Why those Bush state dinners end so early
He has hosted just four elegant, entertainment-filled state dinners so far, but one thing stands out from President Bush's shindigs--he really isn't a partier. But there's more to it than the fact the prez likes to hit the sack early. Insiders reveal that the president isn't much for the fox trot. Chief usher Gary Walters says, "The current president dances less, and dinners are usually over before midnight." But that's not the only reason. National security adviser Condi Rice fessed on oprah a few weeks back that the boss wolfs down chow so fast the dinners can be over lickety-split. "If you're not careful, he'll be on dessert and you're still eating the salad." Rice called Bush an athletic eater: "He watches what he eats, but he just eats it very, very fast." And that's not healthy, according to Bush's trainer, Trish Bearden. Maybe that's why she suggested in the internal White House health newsletter that readers--hint, hint, Mr. President--slooow down, especially when eating. For good measure, aides are circling the "health stylist's" advice and leaving copies in places where W just might see it.
Duets: Aqualung and Tony Snow
Don't this sound like your typical male midlife crisis? Big-shot TV star cashes it all in to host a talk-radio show, takes up piano, and has the gall to call Ian Anderson of rock band Jethro Tull fame to land a flute duet when "Aqualung" comes to D.C. But for Fox News Channel's Tony Snow, it's not a crisis--just a continuation of his shake-it-up style. Moving to Fox radio is easy to explain: "I always wanted to do it." And Snow will still do some Fox TV. But Jethro Tull? Turns out Snow's an accomplished musician--guitar, flute, clarinet, sax, and, soon, piano--whose band "Beats Workin' " plays regularly in Washington. What's more, he learned to play the flute in college by listening to Jethro Tull albums. "I drove my housemates crazy," says the Davidson College grad. "I'd just flip on a record and play." Last year, when Anderson came through town, Snow called to interview his idol. On November 12, Anderson is paying the newsman back by having Snow join him on stage for a flute duet. Snow's excited--and a little nervous. "I just hope," he says, "that I'm not a choking dog."
The K Street Shuffle
To all you out there who've tried to watch HBO's K Street but couldn't get through it without popping Advil Liqui-Gels, there may be hope. Associates of co-producer George Clooney claim he's predicting it won't last more than a single season. Cut!
That's A Wrap
They can't believe they're actually saying it, but the Bush team really thinks ex-Vermont Gov. Howard Dean will be the Democratic presidential nominee. "We think," says one insider, "that Dean's got it wrapped up." The Bush political team has a good track record predicting challengers. Just over 13 years ago, then Bush campaign operative Mary Matalin told us that Bill Clinton would be the Dems' pick, even as he faced early scandal questions.
Pumpkin Head
This John Allen Muhammad, the alleged Washington sniper, is more than just a little particular when it comes to his eats. We already knew that he wanted a vegan diet--sunflower seeds, peanut butter, salad, and dressing--while in Virginia Beach standing trial for murder. But his prison guards say what he got wasn't up to snuff. So they've given in to his latest demands: pumpkin seeds instead of sunflower seeds and a dry salad.
Times Are Tough
Forget snipers or the occasional suicide bomber. What's really got New York Times reporters in Baghdad up in arms is--housing. Seems that they've been crammed into a five-bedroom house with only two bathrooms and no place to entertain visitors. That might be tolerable except that in the same neighborhood Washington Post reporters are living it up in spacious digs complete with a swimming pool. Not to worry, says a Times man. "We're going to get a better place than they have."
Breaking News
FBI Director Robert Mueller is apparently getting tired of learning key terrorism info from folks outside his team, like those who work for the Justice Department or Homeland Security. So he's got a warning: If his agents aren't the first to tell him what he needs to know, they'll be fired. The result, says a Justice insider: "Every little tidbit of useless information is going to headquarters from the field office, and they're getting inundated."
Clinton Vs. Clark
We're finally going to see just which Little Rock bubba the public likes more: Bill Clinton or Wes Clark. We hear that the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau is reprinting Clinton's Little Rock tour book and coming out with Wes Clark's guide to the city. Why repeat Clinton? Tourists are making the city library crazy with requests for his discontinued guide. But don't expect the address to Gennifer Flowers's apartment. It's mostly stuff like his old law firm and golf course. Clark's is just a tad more interesting, including his favorite deli and swim club.
Modern Nostradamus
It's getting a little weird being Joel Rosenberg, the New York Times bestseller of terrorism thrillers and speechwriter in Steve Forbes's 2000 presidential campaign. First, he wrote The Last Jihad about a terrorist's kamikaze attack on a U.S. city and the subsequent hunt for Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. That was well before 9/11. Now he has written The Last Days, which opens with a Palestinian attack on a U.S. convoy, just like what happened a few weeks back. And look out, Yasser Arafat: Rosenberg offs you on Page 28. "People," said Rosenberg, "are starting to think these books are ripped from tomorrow's headlines."
Pizza Party
For the U.S. soldiers and civilians stuck in Baghdad's protected "green zone," finding good takeout is tough. But in an Iraq success story that's easy to understand, that's changing. It happened when a pizza joint opened just beyond the military checkpoint. We're told that U.S. officials with the new Iraqi government helped the pizza parlor get one of the coveted American-coded cellphones so that the store could take orders from the zone. Now the restaurant, the only business with such a phone, is working overtime to fill the orders, one of which was for an amazing 160 pies.
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With Angie Cannon, Jodie T. Allen, Chitra Ragavan, Suzi Parker and Kevin Whitelaw
This story appears in the November 3, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.