Washington Whispers
When God Speaks, Tom Vilsack Listens
To tell the truth and shame the devil, newly minted presidential candidate Tom Vilsack's top issue of energy independence is a snoozer. Yes, yes, of course conservation, energy usage, and fuel supplies are superimportant, but it's a tough opener for the outgoing Iowa governor, who's expected to face Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Barack Obama, and other Democratic superstars in 2008. That is, until he cites God's endorsement. It's right there in his church bulletin.
In two interviews, he says energy security trumps partisanship. For proof, he pulls out a tattered copy of the October 7-8 bulletin from Des Moines's St. Catherine of Siena that lists several conservation tips. "My God," he says, "this has the opportunity to unite the country." A little homework found that even local evangelical ministers were preaching energy security. "People take this notion very seriously that God has given us this gift and we have this responsibility to extend that gift," he says.
He can thank Al Gore and Sister JoAnne Talarico, the church's office manager, for the endorsement. She tells us that after St. Catherine's showed Gore's global warming movie An Inconvenient Truth, she started putting tips in the bulletin. "It would be nice," says Sister JoAnne, "if it would become a real issue." How can Vilsack thank her? Send the church some energy-saving tips of his own. "I think I've run out of all I had," she says.
A Second Act in Cyberspace
Tom DeLay's back, this time on the Internet. Friends tell us that the powerful former House majority leader, dubbed the "Hammer" for his tough persuasion tactics, this week unveils TomDeLay.com, where he'll blog-DeLay's Daily-on newsy issues and build a coalition he's calling Grassroots, Action, and Information Network. Sources said the right-leaning Texan will give GAIN members insider information on the conservative movement and urge them to step in on key issues. And Democrats need not apply: His site will have a way to filter them out.
Getting Mushy in His Fine Old Age
Those weren't tears of pain former President Bush shed last week during a tribute to his son Jeb, Florida's outgoing governor. Just the opposite. Family friends say the old guy is getting more emotional and has been prone to joyful crying jags when bragging on his kids. And-bless his heart-he doesn't try to stop it; he just lets the tears pour out. His buddies tell us that Bush, 82, also gets weepy when discussing the importance of his family and the blessings he has enjoyed throughout his life. "He has always been an emotional guy," says a pal.
What's Wrong? Don't You Trust Us?
"Oh, no you won't" is the reaction of cops and other first responders to an almost rude FBI decision to ask its Joint Terrorism Task Force members to take a lie detector test. To the FBI, it's a smart move: Since 9/11, the task force of federal and local officials has expanded to some 1,500 in over a hundred offices nationwide. But to some members it's a slap, and something that could hurt their careers if the polygraph-whose accuracy is widely questioned by scientists-burps out an error. Joining local cops in opposition are agents with the Homeland Security Department's Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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