."
The GOP thought that was a bit much. Tracey Schmitt, Republican National Committee spokeswoman, told us: "Such inflammatory language reminds voters that Hillary Clinton has more in common with Michael Moore and Howard Dean than she does with most Americans. By taking the low road rather than engaging in a substantive debate, the junior senator from New York reveals motives that are steeped in partisanship and short on the facts."
See the original Newsday story here
2/21/06
Chicks rule for the White House
MoseMarie Boyd, CEO of American Women Presidents, is so certain a woman will be elected president in 2008 that she is urging folks to go ahead and make reservations in Washington to mark the historic occasion. To mark Presidents' Day Monday, the group endorsed Sen. Hillary Clinton and Secretary of State Condi Rice for president in 2008, and launched Madam President and the First Gentleman, two new political action committees for the 2008 presidential campaign. "I think it will be Hillary Rodham Clinton," Boyd tells our Suzi Parker. She sees Rice as more of a vice presidential nominee because of her secretary of state credentials. But she would love to see Hillary and Condi match up and leave the men of both parties on the sidelines. Boyd says shows like ABC's Commander in Chief help the country get ready for the first female prez. "We are able to see a woman as commander in chief, to see her as head of the military and engaging in international issues." And whom does Boyd see as up-and-coming potential presidential candidates beyond 2008? Democrats Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas and Arkansas Sen. Blanche Lincoln, along with Texas GOP Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson.
Monday the group launched www.madam-president.org and www.TheFirstGentleman.org.
2/16/06
White House's Duffy says adios
White House Deputy Press Secretary Trent Duffy, who easily gave the best quotes out of the West Wing during his three years, is moving on. "My wife is pregnant, and my checkbook is not," says Duffy, 38, who has two other young children. Duffy joined the White House in January 2002 as spokesman for the Office of Management and Budget and later moved to the White House Press Office as deputy spokesman. Previously he was spokesman for the Republican National Committee and earlier at the House Ways and Means Committee, where he succeeded Ari Fleischer, the president's first press secretary. Reporters liked Duffy because he trafficked in colorful quotes, not the normal dry stuff that comes out of the press office, and was knowledgeable on tricky and technical issues like taxes and budget policy. He was also honestly blunt, as he was when he was asked about surging gasoline prices. "Reaction to the high gas prices: They're too high!" Unlike other recent Bush communications bigwigs who've left to establish public-relations firms, Duffy is expected to open a PR shop that also handles policy and government affairs issues, especially in the budget arena. He's not expected to depart from the White House until the president returns from his trip to Asia in March.
See Trent in action
2/13/06
Famous Hill hangout closing
La Colline, the French bistro favored by lobbyists, reporters, and lawmakers on Capitol Hill, is closing its doors this week. "It's time after 24-plus years," said co-owner Paul Zucconi. Perched on North Capitol Street just two blocks from Senate office buildings, it has been the restaurant of choice for fundraisers and congressional seminars for its two dozen years. "We've been in this city a long time," said Zucconi. While it is one of the restaurants whose business has been touched by the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, Zucconi said the bistro famous for its Dover sole is not being driven from operation. Instead, he simply said it's time for a change. He did tell Whispers that a new restaurant would most likely take the prime real estate, but he wouldn't hint at what it would serve. "Something will be in its place," he said. As for the Thursday closing of La Colline, Zucconi said he isn't planning a big bash. "I'm a low-key kind of guy," he said.
The Washingtonian called La Colline one of the city's 100 very best.
MSNBC's coverage of how the Abramoff scandal has hurt restaurants
2/9/06
Reagan forger tells on self
Oops. A letter touted as the scribbling of Alzheimer's-impaired Ronald Reagan and set for auction this month turns out to be a forgery. And Bill Panagopulos, president of Alexander Autographs, tells us that the forger outed himself after media pipelines, including Whispers, wrote about the unusual find. Thankfully for Alexander Autographs, the forger told all before the upcoming Internet auction of the letter by the company famed for its signatures and artifacts of important historical figures. Still, a humbled Panagopulos says, "We were gulled, plain and simple." He reveals that the forger used an original Reagan letter and scribbled in a heavy felt pen over the words to make it look real. Most auction houses would have simply withdrawn it before the auction without explaining. But Panagopulos came forward, noting: "Integrity counts in your business and in mine." Still, collectors will have lots more Reagan stuff to bid on in the upcoming online auction February 18-19.
