Washington Whispers
Wolf TV: Not as Easy as It Looks
Wolf Blitzer's Situation Room is celebrating its first anniversary, and despite the smooth flow of the show's three hours each day on CNN, the pace can really be grueling. So much so that it's changed how Blitzer goes through the day. "It's a very physical and demanding kind of job," he tells us from Haifa, Israel, just as the sirens warning of a Hezbollah missile attack stop. "You've got to be in good shape." The 58-year-old's routine: sleep seven hours, hydrate, diet, and exercise. "I've actually lost some weight [20 pounds], and I spend an hour exercising [5 miles on a treadmill] every morning at home. If I don't, I sort of by the end of the day start getting lethargic," he adds. On the set from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., he bypasses snacks for bottled water. "It's the only show on television where you have to work out to stay in shape for it."
While the show is a fast-paced combination of hard news and gizmology, some worry it overexposes Blitzer, on TV at least 17 hours a week when you add in his Sunday talk show. The public's reaction? They seem to want more: He's much better rated than some of the programs previously in his time slots. And despite the hours, he's still got time to phone and E-mail his family and pals during commercials and attend baseball and basketball games. "You try to have a balanced life," he says, "and make sure you're not just obsessed with one part of it."
Katie Crashes Washington
Incoming CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric is hitting political Washington with a charm offensive, we hear. Her goal: reintroduce herself to key Republicans and Democrats. "Katie has been talking to politicians, diplomats, heads of state, and other Washington officials, something all good journalists do," says CBS spokeswoman Kelli Edwards. TV sources say Couric has scheduled about two weeks of meet-and-greets. It could be an uphill battle with Republicans, though, since many, including the first family, aren't fans of hers. One odd note: Even after CBS confirmed the Couric Crash, we couldn't find many Republican bigs in the House, Senate, White House, or GOP HQ who had heard from her yet. Ditto for Democrats.
A Finger Pointed in the Wrong Direction
You can imagine why George Tenet is mad at the 9/11 book The One Percent Doctrine and reviewers who finger the ex-CIA director as the key leaker in the tale of how the administration flopped into war. "It's not true that he was a cooperating source for [author Ron] Suskind," says an ally. Suskind agrees, E-mailing us: "Reviewers who've suggested that Tenet was the primary source [of over 100] are simply incorrect." But now stirred, the former top spy's team is taking aim at the larger book, which they say includes errors and exaggerations. Like where Suskind says Vice President Dick Cheney's nickname in the CIA was "Edgar," as in ventriloquist Edgar Bergen. Or where he wrote that the emir of Qatar passed notes from an al Jazeera reporter to the CIA that led to terrorist arrests. "Tenet's especially frosted about that one," says the pal. Tenet is writing his own book and has access to secret papers he says will back up his claims. Ha, sneers Suskind. "It's just patently wrong," he says of the criticism. "These are good guys, but they're doing a self-defense strategy here, no doubt because of Tenet's book."
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