America's School Boss Struggles, Too
It happened either when Margaret Spellings tussled with her older daughter over colleges or when she visited her younger one's school to ask about her grades: She realized her big new job didn't give her any edge. "It doesn't help," she says, "being education secretary."
As the first Education Department boss with school-age kids, Spellings brings the realities of parenthood into the policy conference rooms. "It gives me a currency," she says, "that other people don't have." Sometimes that's too real.
Consider: While Spellings was busily preparing for her nomination hearings in January, her 12-year-old started slipping in science, and Spellings didn't have time to check her homework. After her Senate confirmation, she says, "I marched up and had a teacher meeting." But her daughter "was like, 'This is mortifying, the secretary of education . . . . I don't want my mother going to my school.' " Mom's response: "Baby, you can get your mother out of the school as soon as you get your grades up."
Or how about choosing a college for her oldest? Spellings recalls hanging out at a Barnes & Noble, thumbing through college guides for academic advice while her daughter talked about "how cold the beer is, and what the Greek life is." And reality doesn't end there. The 17-year-old takes her sister to soccer practice, and that taxi service disappears when college starts. "I have to work ," says Spellings. "I'm going to have to get back into the baby-sitter business."
More Rummy Rumors To Kill
It's gossip city at the Pentagon again, and the latest buzz is that Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will quit in late summer. His rumored replacement: former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage . Insiders, however, say nothing's up. "I can't imagine he's leaving," said one Rumsfeld pal.
Regulator: Fannie Tried to Foil a Probe
Now that Armando Falcon Jr . is leaving as head of the tiny agency that regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, he's blowing the whistle on how the scandal-plagued mortgage giants tried to stop his probes. He charges that they spent millions to get Congress and the White House to limit his budget. And when, in February of 2003, he readied a report warning that Fannie and Freddie posed a small--but real--threat to financial markets, Falcon says ex-Fannie boss Franklin Raines urged him to reconsider--or else. He didn't, and the very day Falcon released the findings, the White House announced his replacement, drowning out the news of the report. "I don't believe," he said, "the timing was a coincidence." Falcon got the last laugh: Congress didn't OK his replacement, but he's leaving in May anyway. Fannie declined to comment.
One Supremely Funny Host Gift
There was a congressional budget hearing for the U.S. Supreme Court last week, and Rep. Ralph Regula had a question about the court gift shop. "I'd be interested to know what you carry," he asked Justice Anthony Kennedy: "copies of decisions?" After the chuckles faded, Kennedy admitted to an occasional shop op. Readying for a trip to China, Kennedy bought his host, a vice premier, a $17 calendar that listed important U.S. legal events. "He was fascinated," said Kennedy. Then, for fun, the judge opened the calendar to the Communist leader's birthday, April 17. Oops. The entry detailed a court decision affirming the jailing of five Communists. "There was a quiet moment," said Kennedy. "Then he roared with laughter."
The '08 'A-Team': An Early Roster
Nobody's even declared for the presidential race in 2008, but political insiders say an "A-team" of candidates is starting to form, based on good name recognition and fundraising prowess. For Republicans: Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney . The Democrats: Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and John Kerry and former Sen. John Edwards .
From Gridiron to Governor's Race?
The Pittsburgh Steelers' No. 88, Hall of Famer Lynn Swann , is thinking about using his ability to snatch the ball out of the air to grab the Republican nomination for Pennsylvania governor in 2006. Allies and backers say he could give Gov. Ed Rendell a good run. A win would put a conservative African-American in charge of the state Democrats say is critical to winning back the White House. Is Swann serious? Not only has he created Team 88 to promote his cause and collect checks, but he's headed to Washington this week for a meet-and-greet.
A Rookie Senator On a Tour of Thanks
As likely presidential candidates are embarking on Hillary-esque "listening tours" to see if voters care about their campaigns, one potential hopeful is taking a different approach. We hear that South Dakota Sen. John Thune , who slew former Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle , is touring the nation to say thanks for the out-of-state help and money. "He's giving back," says an insider. Thune, on many long lists of 2008 GOP candidates, has recently taken his gratitude to Virginia, South Carolina, and Washington State, where he has raised money for local parties and candidates. "I look forward to meeting supporters, visiting old friends, and doing my part to give back to the Republican Party," he tells us.
Music Fit for a Presidential iPod
Remember this name: Christina Roberts . Because fans say the former longtime Bush aide sounds like the famed Annie Lennox . The folk-rock singer-songwriter tells us she was on her way to a music career in Texas when then Gov. George Bush swung by Texas A&M campaigning for re-election. She was 19. "I was just inspired and wanted to hop on," she says. "It took me six or seven years to hop off." Now 26, the former Bush communications aide is home recording songs like "Austin, Mother Me." Like most Bushies, she's cautious not to overstate or profit from her time with the prez. "There were several degrees of separation," she says. But maybe one day a Roberts tune will end up on Bush's iPod. "I hope," she says, "that it's music that he can be proud of."
usnews.com To hear Christina Roberts's "Austin, Mother Me" : www.usnews.com/whispers
With Kim Clark
This story appears in the April 25, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.