Gingrich studying up on the opposition?

Has Newt Gingrich caught the Barack Obama fever?

Phil Kiver was working at the Borders bookstore at Dulles Airport recently when Gingrich purchased Obama’s latest book, “The Audacity of Hope.” When Kiver gave his own opinion of Obama to Gingrich — “I don’t think he’s going to become president” — Gingrich responded by explaining, “That’s why I’m reading his book.”

Also, Gingrich isn’t the only VIP to swing by the Dulles Borders recently: Ever the salesman, Kiver even convinced actress Renee Zellweger to purchase a copy of his own book, “182 Days in Iraq,” when she came into the store.

Presidential announcements: Mind your days of the week

According to his sister, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., will make his presidential intentions known next month. If he’s going to take the plunge, look for his announcement to happen on a Tuesday.

Last time we went through this, in 2004, the last three men left standing in the Democratic primary — Sen. John Kerry, Mass., former Sen. John Edwards, N.C., and retired Gen. Wesley Clark — all announced on a Tuesday.

What’s the secret? “It’s not a simple answer,” Democratic strategist Jack Quinn says.

Quinn said if he were in charge, on a Monday, “I’d make a first mention of my interest. On Tuesday, I would say I’m thinking about it. On Wednesday, I’d roll out on an exploratory committee. On Thursday, Barack Obama and Rudy Giuliani will announce that they’re backing my bid. On Friday, I’ll let it be known that I’ve raised $25 million. On Sunday, we’ll have a big announcement at my high school with the marching band.” Of course, he adds, they’d all be different weeks. “The idea is to build the excitement,” he said.

Closer to the date, said Quinn, “We want to keep in mind what’s going on in the sports world and business world. We don’t want to have a lot of competition in the newspaper.”

“The only thing we want to avoid is any [announcement] being on Saturday,” he said.

True to form, we could only find one candidate since 1980 who announced on a Saturday. His name: George W. Bush.

In fact, few announcements have been made on a Friday, either. Since 1980, we could only find three instances of candidates announcing on a Friday. Two were in 1996 — Phil Gramm and Bob Dole — and we know how well those campaigns went. The other was just six days ago, by former Wisconsin governor and HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson.

‘Black card’ makes VIPs feel golden

Now that the new downtown supper club Posh has been open for a couple of months, Washingtonians want to know: Just which local VIPs were lucky enough to get one of the 200 exclusive “black cards” that affords the holder instant VIP access?

Yeas & Nays has obtained the list, and Washington’s privileged people include Redskins running back Clinton Portis, D.C. Council Member Jack Evans, AOL founder Jim Kimsey, Rep. Mary Bono, R-Calif., Democratic consultants Heather and Tony Podesta, former Redskins running back Brian Mitchell, Virginia GOP State Party Chair Ed Gillespie, MSNBC’s Tammy Haddad, Motion Picture Association of America head Dan Glickman, author Tom Clancy, Redskins owner Dan Snyder, former gymnast Dominique Dawes, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Northern Virginia moneymen Michael Saylor, Mark Ein and Joe Robert.

Tom DeLay as The Carpenter

Former Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, wants us to believe he’s a creator, not a destroyer — despite his famous nickname, “The Hammer.”

On his blog Wednesday, he wrote, “In my days in the House, the Washington political establishment liked to call me ‘The Hammer,’ but I prefer to think of that instrument as the tool of the carpenter and the builder rather than as the blunt bludgeon wielded so clumsily by [Speaker-elect Nancy] Pelosi’s political enforcers.”

Hezbollah, the cure- all

Take two of these and call me in the morning. On Google’s rankings of its most popular searches on Wednesday, the “What Is” category was dominated by prescription drugs, among them Xanax, Vicodin, Xenical, Tramodol and Alprazolam. But the No. 1 search: “Hezbollah.”

The Lebanese terrorist organization was also No. 2 in Google’s “Who Is” searches, just ahead of “EU” and just behind “Borat.”

Think Tank

You’re Karl Rove. How would you have President Bush finish this sentence: “We’re not winning in Iraq, but ...”

“... but our forefathers did not fail us at other dark times in the history of this great American experiment, just as this generation will neither fail nor falter in our duty.”

– Craig Shirley, president of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs

“... Jack Bauer will be back next month, so ...”

- Alexander Dryer, The New Yorker

“... but maybe we can get some of that forgiveness like Donald Trump is handing out.”

- Carol Joynt, Nathan’s of Georgetown