Here's what the auction house put on its website when the forgery was revealed:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This lot has been withdrawn by us. It has been brought to our attention that this lot is built upon a rarely-seen form letter in Reagan's handwriting which was sent to those who expressed their sympathy for the ex-President's affliction. We had never seen a copy of the original form letter, nor had any of the four well-known, respected dealers who saw this letter prior to our press deadline. This forgery has been fooling collectors and dealers since its creation in 1999, and it continued to do so until we withdrew the lot. At the time of this notice, our catalog had already been received by over 2,000 customers and images of the letter had been available to millions of viewers, and nary a single complaint nor negative comment surfaced until today. As a matter of fact, it was the forger himself who alerted us to his handiwork!
This avaricious (and very crafty) forger carefully traced over the printed handwriting, intentionally adding mistakes, stricken-out words and additional text including the line at the bottom of the note. When we examined the letter the personalized salutation made it obvious that we were not dealing with a printed letter. Since the letter was traced-over, the handwriting was a very close approximation of Reagan's actual hand, with any discrepancy easily attributable to his advanced Alzheimer's. Taking the above into account, we were able to safely assume that the pre-printed text, evident in a few tiny places in the letter, was written by either a secretary or by Nancy Reagan as a guide over which the disabled ex-President could trace his own text. The forger's very heavy felt-tip pen, which Reagan tended to use himself, made it impossible for us to view the printed text which lay beneath. Despite careful examination and the obvious evidence pointing to the letter's authenticity...we were wrong. Autograph authentication is not an exacting science - sometimes all the diligence in the world is not enough to unravel the forger's handiwork.
Most if not all auction houses would simply withdraw the lot for unspecified reasons. We can't do that. We were gulled, plain and simple, but we hope that our explanation may in some way display our dedication to running the most honorable and honest autograph auction house.
2/6/06
Hunting for Huckabee
Arkansas governor and likely 2008 GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has long been in the cross hairs of many Democrats. Now he's giving them an actual target to shoot at. It's "Huck," but not the human one. Last week, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission released some ducks equipped with a radio transmitter tracking device from Bois D'Arc Lake near Hope, the boyhood home of Huckabee and former President Clinton. The commission named one of the ducks "Huck" in honor of the guv, an avid bird hunter, and set up a Web page to track the birds. Huckabee joked to our Suzi Parker that the "Satellite Mallards" program could prompt Democrats to change their antigun ways. "Having that duck [Huck] in the sky might make some Democrats forgo their contempt of firearm ownership and love of gun control, get a hunting license, and see if they can bring down that poor duck!"
Track the Arkansas mallards
2/2/06
Time to whip the Whip?
Rep. Roy Blunt's defeat Thursday in the election to replace Majority Leader Tom DeLay won't end his troubles with his fellow Republicans. Insiders said that his current post as the majority whip is in doubt. "I look for the rest of this year to be a campaign by Blunt and some others for the whip election at the end of the year," said leadership aide. The reason: To many, Blunt hasn't proven to be the most effective vote counter. Others think he's too tied to DeLay. It didn't help that Blunt was crowing for days that he'd beat Rep. John Boehner in the majority leader's race, then lost on a second ballot. "It looks real bad for a guy who a) touted his vote counting skills, and b) claimed he had the race locked up two weeks ago. The entire operation totally misplayed their hand and fell flat on their face," said a key GOP aide. Blunt's allies, however, wave off the criticism, and note that he's succeeded in pushing through tough bills like this week's budget cutting initiative. Still, he's weakened and will likely be challenged for his No. 3 post when all GOP leadership slots are put up for a vote after this year's November elections.
