5/19/04
Meet the [Nasty] Press

State Department public affairs aide Emily Miller moved today to end the controversy over her efforts Sunday to cut off Meet the Press host Tim Russert's interview with Secretary of State Colin Powell. "My 15 minutes of fame are over now. And unlike NBC, I don't want any more time," she said. That last line was a joking reference to the central issue in the spat: Russert had used his scheduled 10 minutes with Powell, who was in Jordan, but he wanted a few more minutes. He tried to take them, but Miller stepped in and ordered the camera off her boss and on to a palm tree in the distance. Eventually Powell gave Russert the extra time. Miller made the move after trying other ways to end the interview; she thought Powell needed to move on because he had scheduled a string of interviews in a short period with Russert and other TV media. Meanwhile, administration advisers said that Russert thought he had the OK to go five minutes over because a White House aide said he could. But that permission was not passed on to Miller or Powell. Also, when the confusing situation and Powell's angry reaction to Miller appeared on TV on Sunday, State Department officials were shocked because they figured Russert would edit it out of the taped interview. But administration insiders think it was meant as a shot at State spokesman Richard Boucher for putting time limits on interviews with Powell.

5/19/04
Arkansas's advice to Kerry

Oh, they're spitting mad at Sen. John Kerry in Arkansas, especially the old Clinton gang. They tell Whispers that during his travels there last week, the Democratic presidential candidate tried too hard to sound like an Arky and screwed up the state's political hierarchy. "How dare he come here and not do his homework," said one key Dem. What happened was during a speech to key donors, mostly Clinton friends, Kerry muffed the number of Democratic House members and the tally of top state Democratic office holders. And he made too many references to state lore like Doe's Eat Place and the Razorbacks. What's more, party insiders said, he complained that there were too many people to shake hands with at the airport, making him late to his next event. They also complained to our Suzi Parker that he needs to hurry up and hire a state director who can tap into the Clinton organization, which is still strong in key counties. And here they have another warning: Hire local; don’t bring in some outsider know-it-all.

5/6/04
John Kerry's car trouble

The Republicans have done it again when it comes to Sen. John Kerry's flip-flopping statements on owning an SUV. In the latest installment, the GOP has found video of Kerry telling environmentally conscious New Hampshire voters that he sold his gas guzzlers to buy fuel-efficient autos and just one month later, in Michigan car country, giving a long list of big-engine vehicles he owns–including two SUVs, one imported.

Ed Gillespie, the Republican Party chairman, is to unveil them tonight during a speech in Sheldon, Iowa. His point: Kerry says whatever he thinks voters want to hear. It's the latest twist in the SUV saga. First Kerry denied having one; then he said it was his wife's. Now he's saying he sold his gas hogs only to brag a month later about owning a "big Suburban."

In the new video, he's asked at a New Hampshire rally what he's done to reduce the dependency on oil. Says Kerry, "I sold my gas guzzler and got a van and downgraded, that's what I did personally, in my own life. Also got an economical car in Washington and so forth so that I was trying to live up to that standard."

But in the second video, shot a month later in Michigan, he lists his autos: "I own a Dodge 600 that I've had for about 20 years; I own a Chrysler 300M; we have a Chrysler van, a minivan; a Chrysler PT Cruiser (I guess Chrysler is making out here); a Suburban Chevy–big Suburban–and she has a Land Rover Defender."

View the New Hampshire video clip: rtsp://real.stream2you.com/rnc/suv1.rm
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View the Michigan video clip: rtsp://real.stream2you.com/rnc/suv2.rm
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