Political sticker

It never takes long for the wheels of political merchandising to spin in response to current events.

Not long after news broke that Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., had exchanged inappropriate e-mails with a teenage male congressional page, the following bumper sticker appeared for sale at www.cafepress.com.

Washingtonians help give bad language a documentary treatment

What could bring together prominent Washingtonians like ABC’s Sam Donaldson and “Miss Manners” Judith Martin, with national comics, entertainers and even porn stars Ron Jeremy and Tera Patrick?

The F-word, of course.

The king of all Anglo-Saxonisms is the subject of “F---,” a documentary that hits screens in New York and Los Angeles in November, and comes to the Landmark E Street Cinema on Dec. 1.

An exploration and glorification of the word, “F---” is an un-bleeped look at everything from the word’s etymology to its implications for the First Amendment.

Washington takes a key role in the film thanks in part to Chuck Conconi of Qorvis Communications, the longtime Washingtonian scribe and a relative of one of the film’s producers.

When asked for possible interview subjects, Conconi hooked them up with Donaldson, Martin and former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.

What were the results? Pretty satisfying, according to the film’s trailer. We get to hear Donaldson say, “That word is a grand word.”

Miss Manners offers up the nugget that she’s “the only person left out there who is willing to take offense.”

Reached at her Washington home, she added that people who object to obscenities often excuse such language on the assumption that the offending individuals “don’t know how to express themselves. [But] they know how to express themselves very well and they mean to offend. The least you can do is act offended, so they don’t go any further.”

Vice President Dick Cheney’s recent exploits with the granddaddy of all curses is explored in a segment where Conconi states that “it is used more by politicians than anybody wants to admit to.”

Steve Anderson, who directed the film, says, “I’ve always loved words and I was always amused by the fact that the F-word can be used in so many different ways and in so many different contexts. … In movies,

‘f---’ has always been a supporting player. We’re giving ‘f---’ the starring role here.”

Among those sharing the screen time with the star are long-shot presidential and Senate candidate Alan Keyes, conservative radio host Dennis Prager, HBO’s Bill Maher, filmmaker Kevin Smith, singer Alanis Morissette and author Hunter S. Thompson, in his last on-camera interview.

“The language is sometimes so inadequate, any word that helps us express ourselves is useful,” Conconi said.

Motley Crue calls Dupont Circle home for two days

It wakes you up better than coffee: Seeing the members of Motley Crue, along with their roadies, bus drivers, bodyguards and significant others, taking over a hotel lobby at 7 a.m.

The notorious heavy metal-ers, in town for the Crue’s double-billed show with Aerosmith at Nissan Pavilion on Saturday, settled into the brand-spanking-new Hotel Palomar off Dupont Circle on Thursday morning for what appeared to be a two-night stay in the nation’s capital.

Despite the hour, bad-boy drummer and erstwhile reality TV star Tommy Lee managed to pull on a T-shirt befitting his public personality. It read: “I’d [expletive] me.”

We hear no reports of rooms being destroyed. Citing a no-comment policy, a hotel spokesman would not discuss the band’s stay or their T-shirts.

Yet is the new hotel giving the Four Seasons and the Hotel Monaco a run for their money in wooing celebrities to its rooms?

The boutique property, which had its grand opening only last month, has already attracted the stars in town for the Creative Coalition’s gala in early September, including diva Chaka Khan, who we’re told got an elevator locked down solely for use by her and her considerable entourage.

Talk about Republican infighting ...

Republican lawmakers aren’t afraid of duking it out with their own (See: immigration). And now their staffers seem to be taking the trend of party infighting somewhat more literally.

The setting was the Capitol Lounge on Friday night, where a swarm of overworked GOP staffers met, in desperate need of a drink.

It had been a stressful day for Republicans, as they had worked hard to authorize a 700-mile fence along the U.S./Mexico border before Congress adjourned for the elections. They also learned of the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., over inappropriate e-mail exchanges with a congressional page. As one spy put it, “It had been a bad day for Republicans.”

The stress found its way into the bar that evening, sources tell us, and around midnight, things got ugly between a handful of GOP staffers and operatives.

Punches were thrown, bodies were shoved and talking points were shouted that would make Zell Miller proud. “It was over political boy stuff,” said one source.

And that was just the first go-around. After the fight broke up, it took only 15 minutes before Round Two began and, that time, they even managed to upend a table in the process. A few were even kicked out of the Hill dive.

It’s all just good, healthy practice for the tough election battles that lie ahead in the next five weeks.

First lady gets a rose

Just two days after dedicating America’s National Garden at the foot of Capitol Hill, first lady Laura Bush is set to get a rose of her own today in a ceremony at the East Garden of the White House.

Saturday’s unveiling of the 3-acre plot caps a 10-year effort to establish a National Garden in Washington. It includes an expansive rose garden with eight classes of the flower in all colors.

White House officials are being tight-lipped about Mrs. Bush’s rose, which goes public at 10:35 this morning.

The big question: How will her rose measure up to Nancy Reagan’s rose, which boasts 5-inch, apricot-colored blooms?