For a Frugal Alito, Safeway's the Way
When Samuel Alito eventually wins his much expected confirmation as the next associate Supreme Court justice, there will be a little present in his paycheck: a $27,400 raise from his appeals court salary of $171,800. That might sound like a lot of dough, but in pricey Washington, where dual-income couples toiling in crummy Capitol Hill offices can gross $250,000, it's not much of a bonus for landing a job on the nation's highest court. Still, friends say that if his car choices and shopping habits are any indicator, he and his family will be fine. "Look, he's a regular guy," begs one.
Go ahead, ask it: How regular? His first car was a hand-me-down, a 1973 Ford Maverick owned by an uncle. Today, he drives a 1999 Ford Taurus. And since he has to pay for his own board while in Washington, he isn't at the Ritz or the Four Seasons. Alito has chosen an extended-stay Arlington motel, the kind with a minifridge. And he and his wife shop at the old Georgetown Safeway, not the fancier Dean & Deluca or Whole Foods nearby. We spotted the duo alone last Monday night, he carrying the red grocery basket and asking a stock boy questions, she toying with a coffee thermos at the in-house Starbucks before putting it back. They walked the whole store before buying a couple of items at the express checkout: Safeway-brand OJ and Safeway-brand half-and-half.
Hitting Back at War Critics
Round 2 of the administration's attack on Democrats who backed the war in Iraq but now oppose it comes this week when the Republican National Committee releases a video of big-shot Democrats warning of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. President Bush fed the feud last week when he accused Democrats of trying to rewrite the history leading up to the war. Now the RNC will out the flip-floppers, featuring old comments from Dems like Bill Clinton, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, and Rep. Nancy Pelosi . One example: Clinton, warning that Saddam Hussein is ready to pull the WMD trigger, saying "I guarantee to you he'll use the arsenal."
Spreading 'Terror'at Defense Meetings
There's a new kind of terrorist lurking in the Pentagon, and it is apparently raising hell in a supersecretive agency called the Defense Technology Security Agency, a branch of the department's policy shop. Seems execs are being rude and disrespectful to acting DTSA boss Beth McCormick at meetings, prompting an aide to issue etiquette rules. "She is due," says the memo, "equivalent courtesy that you would show a two-star general." Such as: "Please don't be a 'terrorist,' i.e., someone that throws an unexpected bomb out to solicit a reaction." Also, show up at meetings on time, turn the cellphone off, and sit near McCormick. "Beth does not possess a flame-thrower, so it is safe to sit at the table." Why the warning? According to the memo, "we may have gotten a little too relaxed in our decorum in recent months."
Teddy Has a Future in TV Politics
Did you catch the recent live episode of The West Wing in which the Jimmy Smits character--presidential candidate Rep. Matt Santos--advocated Medicare for all? Well, that position isn't a crazy, made-up Hollywood scheme. It is exactly what Sen. Edward M. Kennedy proposed in January. Says Kennedy spokeswoman Laura Capps: "Kennedy's vision is the winning platform--for America and for the coveted 9 p.m. viewing demographic." She even offered a campaign slogan: "Medicare for All! Santos-Kennedy."
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