Green Eyeshades Look Good On Rice
10 Democrats and Counting for 2008
Our friends at the Democratic Party have been drawing up a list of who's running for president in 2008, and they tell us that it's already reached 10: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, ex-North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner, and Wesley Clark, a former NATO commander. Nearly all, we're told, are hiring key staff and raising money. And nine of the 10 share a big hurdle: "They're all waiting,"says our source, "for Hillary to decide."
For the GOP, It's Brownback, Frist
Republican 2008 hopefuls should soon start seeing more of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and conservative Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback on the stump. Both have a red-meat message. Frist will paddle Democrats by name for blocking GOP progress in Washington, while Brownback thinks his antiabortion, pro-marriage stance will win Midwest churchgoers and values voters.
This Novel Reads Like Today's News
If you sense something familiar about the story in the new novel Our Girl in Washington, especially the part about sleazy lobbyists and creepy reporters, you'll be right. The characters are ripped out of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Author Michele Mitchell tells us that she knew Abramoff would make it into her book when she first met him at his defunct Signatures restaurant while she was working on a story for PBS. "Everyone's clucking and damning Abramoff now," she says, "but when I first saw the guy in action, he was smooth." And perfect for her book, which features characters copied from Washington personalities like columnist Clarence Page.
Organic No Matter What W Says
First lady Laura Bush 's elevation of the No.2 White House chef to the top slot won't mean a shift away from her orders for organic products. "Mrs. Bush is very definitely organic, especially with the dairy," says an insider. Turns out that the prez likes the stuff, too, but won't admit it. Once, when an aide presented a new organic milk to the first lady, her husband raised an eyebrow and asked: "Laura, organic?"
With David E. Kaplan, Suzi Parker, Julian E. Barnes and Thomas Omestad
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