Washington Whispers
Can Condi Comeup to Cambridge?
Despite the controversial presidency of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, we hear that the Harvard search team looking for his replacement still has sort of a thing for Washington. The two leading choices of those offering names via the psearch@harvard.edu tip line are, um, a little more female friendly than Summers. The two: former President Clinton, once a prof at the University of Arkansas, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, former provost of Stanford, the so-called Harvard of the West.
Another Corny Pentagon Idea
Since it probably buys, uses, and eats the most of any organization in the world, the military can really set trends. The latest: joining the eco-crowd. This week, we hear, Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar, and Deputy Secretary of Defense Gordon England kick off an environmental expo of sorts at the Pentagon. Their goal: greening up military purchases and boosting President Bush's strategy of increasing energy security. Harkin spokesman Tom Reynolds tells us it will showcase bio-products in goodies made from Midwest commodities like sunflowers, wheat, potatoes, and corn. Harkin's favorite? Socks made from corn. "He just loves the socks idea," says Reynolds. "Just think of how many socks soldiers in the Pentagon could buy."
Musical Chairs on Capitol Hill
Here's the bad news about the fall elections: The results of November 7 could lead to a nasty partisan battle to get enough House members to switch parties that the results will be scuttled. We hear that Republicans are already looking at conservative Democrats who might switch parties if the liberals take back control of the House by a seat or two. Ditto for the Democrats, by the way, who think they can lure the few liberal Republicans to their side with promises of pork or even committee chairmanships. "Do they pick off a couple of our guys," asks a key GOP insider, "or can we find one or two Democrats to switch to keep control? That'll be the real fight."
Coffee and Crayola With Bill Clinton
It's either the height of celebrity or an embarrassing gimmick, but those busy marketers at the William J. Clinton Presidential Library and Museum are making plans for a Bubba coffee-table book. We're not talking those artsy Annie Leibovitz photos the Clintons yearned to pose for. Tipsters say it will include stories and pictures of the 75,000 artifacts at the Little Rock, Ark., facility. And the centerpiece: kiddie drawings of the former prez. Hokey? Sure, but you know it will sell.
With Elizabeth Weiss Green, Anna Mulrine and Suzi Parker
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