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."
Clinton Inc. Sent to Fix Ukraine Crisis
If you're the president of Ukraine and your fledgling administration is already embroiled in a political crisis, who you gonna call? Bill Clinton. Only a year after the Orange Revolution catapulted him to power, Viktor Yushchenko is turning to Bubba's old team of spinmeisters and policy wonks. Former press secretary Mike McCurry and ex-Chief of Staff John Podesta will head to Ukraine next week to meet with Yushchenko and dispense a little advice. "It's much ado about nothing," insists Jay Carson, Clinton's spokesman. But to Yushchenko, who amid allegations of corruption has joined forces with his opponent, Viktor Yanukovich, it may be just what the spin doctor ordered.
'Made in China' Not Just for Wal-Mart
We're hearing of growing worries that "Made in China" isn't just for junk sold at Wal-Mart anymore. The scholarly Hudson Institute this week plans to caution that sophisticated weapons--maybe even better than we build--will soon carry the Made in China tag. "The common perception is that China . . . produces a seemingly limitless quantity of inexpensive goods to fill the shelves of Wal-Mart," says Hudson in a report due out this week. But, it warns that Beijing is turbocharging its military with high-tech weapons.
Greenpeace May Face Taxing Times
Two years after it was asked to probe the tax-exempt status of Greenpeace, we hear that the IRS may be weighing an investigation. Public Interest Watch, which polices nonprofit groups, has charged that Greenpeace diverted millions of donations for education uses into advocacy--and that's a no-no. Greenpeace says it didn't and that PIW is a tool of companies the environmental group targets.
Diamonds Aren't a President's Friend
President Bush learned a valuable lesson last month when he asked an Air Force audience for help in choosing a present for his 28th wedding anniversary: Be careful whom you ask for advice. The women in the crowd at Washington's Bolling Air Force Base chanted "diamonds, diamonds." Groaned Bush, "Sorry I asked." So what did he give first lady Laura Bush on November 5? We're told it was a lovely matching earring and necklace set, made of green, glassy stones, by a Texas jewelry designer.
With Bret Schulte, Liz Halloran and Ilana Ozernoy
This story appears in the November 21, 2005 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.