Trade Czar's Roots: Comics & Curfews
This President Is One Tough Boss
New top aides and cabinet members are finding the hours and pressure imposed by President Bush even worse than expected. "I knew he'd be a task master," says one official, "and he is." Others say that Bush deputies Andy Card and Karl Rove also expect near perfection and 24/7 service. But, all agree, it's worth it. "It's a very tight family," says an official.
Hillary Fans: Enough Already!
It's a simple request, though one nobody's listening to: Friends of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton want the press to stop asking about a 2008 presidential bid when she's still got a 2006 re-election campaign to run. New York Sen. Charles Schumer is the leading "Leave Hillary Alone" advocate. "She gets out of bed," he barks, "and everybody says, 'Oh, that's an indication that she's running for president.'"
Killer Words From a Killer Consultant
Republican strategist Frank Luntz is a master at finding the best words for politicians and businesspeople to sell their programs and products, and soon he's going to publicly reveal the tricks of his trade. Luntz tells us he's writing Killer Words , a book that argues that simple changes in language can make all the difference in creating public appeal for an idea. The Hyperion book should be out by mid-2006.
A Congressman's Private Passion
Ohio Rep. Mike Turner has a secret life, but it's nothing his Republican district in Dayton will be embarrassed about: He's the biggest Star Wars junkie in Congress. How bad does he have it? Turner tells us he just returned from the "Star Wars Celebration III" convention in Indianapolis, where he waited in a really long line to pose his family with director George Lucas . He subscribes to Star Wars Insider magazine. And his office computer sports a Yoda screensaver. His daughters have it even worse. "It's been fun sharing that," he says. One example: His oldest wrote a three-minute film to submit to an annual Star Wars contest. Turner held the camera as his two girls acted out their version of Attack of the Clones and the new Revenge of the Sith . "They had a two-part movie," Turner says. "It was called the Attack of the Biological Sisters and Revenge of the Sis ." It didn't win, but a new one is planned. Turner says he fell for the movies because they promote good over bad, though the Dark Side succeeds in Sith . And what of the media comparisons of Darth Vader and other Sith bad guys to Republicans? Turner conjures up the ugly character Palpatine , the evil Galactic Empire ruler and former senator. "If you did a Sen. Palpatine lookalike comparison," he says, "you'd find more on the other side than our side of the aisle."
usnews.com You can see if your representative or senator drives a hybrid: www.usnews.com/whispers
With Marianne Lavelle, Julian E. Barnes and Kenneth T. Walsh
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