Whispers called the majority leader's race this week, ending a leadership story with this paragraph: "Allies of Boehner said that Blunt's support is thin and warned that the Ohio Republican could stage an upset. In fact, some key observers say that if Blunt doesn't win on the first ballot, Boehner stands a good chance on the second."
Meet Roy Blunt
Meet John Boehner
1/31/06
In politics, guvs stick together
He's only been governor of Virginia for about three weeks, but Tim Kaine is fast showing his allegiance to the governor-class of politicians. As he made the rounds Tuesday talking up his plans to give the Democratic response to President Bush's State of the Union address, he not only backed the presidential aspirations of his predecessor and but waved off criticism of Party Chairman Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor. It's no secret that former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner is mulling a 2008 presidential bid and Kaine, his former lieutenant governor and college buddy, is cheering him on. "I definitely think Mark Warner could be president," says Kaine. "Not many people have made money betting against Mark." Kaine's reasons are simple and widely accepted by many party insiders: A governor can show voters he can manage a government and provide vital services, something senators can't. Fact is, governors—Carter, Reagan, Clinton, Bush—have a good electoral track record in recent presidential races. He made sure to note that senators, too, can win but had to refer all the way back to Harry S. Truman for a good example.
The new guv also offered some support to the embattled Dean who has been under the gun from Washington Democrats concerned about lackluster fundraising. Kaine credited Dean with helping to rebuild the party at the local and state level. "I give him high marks for that," said Kaine.
Meet Tim Kaine
Touch base with Howard Dean
1/26/06
Look out: Ickes is back
Harold Ickes, the political gunslinger for progressives, liberals, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, is back in the saddle, having gone through a nearly four-month recovery from an accident in October. "I threw my crutches away about a week and a half ago and am fully recovered. I can't run and jump but I can do everything else," he told Whispers. "When you think of what could have happened, and also more importantly, what goes on on the battlefields every day, it was serious but it wasn't as bad as a lot of other people go through."
Here's what did happen: He was riding his Vespa scooter west on Pennsylvania Avenue near Georgetown when somebody turned left in front of him. "All I can remember is there is only 10 feet to go. I'll never stop. I literally don't remember the crash itself. So I hit him on the side," said Ickes, head of the influential Media Fund. He sailed through the air and crashed down on his hip, shattering it.
"My lesson is don't hit a car on a Vespa," he said, laughing.
Still, the accident and painful recovery aren't scaring him away from Vespas. In fact, he very cheerfully hints that there could be a new one in his future. "I love the Vespa. Every sidewalk is a parking lot. I really loved it. I had only ridden one for about a year. So it's still up in the air, let me put it that way."
Check out the new Vespa.
1/25/06
An '08 dark horse steps out
Influential Democrats have long hoped that Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack would run for president, and now the wait might be over. In a sure sign he's toying with a bid, the guv has started to draw attention to his political action committee, the Heartland PAC, and built up a credible e-mail list to distribute news to. Here at Whispers, for example, we just received his latest note that telling of how he wants to revise the Democratic message into 10 simple words or thoughts. And to show that he doesn't have all the answers, he set up a Web site, www.ourtenwords.com, to get ideas from others. "From this effort, I hope that our values, principles, and a unifying vision can emerge."
His expanded Internet and E-mail campaign has buoyed some Democrats in Washington, where there is a little concern that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton can't win the White House-and that no other senator can either. Many Dems like Vilsack, first, because he's a two-term governor with a long career in public service and second, because he's pushed issues in his state that are popular nationwide: education, jobs, and values. And it doesn't hurt that he has a great personal story to tell: Orphaned at birth to becoming the first Democratic governor of Iowa in 30 years. His ultimate weapon: Iowa is still scheduled to hold the first presidential contest set for 2008.
Check out Vilsack's Heartland PAC site here.
Offer your own 10 words here.
A not-so-friendly site sponsored by Iowa Republicans.
