Only the Strong for The Tour de Bush
It used to be fun to be a presidential playmate. Just ask Harry S. Truman 's poker partners, JFK 's sailing mates, or Bill Clinton 's golf gang. You can almost smell the cigar smoke and hear the clinking of ice cubes in crystal glasses. Well, that's not how it is when President Bush gathers his crew to play.
Like his father before him, who used to play "speed golf" and a funky combo racquetball and volleyball called "Wallyball," Dubya likes to exercise hard with his friends, and his latest sport is mountain biking. But he's gotten so good at it that he's singling out his strongest buddies for invites to Camp David. White House correspondent Kenneth T. Walsh , author of a new book on Camp David and other presidential retreats, tells us, "Bush is looking for the physically fit." No doubt, since Walsh says the prez has crafted a course of steep hills around Camp David to ride his Trek in 90-minute races, sometimes leaving his friends in his dust. Not everybody has to ride, though: Bush still likes to do jigsaw puzzles.
Compare that with Clinton's less stressful Camp David routine. In Walsh's From Mount Vernon to Crawford: A History of the Presidents and Their Retreats, we learn that Bubba liked to shoot skeet, jog, ride horses, channel surf, and play cards, sometimes until sunup. And when the first lady joined him, Walsh discovered, she took up her "secret passion": bowling.
Family Hour With Loyal Idol Fans
The secret's out: Washington's high and mighty love Fox's American Idol, just like the rest of us. But few have their bets covered the way Education Secretary Margaret Spellings and her family do. Hours before contestant Scott Savol was dumped last week, Spellings's press secretary gave us the Ed boss's picks for victor. She likes Vonzell Solomon . Her hubby picks Anthony Fedorov . Twelve-year-old Grace likes Carrie Underwood, and 18-year-old Mary likes the fan fave, Bo Bice . All four remain in the contest. "She loves Idol ," her aide said of Spellings; "watches it with her kids." Spellings even had a chance to meet popular ex-contestant Constantine Maroulis recently and found it "thrilling."
He's Navy, But He's Happy for a Marine
He's the most famous military man in the Senate, so what Sen. John McCain , Arizona Republican, thinks of the new Joint Chiefs chairman matters a lot. Now recall that McCain is a former Navy captain. So what does he make of Gen. Peter Pace , the first-ever marine named to the job? "I think it's good," he says of the current Joint Chiefs vice chairman. "It indicates that we have now integrated the service to a degree where a marine can compete on a level playing field with officers from the other services." Still, he adds, "my candidate would have been [Marine Gen.] Jim Jones [NATO commander]. But Pace is fine."
The Bush Boys: No Break in 2008?
Outsiders think it's silly to even consider that another Bush--this time Florida Gov. Jeb Bush --should try to follow his brother into the White House. But many White House insiders think Jeb is the best bet to carry on Dubya's agenda and beat Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton . Could he win? While some GOP bigwigs think voters want a break from the Bush family, Bushies think the guv is so different in style and substance from his older brother that he'd get a fair shot in the primaries.
Don't Talk About Currency, or Else!
New Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez doesn't need to be told to keep his mouth shut--at least when it comes to questions about valuing the U.S. currency, a trap reporters lay for every commerce secretary. "On my very first day," he says, "I realized that if I talk about the currency, somebody from Treasury will just appear right in this room, take me away, and you won't see me." That pleased Treasury. "I love him already," says one insider.
'Purgatory' Voters: Watching, Waiting
Republican pollster David Winston has a name for voters sitting on the fence and looking to Washington for somebody to fix the nation's ills: "purgatory" voters. "They're waiting," he says, "in this purgatory, waiting to see what happens. It's a holding pattern." Voters, he says, are worried about high gas prices, slumping jobs, deaths in Iraq, and Social Security. But they haven't decided which party to go with. His battle plan: The GOP should become the nation's Mr. Goodwrench, moving to find solutions to the issues. And, he adds, the party has luck on its side: Democrats are still focused on inside-the-beltway scandals that aren't polling high among voters.
Staying Active, But Still Not His Best
Anyone who had gone through the heart troubles and grueling travel schedule of former President Bill Clinton would certainly understand his fatigue. But his lack of energy and slow recovery are starting to frustrate him. Friends tell us that he has been talking about "feeling terrible" and "drawn" following two trips to the hospital to fix his heart, as well as journeys to the Vatican and the region hit by the tsunami. On the trip aboard Air Force One to attend Pope John Paul II 's funeral, he revealed: "I feel exhausted."
Picturing Bush: He Can Have It His Way
Clinton portrait artist Simmie Knox has a deal for President Bush . He'll let the prez pick the pose and the surroundings for the official portrait if he gets the job. "Whatever pose is comfortable," he says. "I'd love to do that one." Need more incentive, Mr. President? The White House Historical Association will pick up the tab, as it has in recent years. That's the deal that the association and Knox, who has painted Supreme Court justices, governors, and Bill Cosby 's friends and family, made with Bill Clinton. For example, Knox said he included a display of military medallions in Clinton's portrait at the president's request and embraced Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's wish to be shown with her bestseller It Takes a Village. He also agreed to her choice of a pantsuit, though he persuaded her to skip turquoise and go with black.
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This story appears in the May 16, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.