From 'You're Hired!' to 'You're Elected!'
Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, and even
Les Aspin, the late congressman and Clinton's first Pentagon boss, can take credit for helping make
Kelly Perdew, a former Army Ranger,
Donald Trump's
Apprentice 2champ in 2004. And if Perdew follows his gut to run for office, he says,
George W. Bush can claim he predicted it first. Why? Bush touted him at a 2004 inauguration concert in Washington and proclaimed: "Next thing you know, the guy will be running for president."
Perdew's story, revealed in an interview and hinted at in the new Regnery Publishing book
Take Command, is more than just name-dropping. As a Wyoming high schooler, Perdew recalls being wowed by a Cheney speech when the veep was the state's representative. That led to an appointment to West Point, granted by Cheney, and a school internship with Aspin, then chair of the House Armed Services Committee. When Clinton cut the size of the military, Perdew left the Army and eventually made it to
The Apprentice 2. The Bush twins wooed the new TV star to the inauguration, where he met the prez. Naturally, Perdew caught Potomac fever despite his Trump job and an upcoming Military Channel show:
G.I. Factory. Is politics calling? Sure, he says, suggesting a race in New York, Kentucky, or Florida, all states where he's lived. "I've definitely considered doing something like that."Even the Godless Need Lobbyists
Just because they don't believe in a higher authority doesn't mean that atheists aren't itching to fight God politics in Washington. In fact, some atheists say they're charged up about battling church-state issues and have now decided that it is time to do something about it: hire a lobbyist.
Kenneth Bronstein, head of New York City Atheists, tells us that he's setting up a D.C. office called the Center for Atheism to fight for the godless. Bronstein explains: "I'm a guy who likes to raise hell, but since there isn't one, we'll lobby."
Al Gore Says 'No'Really Means 'No'
Despite topping some presidential preference polls and efforts by fans to get him to run again, former Veep
Al Gore says he really doesn't want to. He's even got conservatives convinced.
Grover Norquist, a strong Bush ally and president of Americans for Tax Reform, hosted Gore last week at a conservative meeting and tells us the 2000 presidential candidate "kept talking about himself as a recovering politician."Instead, he's channeling his passion into Issue No. 1: global warming. "This," says Norquist, "is what he says he's doing. He's not running for office."
Fit for a President: Al Capone's Caddy
The annual RM vintage car auction at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa has an unusual offering this year:
Al Capone's bulletproof 1928 Cadillac. But besides its use by "Scarface," it has another odd tie. Some say that when it was confiscated at the time Capone was hit with tax evasion charges, the Secret Service put it to use carrying
FDR, making it the first bulletproof White House limo. RM thinks the car will fetch up to $1 million at the January 20 auction.
Play Ball! Cleveland Vs. Ho Chi Minh City
A sure sign that there remain no hard feelings between Washington and Hanoi is the move by veterans and baseball this month to promote the sport in Vietnam.
Jan Scruggs, head of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, tells us that he and newly signed Cleveland Indians pitcher
Danny Graves will present little-leaguers with equipment and coaching tips during a January 16-25 trip by the fund to foster friendship. "Baseball is a far more powerful weapon than a B-52," says Scruggs, "and no one gets hurt." Why Graves? He was born in Vietnam, the son of an American soldier and Vietnamese woman.
Michael Marine, U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, tells us that the fund's efforts will gain special credibility through Graves. And, Marine says, baseball could really take off there as a result. "It wouldn't take long for Vietnam to have its own pipeline to the majors."
For Love, It's Money in Iowa
If money talks in politics, then it's already getting pretty loud in Iowa, home to the first presidential caucus slated for 2008. Here's the 411: Rep.
Jim Nussle is the Republican front-runner in the Iowa 2006 gubernatorial race, making him the go-to guy for likely presidential candidates hoping to curry favor with a potential GOP guv. But when Nussle asked the political action committees of some possible 2008 candidates for donations, not everybody ponied up. Those who did, according to soon-to-be-released financial reports: Virginia Sen.
George Allen $10,000; Arizona Sen.
John McCain$5,000; Kansas Sen.
Sam Brownback $2,000; and Pennsylvania Sen.
Rick Santorum $1,000. Who didn't: Tennessee Sen.
Bill Frist, New York Gov.
George Pataki, and Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney. But, we're assured, Pataki and Romney showed their love by offering to help raise money.
First Buck Bagged in the 2008 Race
If he decides to run for president, don't look for Republican Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee to pull a last-minute stunt to grab the gun vote as Sen.
