Will The Palm erase Foley’s face?

Former Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., has long since left Congress, having resigned in disgrace over instant messages he sent to underage pages. But the representative’s caricature still lives on at downtown power spot The Palm.

You only have to venture a couple of feet inside The Palm’s front door on 19th Street to encounter Foley’s smiling, hand-drawn mug on your immediate right.

For the uninitiated, the walls of the steakhouse are covered with such drawings, which read like a “Who’s Who” of D.C.’s elite. A place on The Palm’s walls is among the city’s ultimate status symbols.

So what will become of Foley’s face?

“I don’t know,” longtime restaurant manager and caricature overseer Tommy Jacomo said.

“I haven’t decided yet. I’ve got other things to worry about right now.”

According to The Palm’s Web site, VIPs and regulars are asked permission to have their caricatures drawn.

They then submit an “8x10 color photo and a few different facial shots to their local management.

After a caricature is complete, the patron is asked to come in and sign his or her caricature.

The number of caricatures added each year depends on the clientele,” the Web site says.

There is some limited precedent for caricatures coming down. During the stormy marriage of late Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke, his wife Marlene’s picture would often come down when the two fought, then go right back up when they made up. And a few others came down during a renovation.

But don’t be so certain that Foley’s follies will get his mug plugged.

A caricature of a younger-looking Duke Cunningham, the former Republican congressman who went to prison this spring for corruption, still graces the restaurant’s rear wall.

Norton addresses pages in shadow of scandal

Del. Eleanor Homes Norton, D-D.C., met Tuesday with America’s new favorite special interest group: House pages. An office release said,

“Each year, the House Page School asks Norton to speak about the city where the pages will be living, studying and working for the next year.”

But, surprisingly, the recent Mark Foley scandal was not a primary topic of conversation during Norton’s visit (perhaps the mantra of “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” fits now more than ever).

“I wanted them to feel comfortable,” Norton told Yeas & Nays after the meeting. “I talked about the District of Columbia. ... I thanked them for continuing to do their work so well and for being the grown-ups in this situation. ... And I assured them that, in my view, the page program should not pay the price for any of this, because it had nothing to do with them.”

If politicians could travel back in time

Politicians already consider themselves to be somewhat other-worldly, so it should come as no surprise that the Library of Congress would have the temerity to host an event on “The Physics of Superheroes.” Although Congressmen everywhere were bummed that they were out of town for this how-to session, rumors were that Sandy Berger might show up to get tips from Invisible Girl on how to sneak out files without being seen.

Dr. James Kakalios was at the library on Tuesday to discuss his new book on superhero physics, and he had a stark reminder for Washington influence-peddlers. Channeling some serious Superman history, Kakalios reminded the audience that “the very first person that Superman roughs up is … a Washington lobbyist.”

GOP: We baited John Kerry into fateful statement

Sen. John Kerry’s statement in the 2004 presidential campaign that “I voted for it before I voted against” funding troops in Iraq may forever live in political infamy. And in the new documentary “ … So Goes the Nation,” Republicans contend the statement was the result of a political trap they laid for the Massachusetts Democrat.

Bush-Kerry Media Director Mark McKinnon said pressure from the left forced Kerry to ultimately vote against final passage of the bill. Anticipating a Kerry appearance before veterans in West Virginia, the Bush campaign aired a TV spot about it. McKinnon says when Kerry arrived: “It’s the first thing he’s asked about. So that’s in his head. So then he goes to speak to these veterans and we’re watching live from the campaign, so we’ve kind of set the trap, put the cheese in the trap. Kerry walks in and does exactly what we thought he would, which is try to defend himself against that vote in front of the veterans.”

As soon as the words came out of Kerry’s mouth, McKinnon said he thought, “Game, set, match.”

“We put that up everywhere,” he said.

Kerry spokesman David Wade tells Yeas & Nays: “So we made a mistake describing technical Senate procedure. George Bush made a mistake in invading Iraq. … What’s worse? It would all be great fun swapping political war stories with Mark McKinnon if too many Americans weren’t coming home without arms and legs because of all too real war stories.”

Speakeasy

“The Democratic plan would gingerly pamper the terrorists who plan to destroy innocent Americans’ lives.” – House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., in a statement Tuesday

By the numbers

$232: Amount raised by the Tom DeLay Congressional Committee in the third quarter of 2006

Kelly Mahon contributed to this page