Pols Rockin' Out--On iPod or 8-track
OK, so he's not the kind of guy we'd expect to see playing air guitar a la Tom Cruise in Risky Business , but that's not to take anything away from Deadhead Ken Mehlman. Yes, the same serious guy who is chairman of the Republican National Committee digs rock-and-roll. Just check out his brand new iPod. He's got a 20-gigabyte portable Apple and is filling it with a nearly complete collection of the Grateful Dead and Led Zeppelin. Who knew? But that's not all. Included in the 700 songs he has already downloaded are some from the Beatles, the Doobie Brothers, the Allman Brothers, Fleetwood Mac, Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Doors, the Stones, Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, and even Ray Charles. "Listening to good tunes while I work out and run," he tells us, "is a great escape, and I try to do it every day." Insiders say he's a big downloader, using Apple's iTunes and keeping his iPod plugged in at work as he checks off items on his very long political to-do list.
Two blocks away on Capitol Hill, at Democratic Party HQ, Chairman Howard Dean isn't into iPods, but he's not lost musically, preferring Willie Nelson, the Beatles, Sheryl Crow, even rapper Wyclef Jean, an activist whose song "If I Was President" could be a Dean theme song. Dean's a Dead guy, too. He stays musically current thanks to all the CDs his kids leave in the car, though an aide concedes, "It's hard to get the newer artists on 8-track."
Yankee Lefty Might Pitch to the Right
Lefty pitcher Al Leiter is the toast of New York, now that he's left the Florida Marlins to help the Yankees in the pennant stretch. The Yanks think the 39-year-old with a winning record will help solidify a muddling rotation. But insiders say that's not the only reason he headed north. Republican tipsters say he's mulling a political bid in his adopted state or back home in New Jersey. GOP-ers say he has helped at recent Republican events and is up on current issues. He has even been featured as GOP "dude of the week" on the New Jersey Republican Party Web page. "Oh, he's one of us," says a Republican tipster: "A conservative."
Looking Inward For a Fed Head
Federal Reserve watchers got another clue last week about who might succeed Alan Greenspan when his 18-year stint as Fed chairman ends next January. Ben Bernanke, the former Fed governor just named President Bush 's top economic adviser, said he'll play a role in suggesting names to fill open Fed seats, but not Greenspan's. "I don't expect to be involved in the discussion of the chairmanship." Some took that as a suggestion that he's on the list of replacement candidates.
No Such Thing as Bad Publicity?
For many Hollywood stars, supporting People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is a no-brainer. But come this week, some may be reconsidering. That's because the Foundation for Biomedical Research, which promotes "humane animal testing," is using Variety 's annual philanthropy edition to warn the stars about the case in North Carolina in which PETA workers stand accused of killing dozens of animals and tossing them in a dumpster. A front-page ad says, "Some people say there's no such thing as bad publicity." It refers to an inside ad that features Alec Baldwin, Pamela Anderson, and other stars on PETA's 25th Anniversary Honorary Committee and asks: "What is your publicist thinking?"
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