1/19/06
E-mail Newt for prez
Newt Gingrich, the big thinker and former Republican House speaker, is taking ego to new heights-the White House. In a taping Thursday for C-SPAN's Friday airing of its virtual learning course "Issues in Media and Public Policy," Gingrich reveals that he is seriously considering a bid for the presidency. And here's what it will take to get him in the race: If enough people e-mail his Internet site, asking him to run, he will. "There are circumstances where I would say 'Yes,' but I would say those are circumstances created by people. And when people walk up to me at airports, hotels, speeches, and say, 'Gee, I wish you would run,' I say go to Newt.Org, sign up for e-mails. If enough sign up I will consider running."
Gingrich, who reveals that as a kid he wanted to be a "zoo director or a paleontologist," says political practicality is keeping him from committing now to a presidential race in 2008. "It is not that I'm bashful. Just that I'm realistic," he says. And if he can continue as a private citizen to influence debates in Washington, be it lobbying reform, the environment or energy, that's just as good. "If we can continue doing those things, in serving useful roles, whether as candidate or whether it is as just as a sort of senior teacher, I think that I'm fulfilling a public citizen role."
Newt's White Paper On Lobbying Reform
C-SPAN's classroom
1/18/06
Senate 101 on the Web
Kudos to the United States Senate Internet team, which this week unveiled a rich new Web site that finally helps make sense of the most exclusive political club in the world. First unveiled 10 years ago as a basic informational website, the newest version makes it much easier to research the body, find your senator, and search for info that used to require a master's from MIT to find. The site says that the newest innovations are a simple search button and an easier way to locate senators. But it's deeper than that. Want to find out how to become a Senate page? Click here. Need to know what's on the Senate floor today? Click here. And — hint, hint, House Web team — it's pretty to look at.
1/12/06
Rep. John Boehner's other handicap
Ohio Rep. John Boehner, the surging challenger to Missouri Rep. Roy Blunt in the House majority leader's race, has a girl problem. But it's not exactly what you think. He's a member of one of Washington's few places where women still can't go: The Burning Tree Club in Bethesda, Md. "I do belong to Burning Tree," he told us unapologetically. And, he kids, "I don't know of a female who would want to go out there with all those old fogies." The country club's rules have sometimes been a problem for the collection of politicians who play there. In another congressional leadership race, for example, foes of former Sen. Don Nickles of Oklahoma raised his membership at the club when he ran for Senate whip in 2002.
Boehner's one of the House's well-known golfers. He claims a 6 handicap. When we first asked his office about the issue, they skipped the spin and put him on the phone in five minutes. During the interview, Boehner explained how he ended up a member of the club some three years ago. First, he was invited to a golf event and then tapped to talk to members when the scheduled speaker backed out. "I guess they liked the job that I did and invited me to become a member," he said. Like other members, Boehner had sponsors, a retired Army general, and the then head of Norfolk & Southern's Washington office. And, he added, "I pay the same fees that everybody else does." That's a $75,000 initiation fee plus monthly dues of $500 a month, according to reports.
Back to the issue at hand. We asked how he'll deal with criticism that he belongs to a sexist club. "I belong to a club in Ohio that is wide open, Wetherington Golf & Country Club, where I play with my neighbors and wife, whatever. My wife doesn't live here, she lives back in Ohio. I don't get out to Burning Tree to play very often. Wish I could, there's just not enough time." So, we ask, "you don't think it's that big of an issue? Boehner: "No, no, no."
And, of course, he doesn't think it's an issue in his race with Blunt. In fact, he called that battle a "dead heat."
Not everyone agrees. Shannon Minter, of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a group that's fought over all-male country clubs, said Boehner was "choosing to make a provocative statement" by staying with Burning Tree. "It's a great concern to us," he said.
1/10/06
Time to cool the Watergate comparison
Sorry, scandal lovers, but some sources close to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal are assuring us that the list of indictments won't include a bunch of representatives and senators. Instead, a key insider said, the probe will most likely snare lots of congressional staffers who allegedly took goodies like sports tickets and trips in exchange for pushing lobbyists' projects. In fact, one source told us today that the probe might not go further than Ohio Rep. Bob Ney, who was implicated when Abramoff copped a plea deal. "This just isn't ABSCAM or Watergate," said the source, referring to two old scandals. Still, reports like that aren't giving any comfort to Republican lawmakers. Their worry: Any link to the scandal or even K Street lobbyists is a potential perception problem that could undermine re-election plans.
