Gossip Roundup: ‘A Bit Shaky’

• Reliable Source: Tipper Gore at the premiere of “An Inconvenient Truth”: “It ends with a message of ‘we can do it.’ [Al] doesn’t want people to go from denial to despair.” Moby, Lynda Carter, and Queen Noor were in the audience… Euan Blair is reportedly deciding between Yale and Harvard graduate programs… Ted Kennedy, Mary Cheney, Barack Obama, Tim Russert, Gary Hart, Pat Buchanan, Ariana Huffington, Karenna Gore Schiff, Cindy Sheehan, and Jim McGreevey are all making appearances at BookExpo 2006… Sean Penn to play Richard Clarke in upcoming film. [WP]
• Rush & Molloy: Halle Berry on Barack Obama: “I so love what he stands for and respect him so much that when I met him, I was a bit shaky.” [NYDN]
• Cindy Adams: Chelsea Clinton was seen paying for her dinner with a “tall, lean dude.” [NYP]

READ MORE: Ariana Huffington, Barack Obama, Gary Hart, Karenna Gore Schiff, Personalities, al gore, an inconvenient truth, chelsea clinton, cindy sheehan, euan blair, halle berry, harvard, lynda carter, mary cheney, moby, pat buchanan, queen noor, richard clarke, sean penn, ted kennedy, tim russert, tipper gore, yale

Gossip Roundup: Who is a C-List Celebrity?

• Reliable Source: Selwa “Lucky ” Roosevelt raises $4m at “Fifty for Fifty Club”… Alberto Gonzales grabs lunch from Leesburg Pike Taco Bell. [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: Local pet owners told to be alert for coyotes… CNN invites Alex Trebek to the White House Correspondent’s Association dinner. [WT]
• Rush & Molloy: Paul Haggis, the director of “Crash,” is making a film of Richard Clarke’s “Against All Enemies.” [NYDN]

READ MORE: Personalities, against all enemies, alberto gonzales, alex trebek, coyotes, paul haggis, richard clarke, selwa roosevelt, taco bell, white house correspondents dinner

Wonk’d: An Amusing Adrian Fenty Story

Sightings of George Stephanopoulos, national security experts-slash-novelists, and fake newsmen are sent in by readers. Send yours to . Remember: The bar is low. In this issue: Clinton, Stephanopoulos, Feinstein, Stein, Friedman, Russert, Clarke, Lott, Holmes Norton, Colbert and our favorite submission in recent months, which we will now quote in full: “I saw Hugh Downs pulling onto the GW Parkway in McLean last weekend. He was making a left. Yeah, I know how to party.” Also, an amusing Adrian Fenty story at the bottom, sort of worth it.

Sightings continue after the jump.

READ MORE: adrian fenty, bill clinton, george stephanopoulos, hugh down, richard clarke, stephen colbert, tim russert, tom friedman, trent lott

Gossip Roundup: Laura’s Pottery Barn Rule is 5 Min

• Reliable Source: Laura Bush makes quick trip to Georgetown Pottery Barn… Oprah spotted at D.C. L.A. D.C. gym. [uhm…yeah.] [stupid gym name.]. . Readers try to decipher Richard Clarke’s fictional characters. [WP]
• Cindy Adams: Barbara Streisand reportedly turned down Kennedy Center Honor in anti-Bush move… Jeanine Pirro thought to leave Senate race on December 12th. [NYP]
• Rush & Molloy: Jeb Bush is “flattered” by Fidel Castro’s fat joke. [NYDN]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Howard Stern on Iraq: “We give Saddam Hussein a nice shave, hand him back his old uniform, and put him back in office… This guy was unbelievable.” [NYDN]

READ MORE: Oprah Winfrey, Personalities, Personalities, barbara streisand, fidel castro, george w. bush, howard stern, jeanine pirro, jeb bush, laura bush, richard clarke, saddam hussein

Daily Briefing: ‘A Lot of Girl Talk’

• ‘06 brings anxiety for Republican candidates about their prospects; Elizabeth Dole faulted for weak performance as chairwoman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Analyst: “Is it poor recruiting or a bad environment? Probably both.” [WP, LAT]
• Specter questions Miers’ qualifications; Bush says she “has excelled at everything she has done.” 27 GOP senators have expressed skepticism. [WP, WSJ, NYT, LAT, WT]
• Brownstein: “Bush picked Miers because he felt strong, not weak… Bush bypassed a long list of prominent federal judges who are known quantities to the conservative movement, but just names on a page to him. Instead, he picked someone who is a known quantity to him, but barely a name on the page to them… Bush simply overestimated their willingness to defer to him.” [LAT]
• High-level single women in the administration have formed informal social network; Miers has “a lot of girl talk” with Rice. [NYT]
• Republicans worry about a White House without Rove. [WSJ]

READ MORE: 2006, Democrats, Republicans, SCOTUS, White House, arlen specter, condoleezza rice, elizabeth dole, george w. bush, harriet miers, karl rove, louis freeh, medicare, pakistan, richard clarke, ronald brownstein

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