Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) may not be the only 2008 Democratic presidential primary candidate whose staff covered up an extra-marital affair. According to a new book out this week, then-Sen. Hillary Clinton's (D-N.Y.) did, too.
An excerpt posted at The Atlantic from "Game Change," written by reporters John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, describes a "war room within a war room" at the Clinton campaign made up of Hillary's closest aides, tasked with investigating rumors of infidelity involving Clinton's husband, former president Bill Clinton.
Bill Clinton has admitted to having at least one extra-marital affair with former White House staffer Monica Lewinsky, but rumors of infidelity have dogged the former president through much of his career.
While much of the gossip in 2008 reportedly turned out to be false, the authors write that, "The stories about one woman were more concrete, and after some discreet fact-finding, the group concluded that they were true: that Bill was indeed having an affair -- and not a frivolous one-night stand but a sustained romantic relationship."
From that point forward, the authors claim, those staffers who knew about the relationship lived in constant fear of it being discovered.
Despite their success at keeping the affair under wraps, Clinton ultimately lost the Democratic nomination to President Barack Obama.
The book doesn't name the woman, although tabloid reports in mid-2008 alleged that Clinton was romantically involved with woman who lived near the couple's home in Chappaqua, N.Y.
President
Barack Obama called Minority Leader John Boehner on Sunday to offer
condolences for the death of Boehner’s longtime aide, Paula Nowakowski,
according to aides familiar with the situation.
Devastated,
Boehner announced earlier in the day that his 46-year-old “longtime
chief of staff, trusted aide and friend” died on Saturday night.
Leadership aides tell The Hill that the Michigan native died unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack.
“We
will remember Paula as she would want to be remembered -- as a tireless
worker, faithful friend, rabid Detroit sports fan, whip-smart
strategist, warrior for freedom, and devoted Catholic who counted
President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II among her greatest
heroes. She will never be replaced, or forgotten,” Boehner said in a
statement issued shortly after noon on Sunday.
Boehner’s close
circle of aides who have worked with the leader since his early years
in the House were stunned to learn of Nowakowski’s death.
“Words
cannot adequately express the sorrow and disbelief I and every member
of our team are grappling with today in the wake of this stunning
news,” Boehner said of his powerful staffer, well-regarded by Democrats
and Republicans for her ability to be fair and fervent love of the
House of Representatives.
Those sentiments were echoed by the
Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), in a statement
issued on behalf of the “entire Capitol Hill community.”
“As
Chief of Staff to Republican Leader John Boehner, Paula earned the
respect not only of her Leadership and Conference, but all House
Members on both sides of the aisle. Paula was a thorough professional
who loved the House and worked in a constructive and bipartisan fashion
to implement policies to help the Congress function efficiently,"
Pelosi said.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) weighed in on behalf of the upper chamber Republicans late Sunday.
"Paula
had some of the finest qualities a public servant can have: she was
committed to advancing the cause of freedom, she cared deeply about the
people she served, and she was a patriot. On behalf of her
Senate colleagues, I pass on my condolences to her family, Leader
Boehner and his staff, and the whole House family for this tragic loss
of our friend."
Nowakowski, a well-heeled GOP operative, started
working with Boehner in 1995, after the House Republicans regained
control of Congress for the first time in 40 years.
Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said that the office would send out details on a memorial for Nowakowski as they become available.
Catherine Eugenia "Jean" Biden, the mother of Vice President Joe Biden, died Friday at the family's home in Wilmington.
Jean "passed away peacefully," with her family at her bedside, the vice president said this afternoon.
"At 92, she was the center of our family and taught all of her children
that family is to be treasured, loyalty is paramount and faith will
guide you through the tough times," the Bidens said in a statement. "She believed in us, and because of
that, we believed in ourselves."
"Together with my father, her husband
of 61 years who passed away in 2002, we learned the dignity of hard
work and that you are defined by your sense of honor," they continued. "Her strength,
which was immeasurable, will live on in all of us.”
Both Biden and his wife, Jill, returned to Wilmington earlier this week upon learning the vice president's mother was "seriously ill."
The
family did not release additional details at that time. Previously,
Biden's mom had been hospitalized in March after falling.
The
vice president said his family would announce services for his mother
in the coming days. The family also requested those wishing to express
sympathies to contribute in Jean's memory to the Ministry of Caring, a
hospice in Wilmington, or the Naomi Christina Biden Minority
Scholarship Fund at Archmere Academy, in Claymont.
Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) had his new Democratic colleague, Sen. Al Franken (Minn.), in tears with his singing.
