41 Doesn't Plan to Be Outdone by 43
He's an old dog, but former President George H.W. Bush is certainly up to learning new tricks. Especially when the 41st president's son is on his trail, this time looking for good ideas for the George W. Bush Presidential Library. It's no secret that the president's library search committee, now mulling over bids from several Texas schools, has been visiting other presidential libraries for tips and ideas to make the 43rd president's facility dazzle. But what the committee members might not know is that the former president's library at Texas A&M University is planning its own $8 million upgrade--one that could change the model for future libraries.
The library was state of the art when it opened in 1997. But archivists say renovations should be made every eight years to keep the library and museum fresh. And "41," as the former president is referred to in his son's White House, wants to update the technology. "We don't want to be left behind," says an insider. What will wow most are the planned additions of models of the White House Situation Room and the Press Room, where visitors will get to play press secretary and reporter. They're also adding an Oval Office, a presidential-size desk, and a Cabinet Room. The museum's new look, however, will still include the popular Camp David office. The new changes will debut in November 2007, around the facility's 10th anniversary.
This Gentleman Prefers Natalie
Actor Joe Pantoliano knows news. "Ever since 9/11," he tells us, "I've been addicted to the news." And not just any broadcast: The star noted for his beret likes a lovely lady reading him the headlines. "I like Natalie Morales " of MSNBC, he says. Not Fox News Channel, known for its blonds, we asked? "The girls are better on MSNBC."
At Least They Saved the Bubbly
When a disaster like Hurricane Katrina hits, it's often the little things people miss most once reality sinks in. Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott knows. His 154-year-old house was demolished, but Lott reveals that he and his wife found a few trinkets to keep the memories alive. As Lott and his wife, Tricia, walked through their Pascagoula neighborhood, they found their refrigerator--three blocks from the house. "The pictures that my wife had put on there with those magnetic things? Intact. It was so amazing," he says. "I opened it, and two bottles of champagne that we had saved from my daughter's wedding a few years earlier were just sitting there pretty as you please."
The Last Laugh for Robert Bork
Turns out that Robert Bork, the conservative curmudgeon rejected for a Supreme Court job, can be a witty guy. Over a breakfast of bacon and eggs last week, he told a joke heard in conservative circles that touches on the community's distrust of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. "How do you pronounce Souter in Spanish?" he asked, referring to moderate Republican Justice David Souter. "Gonzales." And when we asked what it's been like over all these years to be a celebrated court reject whose name symbolizes persecution by liberals, he said: "Using my name as a verb is a good thing. It's a form of immortality."
Don't Kiss, Don't Drive, Don't Eat
It rarely happens, so when the State Department updates its "post reports" for employees headed to a country, diplomats mine them for new trends. And, sadly, it's all bad news for women going to Saudi Arabia. Updated August 27, the "Saudi Arabia Post Report" is a laundry list of don'ts for women despite the president's push for women's rights in Muslim nations. According to State, women are basically told to stay in hiding. Like: Wear long dresses and sleeves, don't hold hands or kiss in public, and never drive--it's against the law. Forget grabbing a dinner unless you're with a guy; many restaurants don't even allow women, the report says. And here's what really stinks: There are lots of high-end fashion stores but no fitting rooms. And no refunds are allowed--only exchanges.
Let the Immigration Fights Begin
With the White House and Congress itching to clash over illegal immigration, a new coalition cobbled together by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey hopes to come to the rescue. Called Americans for Border and Economic Security, the still-forming group will urge broad immigration reform, not just focusing on the fight over illegals and border security. The group will have influence: Members are the very businesses that use and need immigrants.
New Job for an Old Spymaster
There's a new intelligence sheriff at the Department of Homeland Security, ex-CIA spymaster Charlie Allen. We hear DHS is gleeful it snagged Allen from the CIA, where he worked for over 40 years, the last seven as the "collection" boss in charge of information from spies, satellites, and listening posts. Despite his star status, the sometimes crusty Allen was passed over by the new intelligence czar, prompting DHS to grab him to run its intel shop.
He's Better Outside the Beltway
Is Washington already bored with new Senate star Barack Obama ? In his two Sunday talk show appearances this month, the programs finished dead last in the all important Washington market. "He's Sunday poison," says a TV exec. But Obama's office says national TV viewing figures show that his appearances helped This Week and Face the Nation gain a second-place finish to NBC's Meet the Press. And his September 11 This Week appearance turned out to have had the show's second-best audience, next to a February interview of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. "The national numbers speak for themselves," says Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs. "This is proof that the so-called skinny kid with the funny name from Chicago's South Side can go toe to toe with the bodybuilding governor of the Golden State, and that was when Arnold was popular!"
usnews.com The gossip from Capitol File magazine's launch party: www.usnews.com/whispers
With Kenneth T. Walsh, Terence Samuel and David E. Kaplan
This story appears in the October 3, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.