See Steve Roberts For Job--or Wedding
For cub reporters eager to hit the big time in Washington, there has always been a secret fast track, few more legendary than the research assistant network run years ago by the late James Reston , the former New York Times bureau chief. Do well there, and the well-connected "Scotty" Reston did the rest. Just ask Steven Roberts , a former Times and U.S. News reporter and author of a new memoir, My Fathers' Houses . "Every day," he says, "Reston did something to help me. He shaped my whole life."
Now, 40 years later, Roberts is following Reston's lead with a much-expanded mentoring network based out of George Washington University, where he has taught politics and journalism since 1991. Pass his course, and Roberts might hook you up with jobs he learns about from former students now working at places like Fox, CNN, and several Washington newspaper bureaus. "Steve is that lucky break for so many people," says Heather Clapp , who produces CNN's shows at GWU. "He just asks that you help someone else someday." Roberts's students also fill a Who's Who list of spokespeople sprinkled throughout the White House, Capitol Hill, and K Street, many in top GOP jobs--ironic, they think, because of Roberts's liberal leanings. "That's where the jobs are," he shrugs. The Roberts network also extends beyond schools and jobs: He officiates at weddings as the "designated substitute" rabbi.
Are Arnold's Woes Clinton's Gain?
Teased by his plummeting polls, California Democrats are putting out an APB for a candidate who can take on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger . But small-time pols need not apply. We hear that major donors are reaching out to former President Bill Clinton , once governor of Arkansas, to run. "On first blush, it might sound nuts," says a prominent Democratic strategist. "But he'd be governor of the fourth-largest economy in the world and have the ability to raise hundreds of millions of dollars for [Sen.] Hillary [Rodham Clinton] " if she ran for president, he said. Also on the wish list: ex-Lakers star Magic Johnson , San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, and activist actor Rob Reiner of All in the Family fame. Imagine a "Meathead vs. Terminator" race in 2006.
The Hillary Effect May Hit Hastert
House Speaker Dennis Hastert's retirement, already delayed by a plea from President Bush to stick around, could be put on hold permanently if Democrats get their way, we hear. Top Republican insiders say that the Illinois lawmaker, who has pledged to stay until 2008, will be urged to continue if New York Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton gets the party's presidential nomination, as many expect. "We'll need continuity if she's president," said a key GOP strategist. "We'll need our side organized to fight."
Freedom Walk Stirs Antiwar Passions
It's just a walk to show support for 9/11 victims and the armed forces involved in the war on terrorism, but the Pentagon's Freedom Walk is fast becoming a larger symbol for those who support or oppose the war in Iraq. Consider: Last week, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez urged employees in an E-mail and phone message to join in the September 11 march from the Pentagon to the National Mall. "Thousands of our service members are defending freedom," he said. "They need to know that we're behind them." But almost immediately after the message was sent, some workers rebelled at the idea of being "forced" to support the war. Others sent angry E-mails like the one that griped about being "pressured" to join a "war party." All that led Commerce spokeswoman Christine Gunderson to say, "The secretary welcomes this opportunity to honor our troops and the victims of September 11." And to the critics, she offered: "He also respects those who do not wish to participate. That freedom is at the heart of what our troops in Iraq are fighting for."
Send in the Donald, Not an Apprentice
Real-estate magnate and Apprentice star Donald Trump has an idea for slashing gas prices. Send him to negotiate with Saudi Arabia. "Stop sending those politicians over there to negotiate," wrote Trump on his Trump University blog. "A seasoned business negotiator could do some serious talking, and those prices would drop like a rock." He's serious, so much so that an associate made sure we saw his writings and suggested that the Donald get the job.
Joy Ride Stops at The Capital Beltway
What could be nicer than a trip down the Potomac River to Mount Vernon, home to our first president, on the old presidential yacht Sequoia? Well, nothing, which is why it recently filled up with eager ambassadors invited for a tour of the old house. One was Dagoberto Rodriguez Barrera , head of the Cuban Interests Section, which represents Fidel Castro . It turns out he apparently didn't know the destination until the old wooden yacht got underway, prompting him to alert the captain that Cuban diplomats weren't allowed to travel outside the Capital Beltway. As the ship turned around before sailing under the highway another diplomat asked Capt. Harry "Chip" Lee , "Why do we have to turn around? Cuba is not part of the axis of evil."
You're Too Late to Buy the Watergate
The famed Watergate office building, site of the Nixon scandal, looks to have a new buyer. Renters tell us that L.A.-based BentleyForbes is taking it over from Trizec Properties. Neither company would confirm.
Giving a Piece of The White House
They've been minting one of the most popular Christmas ornaments for 25 years, and now the White House Historical Association has found a way to top that success. On sale for $15 this week: a commemorative ornament displaying the front and rear facades of the White House, made of sandstone from the same Aquia, Va., mine that supplied the rock used to build the mansion. It's in addition to the 2005 official ornament honoring former President James Garfield .
usnews.com See the newest White House Christmas ornament: www.usnews.com/whispers
This story appears in the September 12, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.