Franken told HometownSource.com
that, earlier this year, a song written by Hatch about their late
colleague, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.), was so beautiful that it made
Franken cry.
Franken said that during his first week in the
Senate he'd invited Hatch, a longtime singer and lyricist, over to hear
some of his senior colleague's tunes.
“And the first one was
just a beautiful song sung by an old blues guy — Orrin doesn’t sing,”
Franken said. “And it was like a demo. Done very simply. But it was a
song about Teddy."
The song, which incorporated a sailing metaphor, sparked an emotional moment.
“I got a little bit — a little misty there,” Franken told the website. “And I just started to cry."
Hatch,
who was a close friend of Kennedy's in what was an unusual political
odd couple, delivered a eulogy for Kennedy during a memorial service
after the veteran senator died in August.
The moment led Franken
to help write a bridge for the song, which soon brought the pair of him
and Hatch to laughter, the Minnesota senator said.
A preview of the new play "HOPE-The Obama Musical Story," was staged in Offenbach, Germany this week, and judging by these photos and video, it looks like a rollicking good show.
The Broadway-style political biopic is sung in English, and all the major characters from the 2008 presidential race make an appearance, including (clockwise from top left) a scantily clad former Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin, a gospel-crooning Rev. Jeremiah Wright, former Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), and former Democratic candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) along with his wife, Michelle.
Even Michelle Obama's mother, Marian Robinson, has her own number.
The show seems like the perfect formula for a hit, at least in Europe: Germans are notorious musical-theater lovers, and President Obama enjoys approval ratings in Germany that far outpace his U.S. numbers.
"HOPE-The Obama Musical Story" will debut in Frankfurt, Germany on Jan. 17. In the meantime, check out this highlight video:
The Friends of the National Zoo are planning a goodbye party for D.C.’s favorite panda Tai Shan. The Associated Press reported that the four-year-old animal will be sent to China next month.
The agreement that allowed Tai Shan’s parents at the National Zoo called for any children they had to be returned to China for breeding purposes. The party will be held on Jan. 30.
Washington, D.C. is going to bump New York City out of the top honors for having the most expensive office rental market in the country this year.
With the recent move of Hilton to D.C. and now Northrop Grumman, many businesses, lobbyists and corporations alike are flocking to the city.
New York’s office vacancy rate climbed after Lehman Brothers collapsed in September of 2008, Daily Finance reported. Government’s growth and firms that associate with the government needing office space are direct examples of why D.C. is poised to become even more expensive.
The debate over full body security scans just got a lot more graphic, thanks to Democratic political strategist and frequent flyer James Carville.
Speaking on The Tony Kornheiser Show Friday, Carville laid out, or unzipped, his vision for airport security.
But the consummate talker couldn't help sharing too much information.
"Let me buy a [security] card, then go and measure my penis, and let me get on the airplane," he said.
Fortunately for travelers, and, one suspects, for T.S.A. agents, the scanners are designed to measure things like radiation and explosive levels -- not private parts.
But Carville isn't worried about his privacy: "I don't care. I'm up in the air all the time, like George Clooney," he said, referring to the Hollywood leading man's latest film.
The U.S. Olympic Committee will host a sports competition for wounded warriors this year, the first of its kind.
The Pentagon announced Thursday that some 200 wounded
members of the military and veterans will compete in the inaugural Warrior Games
to be held May 10-14 in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Events will include shooting, swimming, archery, track,
discus, shot put, cycling, sitting volleyball and wheelchair basketball (shown here being played by Marines this fall at the White House while President Obama looks on).
Army
Brig. Gen. Gary Cheek, commander of the U.S. Army Warrior Transition Command, made
the announcement at a Pentagon news conference on Thursday.
Athletes will be recruited from each military service,
including the Coast Guard, through an independent selection process, according
to the Pentagon’s news service. Competitors will train with Olympic and
Paralympics coaches at the Olympic training facilities in Colorado for about a
month before the actual competition.
The competition is open to military members and veterans
with bodily injuries as well as mental wounds of war, such as post-traumatic
stress and traumatic brain injury, according to the Pentagon’s news service.
The Army will send 100 soldiers chosen from a pool of almost
9,000 wounded warriors; the Marine Corps will send 50 competitors; the Navy,
Air Force and Coast Guard will send 25 each.
“While we've made enormous progress in all the military
services in our warrior care, … it's not enough,” Cheek said.
“And what we have to do with our service members is inspire
them to reach for and achieve a rich and productive future -- to defeat their
illness or injury to maximize their abilities and know that they can have a
rich and fulfilling life beyond what has happened to them in service to their
nation.”
