WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) -- Capital Comment -- News notes, political rumors, and important events that shape politics and public policy in Washington and the world from United Press International.
Worldwide reach -- Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris may now have one of the most recognizable faces in American politics. A group of visiting parliamentarians from Mongolia, she reports, recently attended a meeting of the state Cabinet, interrupting a round of introductions to exclaim, "We know you! CNN!" The Republican Harris currently is in the midst of preparing a campaign for a Florida congressional seat.
Leaks and scandals go hand in glove -- the corridors of power still are buzzing over the identity of the "close associate of Mr. Rove" who laid out the so-called relationship among presidential counselor Karl Rove, Georgia GOP Chairman Ralph Reed and Enron for New York Times reporter Richard L. Berke.
On the basis of information from the unidentified insider, Berke wrote a story that a reasonable person could take to mean Reed got a no-show job from Enron, leaving him free to politic for Bush, something all involved deny.
Nonetheless, the story is politically damaging and a number of people want to know who the leak was. Some suspect a former John McCain political operative is spreading the story, though that person -- whom we will not name -- denies telling it to Berke.
There is another name that keeps popping up -- a person who is a better fit for Berke's description and has an ax to grind after being pushed aside. This not-too-prominent Washingtonian politico usually is identified as someone who is very friendly with reporters and always happy to aid the press.
Not worth the paper it is printed on? -- U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., has gone back on the pledge he made to voters when first running for Congress. In 1996, Tancredo promised he would only serve three successive terms in office. Tancredo's about-face is even more significant because he was, before coming to Congress, a leader in the state's term limits movement. Tancredo says he no longer believes in term limits because they do not work as proponents had hoped they would. Sources inside the Colorado GOP say the move should have little impact on Tancredo's prospects for re-election.
Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map -- It looks like it may be another set back for the GOP as a plan to redistrict Alabama's congressional districts makes its way through the legislature. According to a plan that is likely to be signed into law by Democrat Gov. Don Siegelman, a number of black precincts would be moved from the safely Democrat 2nd Congressional District into the 3rd Congressional District, which incumbent GOP Rep. Bob Riley is vacating to run for governor. Such a shift likely would move the seat out of GOP hands.
Out and In -- William Galvin, the Democrat secretary of state for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, has abandoned his bid for governor in exchange for a campaign for re-election to his current office. His move leaves five Democrats in competition for the right to face GOP Acting Gov. Jane Swift in November: former Democratic National Committee chairman Steve Grossman, former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich, Senate President Thomas Birmingham, former state Sen. Warren Tolman, and state Treasurer Shannon O'Brien.
Get me off of this thing -- Blanquita Cullum, the president of the National Association of Radio Talk Show Hosts, whose program is carried by the Radio America network, wants scandal-plagued U.S. Rep. Gary Condit, D-Calif., to remove a flattering quote from Cullum from his Web site. Cullum says the comment was made "pre-Chandra," when most conservatives thought Condit was a pretty good guy. Circumstances, she says, have changed.
Strange bedfellows -- Former Reagan White House Deputy Chief of Staff Michael Deaver attended the Conservative Political Action Conference Friday to sign copies of his new book, A Different Drummer: My Thirty Years with Ronald Reagan.
Longtime conservatives noted Deaver's presence with amusement. In the Reagan White House, Deaver was frequently seen as a foil of those encouraging the president to take a more conservative stance on public policy issues.
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