Washington Whispers
Carter Says It Was Cronkite's Fault
Craig Shirley, author of the well-received book on Ronald Reagan's 1976 campaign, says he never thought Jimmy Carter would talk to him about the 1980 race for a new book, Rendezvous With Destiny. But last Tuesday, just two weeks after he wrote to Carter, the call came through. "He's concerned about his place in history," Shirley says. Over 45 minutes, the two hit on many issues, especially how the Iranian hostage crisis affected Carter's loss. "Updated opinion polls right before the election took place showed that we had slipped," Carter told Shirley. "And it was primarily because Walter Cronkite and everybody else was talking about it being the anniversary of the hostage taking."
Karl Rove Does a Mean Bill Clinton
Bush political adviser Karl Rove does a great impersonation of Bill Clinton, as about 200 business representatives found out during a White House briefing last week. When a fan suggested that Rove team with Clinton to raise money via a pay-per-view debate, Rove did an impression of Bubba inspired by a meeting in which the ex-prez offered ideas to help tsunami-wracked Indonesia. Every sentence started with the phrase, "It's not because I was president, but ... ." Rove says he left the meeting after it had dragged on for 45 minutes. "I am so glad," an audience member quotes him saying, "that I didn't work in his administration."
The GOP's Most Wanted: Cheney
There's some buzz in political circles that a handful of candidates don't want a vice presidential visit because it can generate more bad press than it's worth. But don't tell that to Dick Cheney. He's in bigger demand than ever, hosting more political rallies and fundraisers--80 so far--for GOP candidates this year than in the last midterm election in 2002. "The vice president," says Rep. Tom Reynolds, head of the National Republican Congressional Committee, "has been a great partner for us."
Once a Professor, Always a Professor
With his trilogy of Civil War novels behind him, Newt Gingrich is on to his next writing project: a novel about the Pacific theater in World War II. Writing with longtime collaborator William Forstchen, the former House speaker is titling the book December 8. That's Pearl Harbor Day, Tokyo time. "We're trying to capture the essence of how Roosevelt was maneuvering in the Pacific," Gingrich says. "His real focus was on Europe, but he was trying to contain the Japanese." Heavy stuff, but Gingrich writes historical fiction to escape. "I lose myself in history as though it were a novel," says the onetime college history professor, who's considering a 2008 run for president. "I get lost in, 'What would FDR do?'"
With Bay Fang and Dan Gilgoff
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