Gossip Roundup: Taking Credit Edition
•Reliable Source: Bill Clinton's childhood home available for sale on eBay.Gennifer Flowersloses two court fights, one seeking to prove she was defamed byCarvilleandStephanopoulosand one attempting to show she'd been the victim of a retaliatory audit. More aboutJohn Podhoretzthan you ever wanted to know (porn name: Broadway Pickle). [ WP ]
•Heard on the Hill: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)snaps during a strategy session: "I just don't understand what the problem with the door is!" [ Roll Call ]
•Inside the Beltway: David Letterman: "John Kerrymade a remark. He said a lot of world leaders want him to be president. Then theBushadministration said, 'Yeah, well, like who?' And thenJohn Kerrysaid, 'Well, I really can't say.' So now they're really hammeringJohn Kerry.The only name he could come up with: Queen Latifah.". . .Bush 41was worried about the war lacking an exit strategy andJeb Bush,who is planning an '08 White House run, has a "difficult relationship" withW.,according to new book. [ WT ]
•Inside Politics: Commerce Secretary Don Evans: "Some of you may have even heard from that fellow of a different political stripe who looks French but claims to be an Irishman. I guess there's an election coming up this year."Kerry: "I did send a memo out to my staff today reminding them that green beer is not a health food." [WT ]
•Page Six: Jockeying for Treasury Secretary begins. IfBushwins re-election, his old palStephen Schwarzmanof the Blackstone Group seems likely while formerTimesreporterSteven Rattnerhas a shot ifKerrywins. [ NYP ]
•Rush & Molloy: In December,Al FrankenconvenedJim Kelly, Eric Alterman, Hendrik Hertzberg, and Arthur Schlesinger Jr.to meet withKerry. SaysFranken: "I told him I'm taking credit for the turnaround. He said, 'I knew you would.'" [NYDN ]