Washington Whispers
Deal Maker Quayle's Latest Snow Job
Credit former Vice President Dan Quayle with getting former Bush Treasury Secretary John Snow to join the $18 billion private investment firm Cerberus Capital Management. Insiders say the two go back 20 years and are longtime golfing partners. They tell Whispers it was the former veep who brought Snow to the table where he sits in the chairman's seat. What once was a sideline for Quayle when the firm managed just $4 billion has become his main job, and he's now one of the firm's leading dealmakers. We hear he played a major role in its investment in GMAC. Snow will play a similar role: opening doors and making deals.
Muslim Music to Pray, and Shoot, To
In a bow to realism, the Sixth Annual International Sniper Competition at Fort Benning, Ga., is taking a page out of the real-life situation troops face in Iraq every day. For the contest taking place October 28, the U.S. Army Sniper School will include a few urban stress scenarios like blaring Muslim prayer music, exploding smoke grenades, and bloodied mannequins. "In some cases we've broken the head of the mannequin," says sniper school boss Capt. Kenny Crowley. "You've got some pieces of skull laying on the ground and fake blood." Crowley says the special effects make the contest realistic for spectators. Thirty teams from the United States, Canada, England, and elsewhere will compete to take the title from the Arkansas National Guard.
It's OK, Mom's With the President
If there's another terror attack on Washington, we know one mom who won't make it home: Bush terrorism czar Frances Townsend. "I don't worry about it. We planned," she says. Like other West Wing moms, she crafted a disaster plan with her two sons and hubby based on the expectation that she'll be with the prez, not at home. Her message to her sons: "They shouldn't worry about me because I'm trying to help the president fight the bad guys."
Like Grandpa, Like Granddaughters
Add a new name to the political dynasties of Bush and Clinton: Cheney. Recall that when Vice President Dick Cheney hit the campaign trail in 2004, he and his wife, Lynne, sometimes showed up with their grandkids in tow. Well, the kiddies got hooked. We know because earlier this month, when daughter Liz Cheney drove by the veep's residence at the U.S. Naval Observatory, one of her daughters urged Mom to turn in so they could see "Grandma" and "Grandpa." Liz sped on, explaining that the grandparents were out of town campaigning. "What?" barked one of her daughters in disappointment. "Without us?"
With Anna Mulrine
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