John Kerry did with his October 2004 goose hunt. Huck's already at work establishing his hunting credentials. The proof: He sent us a picture of him cradling his biggest kill ever,a 10-point buck. "I make truly excellent venison chili," he brags, though he also gave some meat to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. Huckabee says it was a 200-yard shot, made easy with his .300-caliber Magnum Weatherby rifle. The buck, which you can see at
www.usnews.com/whispers, will be mounted. While he has been gunning for deer for about six years, Huckabee is better associated with duck hunting, having once taken Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia out for mallards. As to touting his hunting roots well before deciding to run in 2008, he denies a political motive. "When you have a 10-point whitetail in your sights, there isn't a bad time--just take the shot."
Even the Godless Need Lobbyists
Just because they don't believe in a higher authority doesn't mean that atheists aren't itching to fight God politics in Washington. In fact, some atheists say they're charged up about battling church-state issues and have now decided that it is time to do something about it: hire a lobbyist.
Kenneth Bronstein, head of New York City Atheists, tells us that he's setting up a D.C. office called the Center for Atheism to fight for the godless. Bronstein explains: "I'm a guy who likes to raise hell, but since there isn't one, we'll lobby."
Al Gore Says 'No'Really Means 'No'
Despite topping some presidential preference polls and efforts by fans to get him to run again, former Veep
Al Gore says he really doesn't want to. He's even got conservatives convinced.
Grover Norquist, a strong Bush ally and president of Americans for Tax Reform, hosted Gore last week at a conservative meeting and tells us the 2000 presidential candidate "kept talking about himself as a recovering politician."Instead, he's channeling his passion into Issue No. 1: global warming. "This," says Norquist, "is what he says he's doing. He's not running for office."
Fit for a President: Al Capone's Caddy
The annual RM vintage car auction at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa has an unusual offering this year:
Al Capone's bulletproof 1928 Cadillac. But besides its use by "Scarface," it has another odd tie. Some say that when it was confiscated at the time Capone was hit with tax evasion charges, the Secret Service put it to use carrying
FDR, making it the first bulletproof White House limo. RM thinks the car will fetch up to $1 million at the January 20 auction.
Play Ball! Cleveland Vs. Ho Chi Minh City
A sure sign that there remain no hard feelings between Washington and Hanoi is the move by veterans and baseball this month to promote the sport in Vietnam.
Jan Scruggs, head of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, tells us that he and newly signed Cleveland Indians pitcher
Danny Graves will present little-leaguers with equipment and coaching tips during a January 16-25 trip by the fund to foster friendship. "Baseball is a far more powerful weapon than a B-52," says Scruggs, "and no one gets hurt." Why Graves? He was born in Vietnam, the son of an American soldier and Vietnamese woman.
Michael Marine, U.S. ambassador to Vietnam, tells us that the fund's efforts will gain special credibility through Graves. And, Marine says, baseball could really take off there as a result. "It wouldn't take long for Vietnam to have its own pipeline to the majors."
For Love, It's Money in Iowa
If money talks in politics, then it's already getting pretty loud in Iowa, home to the first presidential caucus slated for 2008. Here's the 411: Rep.
Jim Nussle is the Republican front-runner in the Iowa 2006 gubernatorial race, making him the go-to guy for likely presidential candidates hoping to curry favor with a potential GOP guv. But when Nussle asked the political action committees of some possible 2008 candidates for donations, not everybody ponied up. Those who did, according to soon-to-be-released financial reports: Virginia Sen.
George Allen $10,000; Arizona Sen.
John McCain$5,000; Kansas Sen.
Sam Brownback $2,000; and Pennsylvania Sen.
Rick Santorum $1,000. Who didn't: Tennessee Sen.
Bill Frist, New York Gov.
George Pataki, and Massachusetts Gov.
Mitt Romney. But, we're assured, Pataki and Romney showed their love by offering to help raise money.
First Buck Bagged in the 2008 Race
If he decides to run for president, don't look for Republican Arkansas Gov.
Mike Huckabee to pull a last-minute stunt to grab the gun vote as Sen.
John Kerry did with his October 2004 goose hunt. Huck's already at work establishing his hunting credentials. The proof: He sent us a picture of him cradling his biggest kill ever,a 10-point buck. "I make truly excellent venison chili," he brags, though he also gave some meat to Farmers and Hunters Feeding the Hungry. Huckabee says it was a 200-yard shot, made easy with his .300-caliber Magnum Weatherby rifle. The buck, which you can see at
www.usnews.com/whispers, will be mounted. While he has been gunning for deer for about six years, Huckabee is better associated with duck hunting, having once taken Supreme Court Justice
Antonin Scalia out for mallards. As to touting his hunting roots well before deciding to run in 2008, he denies a political motive. "When you have a 10-point whitetail in your sights, there isn't a bad time--just take the shot."
With With Suzi Parker
This story appears in the January 16, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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