Democrats said they had no time to relax during their two-and-a-half day retreat at the Kingsmill Resort & Spa in Williamsburg, Va., although they certainly looked like they did.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (Md.) looked like a distinguished country lawyer dressed in a checkered dress shirt and sport jacket. Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.) wore jeans and funky sneakers on Friday afternoon when he spoke with a small gathering of reporters. Word is that aides told him to change into a button-down collared shirt from a turtleneck. Majority Whip James Clyburn (S.C.) donned a sweater from Dr. Cliff Huxtable’s closet.

During President Bush’s speech on Saturday morning, lawmakers wore everything from shirts and ties to fleece jackets and sport shirts.

Still, the lawmakers were in and out of meetings and luncheons Friday and all day Saturday. Hoyer said his only form of recreation on Friday night was taking his dog Charlotte for a walk before hitting the sack.

Friday night was a much different story. Lawmakers threw back a few drinks and danced late into the night.

By the end of the evening, most members and staff went to bed, leaving the 30-something working group of Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.), Hilda Solis (Calif.), Tim Ryan (Ohio), Melissa Bean (Ill.) (OK, they look 30-something!) dancing the night away. Reps. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.) and James McGovern (Mass.) were out there, too.

 Altmire blows whistle on ‘The Colbert Report’

Can you imagine a fake news show stretching the traditional boundaries of journalism? The horror! But it happens more than you might think.

When Rep. Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) and satirist Stephen Colbert did Florida State’s Tomahawk Chop last month on “The Colbert Report,” Colbert was not in Altmire’s Washington office as he said he was.

Instead, Altmire, a former football star at FSU, met Colbert in a New York City hotel to film the spot.

Altmire told The Hill that although the segment ran for three minutes, total taping time ran close to two hours. And, the lawmaker added, Colbert snaps in and out of his Stone Phillips-Bill O’Reilly character during the taping. If something does not work or runs too long, Colbert will move on to something else.

 The HBO-Al Franken conspiracy theories

Comedian-cum-liberal talk radio host Al Franken should find out next year whether he’s good enough, smart enough and how much the voters of Minnesota like him. In the meantime, HBO is either playing off his announcements or displaying some eerie timing in offering viewers a look back at perhaps his most popular comedic character.

On Jan. 29, the same day Franken announced he was leaving his Air America radio show to explore a possible bid against Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), HBO began offering “Stuart Saves His Family” on demand.

The 1995 comedy reprises Franken’s effeminate self-help addict character, Stuart Smalley. The film is also showing several times per week on HBO’s various channels for the next month-plus.

Two days after the film began airing, news broke that Franken would run. But it appears he hasn’t learned from all the self-help ramblings of his famed character, because he has yet to confirm the news.

 Making nice, continued

Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) attracted a lot of headlines late last year when he sent a letter to his constituents that was critical of Rep. Keith Ellison’s (D-Minn.) planned use of the Quran during his swearing-in ceremony.

Soon thereafter, Goode and Ellison met and the controversy subsided.

But Goode is going the extra mile, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, which reported late last week that Goode has accepted an invitation from an interfaith group to attend a Muslim gathering.

Goode insists his acceptance of the offer from FaithfulAmerica is nothing to get excited about, saying, “I’ve been to Hindu gatherings, I think a Buddhist gathering; I go to anything that’s in my district, and even outside.”