Wonk’d: Do You Know Who I Am Edition

Today’s Wonk’d brings us Hu Jintao, guarded like the superpower leader that he is, and Chris Rock — also being guarded, but maybe for different reasons. Jenna Bush and friends were seen, shockingly, waiting their turn in line, but the guys from Franz Ferdinand had ladies waiting in line for them. Media elites Tucker Carlson and David Gregory, ignoring high gas prices, were fillin’ ‘er up. Also spotted: Chelsea Clinton, hiding behind the latest fashions; R. Kelly, trying to get himself in more trouble; and John Ashcroft, ACTUALLY TAKING THE METRO. We deliver what we promise, plus so much more, after the jump.

We love our tipsters and all your hilarious tips, so please keep sending them to us via email, with “Wonk’d” or “Sighting” in the subject line (along with the name of the spotted celeb). Thanks!

READ MORE: Media, Personalities, alex kapranos, bobby jindal, charles krauthammer, chelsea clinton, chris rock, connie chung, david gregory, donna brazile, franz ferdinand, gwen ifill, haley barbour, hu jintao, jenna bush, joe scarborough, john ashcroft, ken mehlman, maury povich, nick mccarthy, president hu, r. kelly, rachel brand, trent lott, tucker carlson, wonk’d

Remainders: Leaps and Bounds

• Deep in the bowels of his fortified bunker, devilishly wringing his hands, Hu Jintao channels his best evil scientist: “Yes, yes, my plan is working perfectly.” [Peking Duck]

• Whatcho gwon do Karl? When dey come for you? [Firedoglake]

• If Tony didn’t want the job, an audio loop would have worked just as well. [Opinions You Should Have]

READ MORE: Funny Pictures, Remainders, White House, china, hu jintao, indictments, karl rove, president hu, tony snow

While We Were Sleeping

Dick and Condi were, too. Photos from last week, when Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the White House:

Sorry for not blogging about this earlier! Guess we were asleep at the blogging wheel. Or maybe we were just “looking at our notes.”

(The Condi photo, by the way, lends support to the rumor that our superwoman Secretary of State occasionally naps at her desk.)

Also in the “we-meant-to-blog-about-this-last-week” file: the paparazzi shots of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bare butt (or, as the British tabloid The Sun referred to it, her “Bumdestag”). Photographers grabbed the shot while Chancellor Merkel changed into her bathing suit.

(After the jump, a not-safe-for-the-workplace photo of the German rump parliament. WARNING: Before clicking on the “More” button below, make sure your boss isn’t around.)

President Hu’s White House Visit [AFP/Getty Images]
ASSleep with the Fishes [PerezHilton]
Should Cheney Be Next? [Froomkin!]
Merkel’s Long, Strange Honeymoon [Newsweek]

READ MORE: Funny Pictures, White House, angela merkel, butts, condi, condoleezza rice, dick cheney, hu jintao, president hu

Remainders: You Grooving Washington? You Grooving?

• We definitely think the fact that it was a grenade and some weed is the funniest part. [The Boston Channel]

• If you listen really close, just before the music starts, you can hear that little Bush giggle; it totally ties the melody together. [Huffington Post]

• They’ve got it all wrong, there’s nothing strange about having an Iran-Contra arms dealer and discredited intelligence asset around, they’re the ones with the best jokes. What else are you gonna do sitting in a duck blind all day? [Raw Story]

• Oh please, just let the starving janitors die already, it’s obvious that Donna Shalala is the one who’s really good at cleaning up. [Star Tribune; NYT]

• For today’s installment of depressingly obvious metaphors, you need look no further: [Attytood]

READ MORE: Corruption, Remainders, bush, depressingly obvious metaphors, dick cheney, donna shalala, drugs, hu jintao, huffington post, huffpo, iran, iraq, president hu, university of miami

Daily Briefing: When ‘Lunch is Just a Lunch’

• 53% disapprove of Bush in WP-ABC poll. Two-thirds complain about gas prices and a majority think the administration can reduce them, painting “a portrait of national frustration with the direction and leadership of the country, which, if not reversed in coming months, is likely to color the environment for next year’s midterm elections, putting incumbents in both parties on the defensive.” 52% think Bush should meet with Sheehan; Democrats and independents are disappointed by their leaders. [WP]
• Reagan library finds thousands of Roberts-related documents; officials rush to sort them out before next week’s confirmation hearings. [NYT, LAT]
• Bush decides to tap oil reserves; returns to Washington to orchestrate response to Hurricane Katrina. [WP, WP]
• Oil prices likely to pass $3 a gallon this weekend. [WP]
• Incomes have not grown in five years and the poverty rate has increased to 12.7%, the Census Bureau reports. [NYT]
• Bush compares Iraq war to WWII: “They will fail, because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of totalitarian ideology made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees.” [WP]
• Administration has drafted rules that weaken environmental oversight for power plants, allowing for the release of more pollution. [WP]

READ MORE: White House, china, cindy sheehan, environmental regulations, george w. bush, hurricane katrina, iraq, jesse helms, john g. roberts, meth, oil, polls, poverty, president hu, richard clarke, war on terrorism