McCain's TV Movie: It's Not an Ego Trip
If it were anybody but Sen. John McCain -- admired far and wide for sticking to his military family's code of honor as a Navy POW in Hanoi--you'd laugh at his guilelessness. What other White House hopeful could say that a new movie about his storied, pre-Senate life has nothing to do with pumping up his chances for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination?
"I would hate," he says of the new A&E movie version of his book Faith of My Fathers, "[for it] to be thought of as some kind of vehicle for my political ambitions." Aye, aye, sir. The two-hour flick, debuting May 30, "is not just a story of me being beaten up and coming home," says the Arizona senator and former Navy pilot, who was shot down over Hanoi in 1967 and tortured in prison for over five years. "It's got a lot to do with the basis of my faith and my father's, the standards of honor and integrity, principles that were imbued in me by my father and grandfather," he adds.
This isn't just any TV movie. It's a gripping tale featuring Scott Glenn of The Right Stuff and Backdraft, playing his father, and a youthful-looking Shawn Hatosy as McCain. "I used to look young for my age," McCain tells us.
It's sure to spike his celebrity and draw fresh calls for a White House bid. But McCain shrugs. "It's all transient," he says. "If I were to walk down the street and say [Arizona Sen. and '64 presidential hopeful] 'Barry Goldwater,' at least three fourths of the people I stop would say, 'Who's he?'"
Have It Your Way, Birthday Boy
"It's a good time for the great taste of McDonald's" isn't just a funny jingle to White House Chief of Staff Andy Card. For a while, it was a way of life--during one of his first jobs serving hamburgers and fries at McDonald's. So you can imagine the chuckle he got last week when staffers handed out Egg McMuffins at the May 10 staff meeting to celebrate his 58th birthday. "Everybody got an Egg McMuffin" from a 17th Street NW store, said an aide. "It was our happy birthday present. He loved it."
Little Rock to Bush: Ax the Trailer Look
Don Evans, the former commerce secretary and now President Bush 's presidential library scout, was in Little Rock, Ark., last week checking out the Clinton presidential library and museum. We hear he liked the interactive stuff but was advised by many locals to come up with a better design than the mobile-home look of the Clinton building.
The GOP's New Star Is Chris Matthews
For once, the GOP isn't complaining about what Hardball host Chris Matthews blurts out. In fact, it's made him a star in a catchy Web video that decries the Democrats as the "Party of No." The Republican National Committee uses a clip from a May 2 show in which Matthews barks that Democrats are "really obstructionists and effectively obstructionists." Now, MSNBC lawyers want it pulled. Stuff it, says RNC spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt : "He said what he said." Democrats are more cooperative. They, too, stuck a Hardball segment in a Web video but yanked it after MSNBC complained.
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