It's Up, Up, and Away for Air Condi
Toasting Gorby: It's 'a Greek Thing'
In the latest sign that all's forgiven for the Cold War, ex-CIA Director George Tenet this month plans to be the toastmaster at the Greek Orthodox Church's New York City banquet honoring former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev . He's getting the Athenagoras Human Rights Award previously given to folks like Jimmy Carter and Desmond Tutu . Has Tenet, the son of Greek immigrants, gone soft? Nah, said an associate. "It's a Greek thing."
Speaker Hastert's Wrecker Service
It's about time that House Speaker Dennis Hastert added a vintage tow truck to his collection of antique cars and pickups. That's because he's getting pretty familiar with providing wrecker service to his GOP caucus. The Illinois Republican, who emerged after the bloody 1998 internal war that left former Speaker Newt Gingrich out of power, came to the rescue again last week, say insiders. We hear he urged those vying to eventually replace sidelined Rep. Tom DeLay to cool their campaigns. He also promised to take a meat ax to the bloated budget to soothe antsy conservatives. "The speaker's been there before," says a friend, "and he's getting pretty good at picking up the pieces."
The Straight Man of K Street
The legal and lobbying firm of Piper Rudnick Gray Cary has quietly built a powerhouse collection of former congressional bosses that now includes former House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt . At last week's reception to honor Geppy, fellow firm colleague and former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell talked about the Democrat's "conviction" on issues, adding that another officemate, former House Majority Leader Dick Armey , also had "convictions." When it came time for Armey to shower Gephardt with praise, a guest recalled that he opened by saying, "I feel I should make clear that I've never been convicted."
Wedding Cake With a Side of Barney
If Bush personnel aide and embattled immigration and customs nominee Julie Myers doesn't make it through the Senate confirmation process, she might have a future as the White House social secretary. We hear that Myers, 36, who appears to have cooled charges of cronyism and inexperience, is quite the party planner. Friends tell us that out-of-town guests to her Georgetown wedding last month received cute gift baskets filled with White House and city trinkets and ideas on how to entertain kids. The package included pictures of first pets Barney and Miss Beazley and the vice president's dogs, Jackson and Dave . "Wow," offered another recently married Bushie. "All my guests received was a piece of local fudge."
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With Thomas Omestad and Julian E. Barnes
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