There were cigarette girls passing out smokes, chocolates and even condoms. There were bottles of vodka on the tables courtesy of sponsor Grey Goose. There were fishnet-clad dancers, sporting handcuffs and police hats, gyrating on a pole.

And there, somewhat incongruously, were the Bush twins, hanging among a preppier enclave in the far corner of the club.

The scene was the “Broken Resolutions” party, a celebration of vice at the new Play Lounge on Connecticut Avenue on Saturday night.

Belying the Reliable Source’s recent characterization of Barbara as “trampy,” she was attired in a sexy yet perfectly tasteful sequin-trimmed tank top as she sat sipping her cocktail. Jenna, ever the wild one, was spotted standing — some say dancing — on the sofa.

Play owner Sherif Abdalla said he doesn’t comment on any guests at the club.

Even the twins’ Secret Service agents wanted to fit in: The pair’s security detail, perched around their group’s tables, abandoned its usual business suits and ties and opted for clubbier attire.

With their resolutions now broken, we wonder what the twins will be giving up for Lent.

Diaz-Balarts invite defection by Cuban ballplayers

In the wake of the Treasury Department’s controversial decision to allow the Cuban baseball team to play on U.S. soil, Reps. Lincoln and Mario Diaz-Balart (both R-Fla.) are encouraging the athletes to defect while they are here.

The World Baseball Classic, to be contested in March, is the first multinational baseball tournament, akin to soccer’s World Cup. Cuba will open its play in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but the highly regarded team, which won the Olympic gold medal in 1992, 1996 and 2004, stands a good chance of advancing to play in San Diego in later rounds.

That didn’t sit well with Treasury, which decided, along with the State Department, that granting the Cuban team a license would violate existing sanctions against the communist country.

But, after further negotiations and threats from some of the participants, Treasury granted Cuba a license Friday that it said upholds the spirit of the sanctions.

The Diaz-Balarts, whose family fled Cuba when Fidel Castro assumed power, were quick to pounce, expressing “disappointment” with the decision and encouraging the Cuban players to defect.

“Although it will be difficult to evade Castro’s agents, I hope and encourage the Cuban players to defect from that terrorist regime and seek asylum and freedom here in the United States,” said Mario.

In a separate release, Lincoln added that the “Bush administration’s lamentable and unfortunate decision today will permit the Cuban totalitarian regime to utilize a sporting event for propaganda purposes. … I will be ready to assist any Cuban player who decides to seek freedom in the U.S.”

Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.), like the Diaz-Balarts a Cuban-American from South Florida, is traveling this week and could not be reached for comment. But Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), long a critic of America’s Cuba policies, praised Treasury’s decision.

“I’m glad that the U.S. government has realized that it hit a foul ball by denying Cuban baseball players the opportunity to play ball in America,” he said. “This new decision is a much better reflection of the great country we are.”

Hollywood all-stars to put Wilson’s story on silver screen

A bevy of Hollywood heavyweights are lining up to bring the story of former Rep. Charlie Wilson (D-Texas) to the screen.

Tom Hanks has signed on to play the lead role in “Charlie Wilson’s War,” the movie version of the best-selling 2003 book by George Crile about the womanizing, drinking, anti-communist congressman who worked with the CIA to supply arms to the Afghans in the 1980s.

According to Variety, Julia Roberts is in talks to play Texas socialite Joanne Herring, who helped persuade Wilson to support the Afghan rebels against the Soviets. It would be Roberts’s first role since 2004’s “Ocean’s 12.”

Well-regarded writer Aaron Sorkin penned the screenplay, and Mike Nichols, of “The Graduate” fame, is set to direct. Nichols and Roberts worked together on “Closer.”

He served under five Speakers, starting with Sam Rayburn (D-Texas), and helped hundreds of reporters cover the House of Representatives during more than four decades before retiring in 1986, but Benjamin West is becoming a familiar face in the Capitol again.

West, who got his first job as an electrician’s helper in the Capitol in 1942 and later spent 20 years as superintendent of the House Daily Press Gallery, has been working with the House Office of History and Preservation to research a history of the press galleries.

“I’ve been popping in and they seem to marvel at my memory and recollection,” West said last week as he paid his first visit to the Senate Daily Press Gallery since 1986.

West, who lives in Cheverly, Md., would not name his favorite of the five Speakers he served under: Rayburn, Joe Martin (R-Mass.), John McCormack (D-Mass.), Carl Albert (D-Okla.) and Tip O’Neill (D-Mass.).

“I liked every one I had the privilege of serving,” he said, adding that he knew two of them — McCormack and O’Neill — more personally than the others. 

West paid his first return visit to the House Daily Press Gallery last October when he greeted Superintendent Jerry Gallegos, whom he hired in 1969.

West, who will be 80 in December, credited his longevity to his daily golf games. “I’m a lethal 16 handicapper,” he said, “but an honest one.”

Larson: Mum’s the word, please

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) has had enough of press leaks, and he let his colleagues know about it in a letter that was leaked to The Hill.

In a missive discussing the race to become vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, Larson explains why he’s not making his list of supporters public. “Many of you believe ... far too much of what goes on in the caucus works its way into the press,” Larson wrote. “Our contention is the vice chair race is an internal matter to the caucus, and we are committed to keeping it non-public and among the members.”

“In the final analysis, this race will not be won via the press; it will be the acknowledgement of our peers in a secret ballot,” he continued.

Larson faces Reps. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) in the Feb. 1 vote.

New bio guide: Cheaper than we thought

When we broke the story last week of the impending release of the new Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, speculation had the price of the 10-pound volume running as high as $250.

Turns out it’s much cheaper: only $99, according to the Government Printing Office (GPO). It can be ordered from the GPO superintendent of documents, at bookstore.gpo.gov.

But if you can’t spare the cash (or the shelf space), the guide will be available free online at www.gpoaccess.gov.