Will Democrats work out more?

Now that Democrats are in the majority, they better start looking the part.

And now that they’re getting used to flexing their political muscle, it looks like many are trying to improve their real muscles by heading to “the official gym of the House of Representatives” — Gold’s Gym on Capitol Hill (Hill staffers can work out there for as little as $13.95 per month). It’s the place all those saggy, weary Capitol Hill bodies go to get that Aeron chair-mold out of their derrieres.

Since the November elections, there has been a noticeable increase in foot traffic at Gold’s. “The gym is packed!” a three-year member of Gold’s Gym tells Yeas & Nays. “After over a decade of hibernation, Democrats are full of energy!” (Of course, it could just be Republicans hoping to get in shape to minimize a Democratic beating.)

Gold’s Gym confirms that interest in the facility has spiked since November, and they expect a completely full house come January.

But although Gold’s Gym may welcome the new faces, Republican regulars may not be so keen to pump iron next to their political opponents.

“At first, I was confused why there were so many new and out-of-shape bodies at the Gold’s Gym,” our source tells us. “Then I put it all together: an ACLU T-shirt; a ‘Firemen for Kerry’ hat; Boston College shorts. The Democrats had even taken over my gym! Bowflex has never looked so good.”

This GOP source notices that, during Republican congressional rule, all of the heavy weight machines were frequently busy; now, it looks as if Democrats prefer the treadmill (Republicans would likely spin it to suggest that the gym helps Democrats get “cut” and “run”).

Fortunately for the gym’s independent members, it doesn’t look like any major brawls are going to break out over which news station Gold’s Gym features on its televisions: The relatively “safe” choice of CNN’s Headline News is the news station offered.

Go ahead, make my case

Let’s put Al Gore and Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., in a room and see what happens. Inhofe, one of the country’s most noteworthy global-warming skeptics, also happens to chair the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

Wednesday, he held a hearing into the media’s portrayal of climate change. Highlights included a “New York Times-line,” which noted some of the paper’s 20th century headlines, which seem to alternately warn of global warming and the next ice age.

Standing in for Gore on Wednesday was Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who accepts the theory of climate change.

“There is a lot of groupthink on this, and I thank Sen. Boxer for making my case for me,” said panelist Dan Gainor of the free market watchdog group, the Business & Media Institute.

Inhofe quickly echoed, saying to Boxer: “I agree with Mr. Gainor on Sen. Boxer. Your exhibits make my case.”

But Boxer would have none of it. “We have a chairman who says this is all a hoax,” she said. “I think everything I’m saying has merit. There is consensus here.”

Cooling their heels for the Dems

Are Democrats tardier than their Republican counterparts?

Whatever its faults, the Republican House leadership under majority leaders Tom DeLay and John Boehner was known for running a tight ship with its weekly pen-and-pad briefings.

But things might become a bit looser as power changes hands. Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was 45 minutes late for a meeting with the news media Monday.

Then on Tuesday, Democrats convened in the Cannon Caucus Room for a set of policy briefings. A promised 11 a.m. news conference never happened, and another at 12:15 p.m. got underway eight minutes late.

“It’s like they’re on Democrat time,” said one observer. And so, another term is coined.

Reid: ‘Vindicated’ by Iraq report

Among other things, the Iraq Study Group gave Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the combative minority leader who will become majority leader next month, some ammunition in his war of words with President Bush.

When asked Wednesday whether the group’s report makes him “feel vindicated,” he offered a one-word answer: “Yes.”

Reid also informed reporters at a Democratic news conference that they would be getting much from Silent Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., the incoming chairman of the Intelligence Committee. “You won’t be seeing him holding press conferences about what goes on in that committee,” said Reid.

But during the presser, who was that outside the ropes, leaning over reporters to hear better? Why it was Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the current Armed Services Committee chairman, apparently trying to get some intelligence of his own.

Think tank

“What was the first thing President Bush likely said after reading the Iraq Study Group’s report?”

“Heckuva’ job, Study Group.”

– Danielle Jones, The Hotline

“All things considered, I’d rather be reading Camus.”

– Norman Ornstein, American Enterprise Institute

“ ‘Not!’ And then he and Karl collapsed into a fit of giggles, muttering ‘how’s your boy’ and snorting.”

– Ana Marie Cox, Time.com