Harris’s ex-chiefs brush off Palm Beach Post blog attacks 

Senate candidate Rep. Katherine Harris (R-Fla.) isn’t the only one facing criticism.

Three of her former chiefs of staff were attacked in a Palm Beach Post blog last week: media consultant Adam Goodman and lobbyists Dan Berger, senior vice president of Government Affairs at the National Association of Federal Credit Unions, and Benjamin McKay, senior vice president for federal government relations at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America.

In one entry a reader states that “Harris is to blame for not having her A-team on board helping her.” Another entry asks for the Post to question Harris’s ex-staffers and see if they will endorse her Senate candidacy.

Still, another entry refers to the three aides as “A-holes that got Harris elected in the first place and kept getting her elected and reelected to bigger and more important positions.”

McKay thought the blog entries were funny, but not entirely. “On one side it’s a backhanded compliment,” he said.  “On the other, it’s people who want to be angry. I don’t consider being called an A-hole any kind of compliment whatsoever. I’m not that narcissistic or naïve. It’s a blog, you take it for what it is. Our job was to get her elected. We did it.”

Berger  was similarly unfazed. “First of all, I’ve been called worse by better,” he said. “I think it can be read either way. You can read it as a compliment. You can read it as a pretty good slam. It’s a blog and it’s politics. You’ve got to expect this kind of stuff.”

As for getting Harris elected and reelected, he said, “We gave it 110 percent and we all did it four times.”

Berger and McKay are not a part of Harris’s Senate campaign but both said they support her candidacy.

Adam Goodman, president of the Victory Group, a Tampa-based Republican political media consulting firm, remarked, “I think the blog is hilarious. I think I can speak on behalf of Dan and Ben in one respect, that Katherine was very ably served by people who cared about her success. It’s unfortunate for her that all of those players have left the field.”

 The trouble with being the other Weldon

Confusion reigns when one Weldon is mistaken for another.

Rep. Dave Weldon (R-Fla.) bears no relation to Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) being investigated by the FBI for helping his daughter, Karen Weldon, secure lobbying contracts.

The two Weldon congressmen don’t look alike — the Pennsylvanian is plump with white hair, the Florida Weldon slim with curly brown locks.

But constituents are easily confused, and some have been calling to find out if Dave Weldon is the focus of scandal.

Kurt Heath, his spokesman, said he doesn’t believe the scandal has blighted his boss’s name. “We’ve had a couple of calls from people just wanting to be clear about which Weldon is the focus of current attention,” he wrote in an e-mail.

He doesn’t entirely deprecate the power of a name, and says it might be hard right now for an unknown called Foley to run for Congress. It sure might.

“We regularly get calls from people who think they’re contacting Curt Weldon’s office. So, historically we answer the phone noting that this is Congressman DAVE Weldon’s office.”

Rep. Curt Weldon’s spokesman John Tomaszewski did not return calls for comment.

 Harvard unstuffed

New, hip magazine brings Ivy League grads together

It’s not 90210, the show that put Shannen Doherty, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley and Luke Perry on the map, but 02138 is putting the lives of Harvard graduates in the spotlight.

It’s a magazine named for the Harvard zip code, and many of the alumni it features are political insiders and politicians serving in Congress.

The magazine’s launch party took place in Georgetown last night at the home of David Bradley, chairman and publisher of Atlantic Media, which owns Atlantic Monthly and National Journal.

The debut issue includes a special section called “The Harvard 100,” listing the most influential alumni. Those who made the cut include blogger Andrew Sullivan (#43), George Bush (#2), Chief Justice John Roberts (#5), Fox News’s Bill O’Reilly (#10), Massachusetts Democrat Sen. Edward Kennedy (#16), Al Gore (#20), President of Americans for Tax Reform Grover Norquist (#40), and possible presidential hopeful Illinois Democrat Barack Obama (#50). Topping the list was (somewhat obviously) Bill Gates.

The list includes the number of Google hits for each grad. Obama cashed in with 2.58 million, and 90,400 for “Obama for President.” Kennedy beat him with 3.9 million hits for “Ted Kennedy” and 456 for “aging senator.”

 Wax on, wax off: Capitol Hill spa hosts man-o-lantern chest and back hair contest

Hairy male aides have something to look forward to this Halloween.

Skin Beauty Lounge, 404 1/2 Eighth Street, SE, will hold the contest tomorrow from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., at which time staff will offer free wax hair removal treatments on a maximum of eight contestants. Contestants needed to e-mail in their own “non-obscene” photographs of themselves and an idea for a back or chest hair design. If they have no idea, Skin will provide a design for them.

The best Man-o-Lantern design wins a $300 skincare treatment package that includes a stress-relieving massage, a “ManSkin” facial, a sports pedicure, a skin-care kit, a “40-Year-Old Virgin” DVD and a Kelly Clarkson CD.

For more information about Skin Beauty Lounge, visit www.skinbeautylounge.com.

 
Michael J. Fox in ad for McCaskill

In an astonishing campaign ad for Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill, who is running for Senate against Republican incumbent Jim Talent, actor Michael J. Fox says a vote for McCaskill is a vote to protect stem cell research. He cut a similar ad for Senate Democratic Maryland hopeful Ben Cardin.

In the ad, which first aired last Saturday evening during Game 1 of the World Series, the effects of Fox’s Parkinson’s disease are more visible than in many previous public appearances.

On McCaskill’s campaign website, which features the ad, an accompanying text states: “Right now, Claire needs you to stand up for her so that we can air this important message from Michael J. Fox. Your contribution of $50, $100, $250 or more will ensure that Claire can compete against Jim Talent’s enormous cash advantage.”

Some blogs are questioning whether Fox went off his medication purposely to make the commercial more dramatic.

Adrianne Marsh, McCaskill’s spokeswoman, said, “I’m sure this is a matter of questioning the credibility of a good person. He [Fox] did a series of interviews with us several weeks ago and it was unfortunate his condition was the same then.”

The ad was made in Manhattan. “Michael J. Fox was responsible for all the content, so we know he was speaking from the heart,” said Marsh. Fox’s organization, the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, did not return calls seeking comment on the commercial.

In his memoir, “Lucky Man,” Fox writes about the “thrill ride” of going on and off the medication: “I feel like I’m dangling from a coat hanger that has been surgically implanted under my skin in the muscles of my back, wedged between my shoulder blades.”

The Talent campaign vehemently denied that the senator opposes stem cell research. “Claire McCaskill’s attacks are false,” said Talent spokesman Rich Chrismer.  “Senator Talent supports medical research including stem cell research that doesn’t involve cloning or destroying a human embryo.”

To see the ad, visit www.claireonline.com.