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."
One Man's Oval Office Dreams
Publicly, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer promises he doesn't want to be president. But that's not what the front-running New York gubernatorial candidate says in private. The real message: He wants the top job. Our former colleague, Margaret Menge, now the editor of a Hudson Valley weekly, tells us that Spitzer revealed this to St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital CEO Allan Atzrott. "He told me that Spitzer recently told him that he'd like to be the first Jewish president," says Menge. Atzrott also told her Spitzer has talked it over with New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine and won his support.
A Weird Tale, but Who Will Read It?
James Guckert, a White House reporter before quitting when his background and conservative politics were questioned, is getting ready to tell his peculiar story. Guckert, an alleged male escort who wrote for the defunct Talon News under the byline Jeff Gannon, says it will be about "what happened to me and why it happened and what it means for the future of journalism." But don't rush out to buy it: He's got only an idea and a new agent, who has to find a way around the issue of "who cares?"
He Can Shop, but He Can't Hide
Democratic Rep. John Murtha says he used to be able to shop unnoticed in his Johnstown, Pa., Wal-Mart. But that was before he became Congress's biggest advocate for Iraq troop withdrawal. "Very few people come up to me and disagree," he says, adding that just 20 percent of his mail has been negative. "The public, man, they were ahead of us. When I go anyplace, they stop me in the airports; they stop me at Wal-Mart," he laughs. "Hell, I used to be able to go to those places and nobody knew who the hell I was. Now, Christ Almighty, it's a different story." About those 20 percent of critics: "The staff, it worries them. It worries my family," he says.
In Crawford, the Vacation That Isn't
It may look as if he's out of touch at his Texas summer White House, but please, please don't call President Bush's ranch time a vacation. Our Kenneth T. Walsh, author of From Mount Vernon to Crawford, the history of presidential retreats, says the Bushies are dubbing this summer break a "working vacation." Clearly sensitive to claims he is standing by while the Mideast and Iraq burn, Bush plans several trips and even a weeklong return to the real White House in the middle of his August break. Oops, that's "working vacation." Bush is a big vacationer, having spent 370 full or partial days at his ranch during his term, but fellow Texan LBJ beat that easily, with 474 visits over his 5 1/2 years.
With Elizabeth Weiss Green
This story appears in the August 7, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.