General Colin Powell turned “Dubya” down last week for the number two spot on the GOP ticket. Insiders say it really was his only ace in the hole.
Speaking of Republicans, their House-Senate Campaign Committee is having their gala fundraising dinner at the Washington D.C. Convention Center on Saturday, May 24th. Prior to Super Tuesday, they had no luck on drawing big name talent to headline the event, but now that George “W” Bush has locked up the presidential nomination, they’ve been able to secure country superstar Clint Black and his wife Lisa Hartman to top the bill. And there’ll be no talk of campaign finance reform at this event — the goal is to raise $10 million — nothing soft about that kind of money.
Political correctness woes surface once again in planning the Academy Awards telecast. Last year everyone worried about Whoopi’s mouth and what she might say about President Clinton’s scandal sagas (lucky for the Prez she’s a First Friend), and was abuzz about Monica hitting the after-parties with her film producer beau. This year Secretary of State Madeline Albright might have to be brought in by the Motion Picture Academy to smooth hurt feelings with…Canada? It’s likely not to go that far, but about the only unknown – other than the length of the show – on Oscar night is how the song with R-rated lyrics, “Blame Canada,” from the irreverent film, “South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut,” will be received. The Academy has booked Robin Williams to perform the song on the telecast, Sunday, believing he can get the message across and still have the broadcast considered family entertainment. Canadian pop vocalist Anne Murray turned down the offer because it conflicted with an annual “girls” golf outing. “Twelve old broads go on a golfing trip every year,” Murray told me, “this time to Spain. We play six games of golf in ten days, and the schedule conflicts with the Academy Awards.”
The Hollywood-DC connection is well established, but that isn’t enough for icon Michael Douglas . . . he is making a Hollywood-House of Commons connection in the homeland of his fiancée Catherine Zeta-Jones. He addressed the British Members of Parliament this week on the subject of nuclear proliferation, something to which he is familiar as he’s active with the Oxford Research Group, a key group behind the All Party Parliamentary Group for Non-proliferation and Global Security. Douglas was also the star and producer of the 1979 critically acclaimed film, “The China Syndrome,” that centers on an incident at a nuclear-power plant, and co-starred activist and actress Jane Fonda. Ms. Fonda will be making an appearance for the first time in about a decade at this year’s Oscars – talk about six degrees of Kevin Bacon!
More than a year since the death of her husband, King Hussein of Jordan, Queen Noor continues her humanitarian work that was a cornerstone of their union. She will visit D.C. at least twice in the coming months. In May she’s scheduled to attend an event for the American Friends of Tel Avi University, and in June she’ll address a conference organized by the Global Health Council.