Washington Whispers
For Kerry, It Feels Like 1972 Again
The February political footnotes included this little item: Sen. John Kerry in less than 24 hours last week raised $250,000 in an E-mail to his fans for three Democratic Iraq war vets running for Congress. But Kerry's effort wasn't a fire-and-forget for his comrades. Insiders say Kerry and his war pals Max Cleland, former Georgia senator, and fellow ex-Swift boat skipper Wade Sanders, have hatched plans to help some 70 Democratic Iraq war vets win office.
Over a Georgetown dinner this month, the trio reminisced about Vietnam and how, as young men, Kerry and Cleland returned to run for office. They recalled how the Nixon White House tried to divide vets between those who supported the president and those who didn't, and they vowed to stop that from happening to Iraq war vets. "Blood is thicker than water," we hear Kerry said. " Karl Rove's gonna come after these kids hard. It's Richard Nixon all over again. We're gonna make sure these vets have the ammunition to shoot back." Their plan: Raise $500,000 for a "Fight Back Fund," campaign for candidates, and even endorse vets in primary races--a rarity.
GOP spokeswoman Tracey Schmitt, however, warned vets away from Kerry, who in the 2004 election got tangled up in his conflicting positions on the Iraq war. She urged them to avoid "a senator who has a proven record of playing politics with national security."
Al Jazeera's Take on the World
The new international channel being formed by Arab TV's al Jazeera is taking Washington, D.C., by storm. What some had thought would be a tiny Washington outpost will soon open as a 100-person bureau complete with 35 journalists, two nightly coanchors, and two weekend coanchors. "We're close to full strength," says bureau chief Will Stebbins, formerly with Associated Press TV. Al Jazeera's new channel is an unusual idea: At different times of the day, it will be broadcast out of one of four cities: Washington; London; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; or Doha, Qatar, the network's HQ. Stebbins says Washington will have the 4 p.m.-to-8 p.m. ET slot and will report on major stories in the Americas and around the world. Having four different areas in the world report major stories, he says, will provide "four different cultural perspectives." Despite some early misgivings, the new bureau is winning friends in the administration. And newspeople are eager for jobs. "It's been an embarrassment of riches," Stebbins says of recruiting efforts. "We want to be the Nightline of news channels," adds coanchor Dave Marash, formerly of the ABC show. The channel begins broadcasting in late spring. The only issue is whether it will show up on cable, satellite TV, the Internet--or all three.
A Playmate and the Profile of Probate
Thank goodness for former Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith. No, not just because she offered up her slimmed-down look at the Supreme Court last week. It's because lawyers say her case to win a portion of the $1.6 billion in her late husband's estate is bringing new attention to a boring topic: probate. "She has done for probate what O.J. [Simpson] did for illegal police search and seizure," says Chris Lehane, a Democratic communications pro. "The reality is that celebrity status attached to an issue can generate attention."
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