Wonk'd: If a Playful Moment Turns Into the Right Moment, You'll Be Ready
We were going to write a scathing intro about the importance of Wonk'd and our deep sadness at the paltry sightings we've been getting lately, until someone sent a nice juicyGeorge Bushtip this morning. So there's that, plus a haggardKen Mehlman, an indiscreetHarriet Miers, a myopic (in more ways than one)Tom Friedman, Mr. Mayor-for-Life,andyour favorite "member" of Congress, below the fold.
A dutiful and fast acting operative saved the day today, but that doesn't let any of you off the hook. We still need all your emails (with "Wonk'd" or "Sighting" in the subject line) to power this little bit of reporting here. It's not just for us -- you can get a lot of mileage from a solid famous-for-dc sighting. Breaking out the old, "guess who I saw today..." to your mom will have her thinking you've really made it. Or try it on your boss, who'll think you know something she doesn't. Hell, even use it at the bar, instead of the same tired-ass, "So what do you do?" It works much better, we promise.
How about the big fish himself, POTUSGeorge Bushand his entourage at the CVS on Thomas Circle @ 11: 15 AM today (!), 10/20. Seriously, CVS? I guess The President doesn't like sending his staff out for refills of Cialis. I wonder if they made him stand in line in what is undoubtedly the crappiest CVS in Washington.
While attempting to drive down U Street this afternoon [10/13], I was paying careful attention to my surroundings so as to avoid getting stuck behind too many non-signaling drivers, moving vans, and the myriad other blockages that plague U Street in the early afternoon. Having made it almost 2 1/2 blocks without stopping, I was fairly pleased with myself. However, when I approached the Vermont Ave. intersection both lanes came to a halt. The cause: Eleanor Holmes Norton, inexplicably stopped in the middle of the intersection, evidently enjoying the bright fall sunshine in her cherry-red late-model German convertible (personal tags: "D C"), with the top down. Fortunately she realized the trouble she was causing and pulled out of traffic onto the SE corner of U & Vermont before the traffic jam became too immense.
Ken Mehlmanwas hanging out at Bistro du Coin in DuPont at about 8: 15 on Saturday [10/14] night. He was drinking at the bar with a bunch of people. He didn't look good - really tired and his face was kind of saggy, but can you blame him?
Monday (10/16) I sawTom Friedmanleaving an optometrist's office in downtown DC, a couple of blocks from the Times' office. I didn't think to ask him whether the world still looked flat.
On Wednesday, October 18th at about 4: 15 PM, at the Farragut Square Metro heading toward Virginia , I was waiting on the platform with a woman who looked slightly familiar. At first I assumed I knew her from my office building, but within a second, I realized by her height and hair that it could only mean one thing: White House Counsel and failed Supreme Court nomineeHarriet Miers. Just to make sure it was her, when the train came, I sat behind her and as soon as she settled in her seat, she whipped out some printed emails that said, "MIERS, HARRIET" in bold type across the top. Thanks Har! I assume she was heading toward National Airport (though she probably calls it "Reagan").
I got out of jury duty Thursday [10/19] and was walking to the Judiciary Square Metro stop when a 50-something Asian businessman turned to me and said "Isn't that the mayor?" I looked in the direction in which he was nodding, expecting to see a bald head and bow tie. Better --Marion Barryhimself, clad in a suit, was sitting on a wall. That lead to this exchange:
Asian businessman: What do you think he's doing here?
Me: Seeing how there are a slew of courts around here, I can think of many reasons.
AB: Didn't he get busted with a hooker and then claim he had a sex addiction?
Me: I think so.
AB: But we're all addicted to sex. Some of us can just handle it better than others.