Safire, 75, wrote his final column — actually a whole page of columns — for the Times op-ed page Monday but said he doesn’t know who, if anyone, will take over the twice-a-week column he began 32 years ago. Times insiders say Safire turned down Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr.’s offer to succeed Daniel Okrent as the newspaper’s ombudsman.

However, Safire said Times Washington bureau reporter Tierney, right, is one of those frequently mentioned for the plum job, while other Times veterans suggested Tierney is favored by Sulzberger, who came down from Gotham for Safire’s farewell party at the Oval Room restaurant.

Marty Tolchin, a boyhood friend of Safire, former Times reporter and former publisher and editor in chief of The Hill, said it took courage for Safire to be a Jewish Republican conservative growing up on New York’s heavily Democratic West Side.

Safire, who will move a few blocks down I Street to become chairman of the Dana Foundation’s brain research initiative, joked that the presence of Sulzberger and Washington Post Co. Chairman Don Graham proved bipartisanship is alive and well in D.C.

Jenny 8 to be sued for destruction of party pad?

The ex-landlord of Jennifer 8. Lee, the New York Times reporter who drew attention for the parties she threw for well-connected twenty-somethings in her apartment while on assignment in D.C., says she intends to sue Lee for damage inflicted on the place during her tenancy.

Lee’s soirees were the subject of 2004 articles in the New York Sun and the Washington City Paper, which portrayed her as a junior version of the late Katherine Graham. Perhaps that was the problem.

Beth Solomon, owner of the 1,500-square-foot penthouse condo in the neighborhood of Shaw, is preparing to sue Lee in D.C. Superior Court for more than $60,000 for loss of use and damage incurred during Lee’s residency there from January 2003 to August 2004.

The $2,800-per-month rent included a fully furnished living room and fully stocked kitchen.

Among the damage alleged in the complaint is destruction of flooring, some subfloor areas and kitchen cabinets, resulting in full replacement; stains on wall-hanging artwork, rugs and all living-room furniture; a broken tabletop; damage to an heirloom baby grand piano; and missing kitchen items.

In addition to damage to the apartment and its furnishing, Solomon’s fellow condo owners complained about Lee’s parties, citing instances of beer raining “down onto us,” the walls of the building “shaking” due to the number of people in the building, and party guests relieving themselves wherever the spirit moved them.

Said one e-mail, “At every gathering there, you can anticipate that racket on their floor and upon the roof will ensue until 2:30 a.m., when sufficient noise and litter have been created to pacify themselves.”

Lee’s attorney, Larry Bank, said, “I think [Lee] is less responsible” for the damage than alleged. “I think Beth Solomon had existing conditions and she put them off on Jenny.”
After months of negotiations, the parties have reached an impasse and Solomon has taken a previous offer of a $20,000 settlement off the table.

Bank said he thought the previous negotiations were “fair and reasonable,” adding, “I guess she just wants her pound of flesh.”

Decision could spring Traficant early

The Supreme Court taketh away, the Supreme Court giveth. At least that may be the case for former Rep. Jim “Beam Me Up” Traficant (D-Ohio), who is serving eight years for bribery and racketeering.

Earlier this month, the court refused to hear an appeal from Traficant, who argued that he had been tried twice for the same crimes. But only a few days later, the court tossed out federal mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, which could open an avenue for his early release.

Former Ohio Supreme Court Judge Andrew Napolitano, who first raised the possibility on Fox News’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” told The Hill this week that “the Federal Rules of Court allow a defendant to ask to be resentenced if the laws that govern his sentencing have been changed” and if his appeals have not yet been exhausted.

If Traficant is resentenced, Napolitano explained, “he will undoubtedly receive a shorter sentence.”

Georgetown University law professor Paul Rothstein agreed that Traficant “probably has a good chance” to be resentenced, if the sentencing judge considered any factors subject to the Supreme Court decision.

Traficant’s attorney was having surgery yesterday and could not be reached for comment, and aides to Rep. Tim Ryan (D), who represents Traficant’s former district, would not comment on the possibility that Traficant might run for Congress again if he’s released. After all, he tried to do it two years ago from his prison cell.

Allen settles  football debt with Shelby with Va. ham

Sen. George Allen sucked it up and paid Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) yesterday after his home-state Virginia Tech Hokies lost the Sugar Bowl earlier this month to the Auburn Tigers.

Payment was a Virginia ham, which Allen presented in the Senate Radio-TV Gallery for maximum exposure. Shelby wagered a Bates smoked turkey in the event that the Tigers’ 16-13 victory had turned out differently.

