Washington Whispers
School Boss's Fear: Failing Jeopardy!
When the dream invitation from host Alex Trebek's team came in last spring to play Celebrity Jeopardy! Education Secretary Margaret Spellings was wildly happy-and equally worried. What if she bombed? Worse: What if she failed against the Hollywood stars she'd face? Couldn't happen, she vowed, scrambling to set up Jeopardy! study halls and prepare notebooks the likes of which she hadn't seen since graduating from the University of Houston. Spellings's biggest concern? Music, movies, and TV. "I was a little worried about pop culture categories like TV and movies," she confides to Whispers. "Fortunately, I had two teenage daughters helping me do my homework-a nice change for them!" Good thing: In her taping this month for the show being broadcast in November, Elton John was one of the categories.
More help came from her staff, who looked up past categories for strategy and trivia tips. "We helped her on everything from Shakespeare to Broadway musicals," says one. The chatty Texan took care of the charm, gabbing with Trebek about their shared Ukrainian heritage. Now, Jeopardy!'s rules block us from revealing the results, but rest assured, her charity choice, ProLiteracy Worldwide, got a nice check. That's because she didn't get skunked. "She was happy she didn't come in last," says a pal. Or in Jeopardy! form: What is relief, Alex?
The Newtster's New Friends at 1600
The Newt Gingrich for president buzz is back, and we're hearing it from a rather odd corner of Washington: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Top Bushies tell us that they think the former disgraced House speaker would make a great president. Gingrich thinks big, they say, and represents the old Reagan-style of smaller-government conservatism. As for his past marital infidelity, they think it's a nothing-burger, especially if he faces Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose hubby had his own problems she'd rather forget.
Now Pinch-Hitting for...Paul Harvey
Add successful radio host-and Paul Harvey fill-in-to former Sen. Fred Thompson's leading roles. The Watergate investigator turned Hollywood star turned senator and now Law and Order prosecutor turned up on ABC Radio last week during the first of two weeks he's taking over for Harvey. We had to ask: Is it as easy as Harvey makes it sound? "No way," says the folksy Thompson, whose wife is about to deliver their second child, a son, any day now. "He's the master. It's like pinch-hitting for Babe Ruth." Naturally, the news and comments during his two shows daily are laced with politics. But the Tennessee conservative avoids partisanship. "It's not," he says, "like what I say when I go out to raise money for my Republican friends."
For the Record, Dean Hates Fox
Just in case you're wondering if Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean attended the Fox News Channel anniversary party last week, the answer is simple. No way, no how. "I happen to despise Fox News because I think they're nothing but the propaganda arm of the Republican Party," he tells us. But he doesn't hate everybody there, even the Fox News Sunday host who recently grilled Bill Clinton on Iraq. "Let me just go on the record as saying I happen to like Chris Wallace. Let me just do that," he says.
Don't Say No to the Lady With the Dough
Here's just one hint why nobody should be taking seriously the talk in some Democratic circles that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi might be pushed aside for a moderate speaker should the party retake the chamber in three weeks: She's a money machine who has raised over $50 million this two-year election cycle and over $100 million since getting the top House Democratic post four years ago. She did it the old fashioned way: logging 19-hour days leading to Election Day.
Why Katie's Not All Bad for Old Bob
When Katie Couric pushed Bob Schieffer out of his CBS Evening News anchor chair, it wasn't all bad for the newsman. That's because it brought him back to Washington from New York, clearing the lone hurdle to his induction this month into the exclusive Gridiron Club of national journalists. "He's probably the most popular journalist we have," says the club president, John Hall of Media General. Hall jokes that the notably off-tune Schieffer is a perfect match for the club known most for its annual political skits. "He'll fit right in because he can't sing." Also inducted: retiring Greenbrier Resort President Ted Kleisner as an honorary member. The club holds winter meetings at the West Virginia hotel.
Playing for Time on North Korea's Nukes
He's already overseeing two wars, so does Gen.Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, think he's got enough left to take on North Korea? Well, yes and maybe. Yes, he says, there are more than enough troops, when you figure that about 200,000 are in the Middle East, leaving some 2 million on tap. But since the precision systems like Predator drones are being used in Iraq and Afghanistan, just the "brute force" of a massive bombing campaign would have to do the trick. "You'll end up dropping more bombs potentially to get the job done," he says. Thankfully, he adds, "there's a lot more diplomacy to take place."
A Long, and Wet, Way From Iraq
The long road to recovery for many Iraq and Afghan war vets turns out to be a wet-and fun-one for some. We hear that one popular program has vets kayaking down the Potomac River and training in swimming pools. And now Team River Runner is winning White House support. Rob Portman, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, has volunteered, and former White House spokesman Scott McClellan is helping to expand the program in Texas. Even New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, author of the hit book The World Is Flat, has contributed cash.
With Will Sullivan and Anna Mulrine
This story appears in the October 23, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.