In recent weeks there have been several high-profile and high-dollar political fundraisers in D.C.: “Dubya” held court at the Republican “Gala 2000,” The President partied with 12,000 at his “blue jeans and barbecue bash,” and the GOP members of congress hosted their “Prelude to the Presidency” event which raised soft money for House and Senate races. People contribute big bucks to go to these dinners — from $1,000 to $250,000 and more — and they relish the take-home “goodie bags” filled with souvenirs and give-aways from the events’ sponsors. Supporters at the GOP House-Senate Dinner left with “Nuts About George” peanuts (compliments of a Texas company), a “Prelude to the Presidency” T-shirt, a Martina McBride CD, and one of Disney’s latest videos, “Tarzan.” The Walt Disney Company was listed as a Vice Chairman of the event (usually a six-figure donor) but there must be something wrong in the house that the mouse built — or maybe they really don’t like the GOP. One guest removed the shrink-wrap from the “Tarzan” video to find a “Damaged/Defective” slip from K-Mart attached to the video box. The secret is out-of-the-bag — Disney was passing their returned goods off as a premium give-away to GOP loyalists. Seinfeld calls it “re-gifting,” others may call it “dumping over-stocked merchandise,” and some call it “plain cheap.” But to make matters worse, the video wasn’t damaged or defective, merely returned with the “described defect” of “songs dreary.” A double-whammy to this hand-me-down from Disney.
Joel Klein, head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, and leader of the government’s battle to break up Microsoft, surprised PBS’s Jim Lehrer at a party in Georgetown the other evening — and won a dinner in the process — when Lehrer offered him a challenge: does he know the difference between a Palm V and Palm VII.
Politics isn’t all showbiz. Even pols, getting nipped and tucked for the campaign trail and wanting to squeeze every last dollar from a supporter, might be shocked to learn that Broadway actress Elaine Stritch was hired to do a voice-over recently and submitted a $1,500 bill for hair and make-up.
Actor John Schneider’s young daughter took a liking to Gen. Colin Powell when they had dinner before the Memorial Day concert in Washington. Schneider — who once drove the “General Lee” — explained to his daughter that Mr. Powell was a General. And the unassuming former head of the Joint Chiefs asked her: “Are you impressed?”