One must wonder, however, how serious Allen was about pulling for Tech. After all, he holds bachelor’s and a law degrees from the University of Virginia, Tech’s biggest in-state rival.

Hollywood steering Glickman away from pretty people

Former Rep. Dan Glickman (D-Kans.) just can’t get no respect in La-La Land.

Speaking at a breakfast sponsored by The Hill last week, the Clinton-era secretary of agriculture said that following Jack Valenti as head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) is no mean feat.

When he got the job, he recalled, The New York Times ran a story comparing the two. “There was a picture of Jack with a beautiful and voluptuous Sophia Loren on one side of [the page] and yours truly with Senator [Robert] Byrd on the other side,” he said. “I could just tell that I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Glickman’s image didn’t improve at his first “big Hollywood soiree,” the Golden Globes earlier this month. “Once you’re there, you see all these people,” he said. “Oh my God, there’s Angelina Jolie, there’s Nicole Kidman. You can’t help but see all these beautiful people. They put me at the same table as Ernest Borgnine.”

We wish Glickman better luck at the Oscars.

So how did a former agriculture secretary get the MPAA job? “Popcorn,” he joked. “Popcorn is the tie between my old job and my new job.”

Inauguration vignettes

As inaugural week wound down, a host of D.C. VIPs braved the cold and the suburbs for a low-key party at pollster Frank Luntz’s house in McLean, otherwise known as theLuntz Museum and Historical Annex.

            Fanatical collector Luntz has added to his collection of historical and political memorabilia a motorcycle bedecked in the American flag “Easy Rider” style; a private letter from Robert F. Kennedy to Laurence Spivak, the original host of Meet the Press ; and campaign paraphernalia from the recent election in Ukraine, where Luntz consulted for new president Viktor Yuschenko.

On hand to see the new items in the collection were a newly resigned FCC Commissioner Michael Powell; Republican Reps. Don Manzullo (Ill.), John Culberson (Texas), Dan Lungren (Calif.) and Jim Sensenbrenner; and journalists Jim Pinkerton, Bill Schneider, Eleanor Clift, Jonathan Karl, Ron Brownstein and Carl Cannon.

            Frank Coleman and David Ozgo of the Distilled Spirits Council were kind enough to bring several high-end whiskies for the crowd to sample.

***

As the only living person who knows what it’s like to be sworn in as president for a second time, Bill Clinton can easily identify with George W. Bush.

            “I know exactly how he feels on this day,” the former president told The Hill after watching his successor take the oath of office last week. “I remember how it felt in 1997 – totally different from the first one.”

            The 57-year-old Clinton, who is recovering from heart surgery, looked gaunt and tired as he walked through the majestic Capitol Rotunda with his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.), But he brushed aside pundits who say Bush has a short window to get things done before joining the exclusive club of the four living ex-presidents.

            Declaring that his last year in office was among the most successful of his second term despite being impeached in December, 1998, Clinton said, “I just don’t buy all this lame duck stuff. You’ve just got to show up for work, you know?”

            Clinton added, “I thought the whole ceremony was very nice. I was glad to be invited.”

***

Another former president who also has a pretty good understanding of the rhythms of presidential service and an even better understanding the current occupant of the Oval Office, offered a succinct assessment of President Bush’s Inaugural Address.

“He did extremely well,” former President George H. W. Bush, said as he departed the Capitol after the post-Inauguration luncheon in Statuary Hall with his wife Barbara and their twin granddaughters, Jenna and Barbara.

            And what was his son’s message to the nation and world, the president’s father was asked.

“The message,” he said proudly, “was freedom.”

***

The second most visible figure at the Inaugural ceremony, next to President Bush, was Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who as chairman of the Rules Committee, was in charge of planning the swearing-in ceremony.

Lott, who was Majority Leader when Bush was sworn in four years abut was forced to step down because of the furor over his praise of the late Sen. Strom Thurmond’s (R-S.C.) segregationist past, acted as the ceremony’s emcee.

Lott introduced the president and ailing U.S. Chief Justice William Rehnquist, who administered the oath of office. But Lott erred in calling Rehnquist “the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court.” Rehnquist is chief justice of the United States , period.

Lott’s central role in the historic occasion, which one observer described as a consolation prize for having lost his leadership position, was evident in two other ways, one positive and one negative.

Sitting directly in the front row was a group of school children from Hattiesburg, Miss. , who Lott had invited as his guests.

