Washington Whispers
Back and Looking at the Bright Side
It's been a tough year for former CNN anchor Daryn Kagan. First, she broke up with conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh. Then CNN-without even telling her why-didn't renew her contract after 12 years. Is she down? Nope. The 43-year-old is so high on life she wants to help others see the glass as half full. How? On November 13 she launches darynkagan.com, filled with inspirational stories, video, audio, and eventually books. "The theme of the site is to show the world what's possible. But it's not as simple to say it's happy news," she says.
Kagan hatched the idea long before CNN dropped her, and it took off right after. But first she had to buy her website. Problem was, somebody already owned the name; a Web domain firm told her, "Lady, you're screwed. It's called cybersquatting." Undeterred, she decided to test out her theory on the squatter. "What is this website about anyway? Is it about love or hate?" she asks. "It's about good, positive things happening in the world. So let's try." An E-mail and 15-minute call later, she got it for nothing. Equipped with an Apple laptop, she has her site almost ready to go. Stories are put in 10 "buckets" like "Half Full," "Never Too Late," and "Love." Naturally, the cynics have sneered at her, but Kagan shrugs them off. "It really started as something for me," she says of the ad-supported site. "One of the things I believe is, create what you seek. If you want inspiration, then create that."
A New York State of Mind?
Sorry, Denver, but the Big Apple is back in contention for the 2008 Democratic National Convention. Of the two finalists, pols thought that Denver offered a better chance to woo the Midwest and mountain states. But now we hear that party bigwigs are seriously sizing up New York City, probably because it offers more hotel space and transportation. Likely 2008 candidate New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton would benefit most: Her commute from Chappaqua to Madison Square Garden is just 37 miles.
Job No. 1: Fixing Public Schools
Sen. John Kerry isn't the only rich guy campaigning against the woes of education. But Microsoft's Bill Gates and KB Home's Eli Broad, along with their combined foundations, are doing it with more diplomacy and fewer insults. We hear that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Broad Foundation have teamed to make public education the "it" topic in the 2008 race. And the big-time philanthropists are doing it in campaign style, with ads in Iowa and New Hampshire that begin right after Election Day. Their pollster, Frank Luntz, tells us that the nation is hungry for a solution to poor schools and would welcome a push to force all 2008 candidates to present a fix-it plan.
For the Last Time, He's Not Running
Some days it must be pretty frustrating to be New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Consider: Despite repeatedly saying he won't run for president, the press continues to speculate that he will. For the record, this is what he tells us about his future after leaving office: "I can tell you virtually to the minute what I'm going to do. I am going to run a foundation. I just, two days ago, closed on a building that's going to house the foundation. I set up the legal structure of the foundation a week ago. I've already made some grants in an antitobacco campaign that hopefully will save a lot of lives around the world. So ... I'll spend a lot of time working on philanthropy." Also, he says he'll keep Bloomberg News, but "I will never go back to running it." He'll also travel. "I just had a lunch with Walter Veltroni, who is the mayor of Rome, who I've known for seven years-and we have a lot in common." He'll also butt out of N.Y.C. politics. "I think mayors, like presidents, should respect their predecessors and just leave them alone, even if you violently disagree."
It Looks as Though Girls Really Do Rule
Feminists hopeful of an election blowout this week want to replace that old T-shirt slogan "A Woman's Place is in the House And Senate" with something simpler: Girls rule; boys drool. Ellen Malcolm, head of the Democratic-women-focused EMILY's List political action committee, says 2006 should be the year women break through the political door and get ready for a march to the presidency. Expecting a House Democratic takeover, Malcolm says the elevation of Rep. Nancy Pelosi would ease voter concerns about women in top jobs. "Having Nancy Pelosi as speaker of the House is going to send a very wonderful lesson to the American public that women can be strong, they can be tough, they can be effective, and they can lead this country."
Whom Do You Like? Bloggers vs. Rove
Political bloggers finally get a chance to prove whether they're as good as White House election guru Karl Rove. A new site, predict06.com, has set up election pools for some of the most popular blogs to make their election predictions. While the bloggers as a whole believe the Democrats will take the House but not the Senate, liberal Daily Kos sees a Democratic sweep while conservative Redstate sees only GOP majorities. But partisanship has its limits. Even Daily Kos users are going with Independent Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman over Democrat Ned Lamont.
The Quayle Choice: a Youth Thing
Scoff all you want, but we've always had a soft spot for maligned former Vice President Dan Quayle. See, his was our first big national campaign to cover, and he always had good barbecue on his jet. But we're still learning why former President George H. W. Bush picked him. Thanks to Doro Bush Koch's new book, My Father, My President, we find out from Bush and Quayle that it was strictly a youth move. "I wanted somebody young," says Bush. Quayle says, "I don't think your dad's told anybody how it came down to [former Sen. Bob] Dole and myself, but that's my guess. It was a generational choice. I've always compared it to what Eisenhower did in picking Nixon."
With Alex Kingsbury and Will Sullivan
This story appears in the November 13, 2006 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.