See new attack ads targeting Ney and DeLay.
1/10/06
Look who loves Motor City
At this week's Detroit auto show, much of the chatter involves the problems facing money-losing Ford and General Motors, and even speculation that GM could face bankruptcy if its fortunes don't improve. But guess who's pulling for the Big 2: Toyota. The world's second-biggest automaker obviously stands to gain from the woes of its top competitors. But Toyota execs tell our Richard J. Newman that they fear a political blowback if the domestic automakers slash too many jobs or ax pensions or other benefits. "We are nervous about GM's plight," says one top Toyota official. "We're still considered an importer, and it's not good for us if the No.1 U.S. automaker is on the rocks." Nobody expects the same kind of Japan-bashing as 25 years ago, but Merrill Lynch pointed out this week that "politicians are beginning to circle the issues facing the domestic auto industry." Democrats could attack the Bush administration as unsympathetic toward autoworkers and labor in general, Merrill Lynch suggests. The pressure could intensify as next November's midterm elections approach and as presidential contenders begin to position themselves for 2008.
Check out the Detroit Auto Show
1/4/06
Righties let lefty Gore in the door
Here's proof that the center-right coalition in Washington has matured and won't go nuts when there's a liberal in their midst. None other than Mr. Global Warming, former Vice President Al Gore, showed up at the weekly Wednesday gathering of the Americans for Tax Reform, hosted by ATR President Grover Norquist, to tout his cause.
"He said there is a consensus on global warming and that it needs to be addressed immediately," recalls an attendee. "Gore said he was concerned about ice shelves in the Antarctic, said it's all melting and that sea levels are going to rise 20 feet." Gore, author of Earth in the Balance and long-time global warming advocate, arrived with aides and presented a slide show, one similar to the presentation he's been making around the country. "He wanted to come," Norquist tells Whispers. "He wanted to make the best possible case." Norquist's group of about 100 conservatives is normally entertained by weekly lectures from right-leaning or administration leaders, which made Gore's appearance odd to some.
But Norquist said his center-right group is eager to know what the left thinks so that it can prepare for issue debates. "It's a more mature coalition," he says. "Gore's the best the other team has on this, so you'd better be able to deal with his positions, his charts, his analysis, and if you can't, you'd better be prepared to lose." Norquist had praise for Gore, who often describes himself as a "recovering politician" with no interest in higher office. "It speaks well of Gore that he would come across the aisle," says Norquist. He added that while Gore was not trying to change the positions of the global-warming cynics in the crowd, there are environment-related issues that both sides can agree on.
At least one attendee was puzzled by Gore's appearance, though Norquist tells Whispers that he often has left-leaning speakers come. Still, one attendee gigged Norquist by asking, "Are you bringing in Michael Moore next week?"
1/3/06
It's never too early to dig for dirt
You've got to give the Democratic National Committee credit: It's not about to be caught flat-footed in 2008 if a Republican dark horse emerges in the coming presidential race. Nearly three years before Election Day, the DNC opposition-research department has begun digging up dirt on potential Republican candidates. It's a pretty straight-up approach: File Freedom of Information Act requests with several offices of agencies related to the potential candidate and see what comes back in the mail. Take Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as an example. He's one of the dozen or so DNC targets. One FOIA landed at the Arkansas Tobacco Control Board and is typical of those received at other state agencies, seeking a wealth of info on him—specifically, any paperwork between the departments and Huckabee from 1993, when he was lieutenant governor, to today. What's more, the DNC wants copies of other FOIAs filed for Huckabee papers. See it here.
One unusual fact: The DNC isn't identified as the group asking for the information. But DNC officials said that the letter writer was a deputy in the party's research department. A party spokeswoman said, "This is standard. We're just doing what we need to do to prepare for 2008." The Republican National Committee, meanwhile, wouldn't talk about its opposition research efforts, but a party adviser said that much of the information about potential candidates was collected during the past two elections.
An earlier story on the DNC efforts targeting Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney: seattlepi.nwsource.com
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