Washington Whispers
She Was Their First Lady After All
It's been painfully long since Hillary Rodham Clinton spent time in Arkansas, where she once served as first lady, but the locals hold no grudges. The New York senator's visit there earlier this month came because Bill Clinton's stepfather died and there was a funeral in his childhood home of Hot Springs. But he wasn't the star of the show-she was. And we hear that in a very short time she won back the affection of the so-called Arkansas Travelers, who pledge to campaign door to door in early primary states for her just as they did for Bill in 1992.
The 110th: Diverse and Out of Uniform
Congress isn't just for lawyers and business types anymore. It's fast becoming home to former sheriffs, pages, Peace Corps volunteers, and blue-collar folks like meat cutters. Longtime Congressional Research Service Hill profiler Mildred Amer finds several firsts in the Democratic-controlled House and Senate. Such as: A record 90 women are serving in Congress; it's possibly the oldest ever, with an average age of 57; and it's home to the fewest-ever military men and women, with under 25 percent having served.
His and Her Meals for Bill and Hillary
Maybe that copresidency talk in the early days of the Clinton presidency wasn't so far off. New details from an unusual source suggest that the tag-team presidency even filtered down to the kitchen. Former White House pastry chef Roland Mesnier tells us that Bill and Hillary Clinton held his and her business meals: He morning confabbed to raise cash; she policy-lunched. "Our early impressions-that we were serving two presidents instead of one-were confirmed," he writes in the new All The Presidents' Pastries: Twenty-Five Years in the White House. More Clinton tidbits: The fave Christmas dessert is an "atrocious concoction" of Coca-Cola-flavored jelly served with black glace cherries; Bubba ignored his allergies and ate chocolate cake, barking, "I'm the president around here"; and Hillary used to don disguises to walk around Washington. Oh, and a hint to anybody serving sweets to the current first family: Laura Bush is sick of chocolate-covered strawberries, says Mesnier, who left in 2004.
Paul Bedard's blog is at www.usnews.com/whispers
With Dan Gilgoff, Linda Robinson, Angie C. Marek and Suzi Parker
advertisement
