Washington Whispers
Love From Daddy's Political Daughters
Karyn Frist, wife of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, has an interesting hobby: collecting anecdotes about dads from prominent daughters and daughters of prominent people. And so far, she's landed a pretty good list for her upcoming book, Love You, Daddy Boy: Daughters Honor the Fathers They Love. She tells us that Condoleezza Rice, Barbara Bush, Nancy Reagan, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and even former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher have contributed to the book, out this fall. "This is a way to honor not only my dad but the special relationship between fathers and their daughters," says Frist. "It's not even a Democrat or Republican issue."
100 Women, 100 Frocks
There's still one exclusive group in Washington that has little time for partisanship: the political women's club. We hear that the gang of 100 who make up the Spouses of the Senate Luncheon are working with first lady Laura Bush to raise money via an eBay auction for Gulf Coast school libraries. Inspired by the book The Hundred Dresses, about a little girl taunted for wearing her only dress to school every day, the spouses have donated 100 dresses for an auction that ends May 26 for the Laura Bush Foundation library initiative.
Ugly Americans, in Black and White
Maybe one reason Americans are often disliked overseas is that many of the foreign correspondents assigned to the United States arrived with negative preconceptions. The Brookings Institution's Stephen Hess says in his book Through Their Eyes that nearly half of these correspondents view America as a haughty, arrogant superpower. Many like covering the United States,but not Mexico's Jesus Esquivel. "It's very difficult to accommodate yourself [to American life]," he tells Hess. "I cannot say culture, because obviously there is no culture in this country; there is no history."
A CNN Vet and an Off-Camera Home
Maybe it was the graying temples, but CNN's ousted NewsNight anchor Aaron Brown always reminded us of a folksy college professor. Well now, after trolling for a new TV job, he is a college professor. Arizona State University says he'll be an honors professor teaching journalism for its Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and Barrett Honors College. You'll remember Brown: He was labeled CNN's next big thing until Anderson Cooper grabbed that title and got Brown's show, even though Cooper delivered lower ratings. "I thought he was one of the top" news anchors, Cronkite says, especially Brown's editorial asides. "I was surprised when he left [CNN]. I still don't understand what that was about." And Cronkite says he hopes Brown stays in teaching. "I hope it will be a very long and prosperous addition to the school."
With Kenneth T. Walsh and Suzi Parker
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