But Lott came under criticism for failing to prevent a snafu that caused many people, including VIPs and members of the news media, from receiving credentials to allow them access to the ceremony. The extra-tight security measures were blamed for the problem, along with Lott.

Lott was far more visible than his successor, Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) or House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), even though Hastert administered the oath of office to Vice President Cheney, a former cooleague in the House.

***

Mississippi ’s senior senator, Thad Cochran (R) will be almost as visible on the legislative front next month as Lott was at the Inauguration. The new chairman of the Appropriations Committee will be handling the Bush administration’s request for as much as $100 billion in supplemental appropriations to pay for the war in Iraq, and billions more for tsunami relief aid.

While he wouldn’t discuss any dollar figures, Cochran said  he expects the Iraq request to come up on Feb. 7. “We will give it careful consideration,” he said. “I want to help the president keep his promises.

            As for the Jan. 30 elections, Cochran said, “We should look at the progress being made and build on it. But I think we should withdraw our troops sooner rather than later. Americans should be supporting the effort to wind up the war as soon as possible.”                    

***

Sen. John Warner (R-Va.) called the president’s tone “serious and confident” and expressed the hope that his speech will further the cause of bipartisanship.

            Asked about the upcoming Iraq elections, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee declined to make any predictions. “I’ve said I’m not going to express an opinion about what constitutes success or failure, but the fact that they’re being held at all is a very hopeful sign.

            He singled out three countries – Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan — as “emerging nations,” adding, “If Bush can provide a measure of democratic for all three, then he will have achieved one of the greatest undertakings any president could hope for.”

***

The Montana delegation was conspicuous for its sartorial splendor. Sens. Max Baucus (D) and Conrad Burns (R) and Rep. Dennis Rehberg (R) all showed up wearing splendid full-length canvas dusters, similar to those worn by drivers of vintage automobiles, along with cowboy boots and spurs. The trio wore the same outfits at Bush’s first inauguration. Another Westerner, newly-elected Sen. Ken Salazar (D-Colo.) also stood out with his black cowboy hat.

***

Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz said Bush’s speechwriters relied heavily on a recent book co-authored by Natan Sharansky, an Israeli former Soviet dissident and political prisoner who currently serves as minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs.

            Kyl said “three or four ideas were lifted right out of the book, “The Case for Democracy: The Power of Freedom to Overccome Tyranny and Terror,” adding, “This is what Bush means wheh he says we will be far better off the more freedom other people enjoy in the rest of the world.”

            Kyl, who visited Iraq, who visited Iraq at Thanksgiving and the Middle East last week,  said the U.S. faces “some really hard problems” in Iraq , especially in training Iraqi police forces. But he said his sense is that the coming elections “will be another nail in the coffin of the terrorists, who are walking over the dead bodies of a lot of people.”

***

The spirit of bipartisanship that was evident at the Inauguration probably won’t last much longer than the Inauguration itself, especially when the Senate holds confirmation hearings on the president’s judicial nominees, according to Senate Judiicary Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-utah).

            “Awful, just awful,” Hatch said after the Inaugural luncheon when asked about Democratic threats to block some of the nominees. “Once a nomination hits the floor, that person should have an up or down vote,” he said. “We can’t allow that kind of obstructionist behavior.”

However, even if Bush doesn’t get some of his judicial nominees confirmed, Hatch is convinced he will have a high place in the history books.

“I think he’s going to wind up as one of our great presidents,” Hatch said. “He’s not afraid to make tough decisions and he’s willing to stand up on tough issues. He believes that liberty is the destiny of the United States. That’s what’s made this country great.”

***

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), one of a handful of senators who have been noticed by the mythical Great Mentioner as possible presidential candidates in 2008, was effusive in his praise of Bush’s Inaugural Address.

            “The speech projected George Bush’s view of the world,” he said. “He was very clear about where he wants to take America. It was appropriate and uplifting. I thought he defined his objectives very well, using the theme of liberty and personal freedom.”

***

Former President Bush recognized an old friend from the media as he exited the Inaugural lunch. Bush went out of his way to take a detour to the press area in the Rotunda to warmly greet ABC and National Public Radio commentator Cokie Roberts.

***

Reporters who wanted to hear the reaction of Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) to Bush’s speech were out of luck.

            The chairman of the Finance Committee literally ran through the Rotunda, clutching his scarf and overcoat, telling reporters, I’ve got to catch an airplane.”

***

Sen. Edward Kennedy’s (D-Mass.) wife Vicki was navigating the halls of the capital in a wheelchair and part of the time on crutches following surgery for a badly twisted ankle.