Gossip Roundup: No Voodoo Here Edition
•Under the Dome: Sen. Jim Jeffords (I-VT)may hold his own solo convention "around the rhinoceros," which he has adopted because it is "stubborn and bullheaded." The location is "still up in the air.". . .Former Sen. Al D'Amatowas briefly blocked from entry onto the Senate floor as doorkeepers made a human chain;Senator Kennedyhad to intervene. [ The Hill ]
•Heard on the Hill: Chris Black,top advisor toTeresa Heinz Kerry,andB. Jay Cooper,longtimeBushally, are engaged; "We like to think of ourselves as the thinking person'sJames [Carville] and Mary [Matalin],"saysBlack. . .Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.)sucks face on the Jumbotron at aWashington Wizardsgames; "The crowd went wild" as the announcer said, "Way to go, Congressman.". . . Democratic strategists' No-CARB Diet in 2004 -No Cheney, No Ashcroft, No Rumsfeld, No Bush- is called No-CLASS by GOP aideStuart Roy. . . Baby born to Senate aide andKerryinsiderDavid DiMartinoat 3: 29 p.m. "Just in time for CNN's 'Inside Politics,'" he joked. [ Roll Call ]
•Lloyd Grove's Lowdown: FreshNeil Bushrevelations in the upcoming issue of Vanity Fair; email fromNeil: "We're almost out of money and I've lost my patience for being compared to my brothers, for being put down for my inability to make money, and tired of not being loved;" ex-wifeSharonto his lawyers: "I pulledNeil'shair out because I wanted to get it tested for cocaine, not because of voodoo;"Bush 41rejects her request for a $467,000 loan and tellsSharon: "Close the unhappy chapter withNeil,find a job, and look to the future, not the past." [ NYDN ]