Washington Whispers
Next Time, He'll Try Ted's Salmon
Fans-and there are lots of them-of Ted's Montana Grill might want to try their Bison Burger on the medium-well side next time they visit the restaurant chain started by Ted Turner of CNN fame. Y'all see, Gen.John Abizaid, head of Central Command, had one the same night he fell ill with food poisoning, finishing the night at the hospital during a recent visit to Washington. The Pentagon thinks the burger did it, but the Atlanta-based chain says the fault lies elsewhere.
Booking a 2008 White House Bid
It's time to clear the shelves for the wave of books coming from likely 2008 presidential candidates. Up first? We hear that Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee will come out with From Hope to Higher Ground in January. Hope? Yup, he was born in the same town as Bill Clinton. But associates say the higher ground isn't the White House. That's a reference to Hurricane Katrina and his ideas on how the country can regain a sense of optimism in the wake of terrorism and natural disasters.
Not Your Everyday Book Fair Groupie
Here's something you don't see every day: a prominent cabinet member standing in line for an hour outside to collect an author's autograph. But that's exactly what Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez did this month during the National Book Festival on the Mall. His target was historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, who, when she looked up after penning her John Hancock, asked for Gutierrez's in return. The secretary tells us: "Attending the National Book Festival was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday afternoon in Washington. It was great to be among book lovers, families, and great authors, and I'm already looking forward to next year's festival."
A Job for Life-Now That's Security
The erudite U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer always seemed to have a higher calling. He was voted most likely to succeed in high school; studied at Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard; clerked for the high court and counseled the Senate Judiciary Committee; was a law school professor and appeals court judge. But that higher calling was driven not by philosophy but job security. Breyer says that when his father was on his deathbed, his last words to his son were "Stay on the payroll!" Since then, the justice says, "I've always had tenure in jobs."
A Tissue With That Tear-Jerker
When Karyn Frist, wife of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, gives friends a copy of Love You, Daddy Boy, her heartwarming collection of daughters honoring their dads, she also includes a specially packaged stack of hankies. "I promise you," she tells us, "man or woman, after reading one chapter, their eyes well up with tears." Lots of tears: She had 1,000 packets made up.
With Suzi Parker and Liz Halloran
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