Adm. Fallon’s local ties

If a healing touch is what the situation in Iraq needs, let’s hope that soothing powers run in the Fallon household.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates recently nominated Adm. William Fallon to command U.S. forces in the Middle East, and Fallon’s daughter, Barb, could very well show her father a thing or two about how to fix things that are broken.

Barbara Fallon Wallace, 33, has worked as a physical therapist at Capital Rehab in Arlington for the past six years.

Adm. Fallon told his family about his nomination earlier this month, over dinner in Arlington.

“We were a little bit surprised,” Barb says. “We first said, ‘Well, you’re not going to do it, are you?’ But all of us knew that it’s just in our dad’s nature that, if he thinks he can help, he’s going to do it. ... We’re very proud and it was an honor for him to get [the nomination] but you always have those worries as a family member.”

Fallon Wallace admits that her dad has sought her help on whatever physical pains ail him from time to time, especially some heel pain he’s had in the past.

“He’s 62 and in great shape, but he’s not a good patient,” she says with a laugh. “He doesn’t always do the homework that’s prescribed. Every patient wants a quick fix, and he’s no different.”

But she’s confident that her dad’s leadership in the Middle East could be just what the doctor ordered.

“I would say that he’s definitely going to bring a new twist to what’s going on over there,” she says. “One of the reasons that my dad was chosen may have been that he’s definitely not afraid to rock the boat … He’s definitely upfront in everything he does. Maybe that will be different from what is going on now.”

Glossy mags reflect Washington

Details magazine, Esquire and Vanity Fair all turn their lens on D.C. in their latest issues.

In Esquire, President Bush receives one of the magazine’s Dubious Achievement Awards for this: “President Bush offered consolation to wounded veterans at the Amputee Care Center of Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio by saying, ‘I have an injury myself — not here at the hospital, but in combat with a cedar. I eventually won. The cedar gave me a little scratch.’ ”

Vanity Fair takes a look at “Who’s Who in Washington’s New Ruling Class.” They include Sen. Barack Obama (“The Promise”), Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (“The Force”), Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Rahm Emanuel (“The Engineers”), Sen. Joseph Lieberman (“The Independent”), Sen. Harry Reid (“The Majordomo”), Reps. Jeb Hensarling, Kay Granger, Eric Cantor and Adam Putnam (“The Rising Republicans”), Rep. Henry Waxman (“The Sheriff”), Sen. Trent Lott (“The Comeback Kid”) and Beth Dozoretz, the Democratic fundraiser (“The Doyenne”).

Finally, Details magazine sits down with Sen. John Kerry and discovers his love of cookies.

Q: “Do you have a food indulgence?”

Kerry: “Oh, god. Chocolate-chip cookies. I think I’m the illegitimate son of the Cookie Monster.”

Rep. Farr: GOP leadership were ‘amateurs’

While the change in power on the Hill certainly was sweet for all Democrats, it may be especially delicious for Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif.

After winning a special election in 1993, Farr was the last Democrat elected before the Republican tide in 1994. As a result, he has spent 12 years in the minority, after getting only the smallest taste of majority governing.

The big difference in each power shift, he said Friday, is that the “Democrats who are coming back into power have experience in using that power. We have a smarter and wiser leadership than Republicans were when they came into power. ... You’re going from a majority of amateurs to a majority of professionals.”

He added that you “won’t see the mistakes being made” that you did in 1995 and that the White House is “terrified” that the Democratic ranks are filled with competent people who will be conducting oversight and passing legislation.

A spokesman for Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, did not respond to a request for comment.

‘K Street Picasso’ takes on Manhattan

Dan Berger, a lobbyist for the National Association of Federal Credit Unions who paints in his spare time, just opened his first show in New York City.

Berger, who’s earned the nickname “K Street Picasso” (even though his offices are in Arlington), began painting in 2003 after the birth of his daughter, Shelby, whom he has called his “muse.”

Last spring, he had his first local show — mostly modern and abstract pieces — at Palette Restaurant in the Madison Hotel. He later auctioned off the pieces online to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington, raising more than $10,000.

Berger opened his current show, “Experience the Chaos,” last week at the Caelum Gallery in the art district of the Chelsea neighborhood. His six paintings and one sculpture will appear along with those of six other artists through Jan. 27.

The gallery held a reception for the artists on Saturday, and several financial services lobbyists from D.C. and other Washingtonians made the trek up for the party.

As for how he liked his time in New York City, Berger told Yeas & Nays, “It was cool to be a part of the scene for a week.”

Speakeasy

“I’m not sure where the majority leader’s clock is, whether we’re at the beginning of the hundred hours, in the middle or at the end. ... We’re operating under martial law.”

– Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, speaking from the floor Friday about what he called the lack of structure in the House

“Ninety years after his example, Pancho Villa would be proud knowing that armed banditos from Mexico continue to invade the United States border to harass U.S. citizens, and the U.S. government won’t do what is necessary to stop this invasion.”

– Rep. Ted Poe, R-Texas, speaking Thursday about the U.S.-Mexico border