Steele: I’ll run again

Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele said Thursday that his unsuccessful run for Senate last fall hasn’t dissuaded him from running for office again.

Speaking at the Media Research Center’s annual Dishonor Awards, Steele told the adoring crowd, “I’m always asked if I’m going to run for office again. And I say, ‘Yeah, there are a few Democrats who I haven’t ticked off yet.’ So, yeah [I am].”

Steele recently took the helm of GOPAC, which works toward putting Republicans into state and local offices. On Thursday, Steele didn’t indicate which office he might seek himself, but promised, “You ain’t seen nothing yet.”

Obama’s tome coming out in Spanish

Anything to nail down the Hispanic vote in the Democratic primary …

This June, Vintage Español will release Sen. Barack Obama’s bestselling “The Audacity of Hope” in a Spanish-language edition, translated as “La AUDACIA de la ESPERANZA: Sobre Cómo Restaurar el Sueño Americano.”

The English version has remained on The New York Times Best-Seller List for 23 weeks.

“We judged this book like we would any other — and we thought Senator Obama’s book had great potential in the Spanish-language market,” said Russell Perreault, a spokesman for Random House, the parent company of Vintage Español.

Kucinich pulls plug on oppo research

The 2008 presidential run isn’t very old, but the Democratic field has its first flip-flopper.

Last week, the campaign of Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, sent an e-mail to his supporters enlisting their help to monitor the campaigns of the other ’08 contenders.

But a day later, the candidate himself sent another e-mail, recanting the first message.

Declaring that the campaign has “arrived at a teachable moment,” Kucinich wrote that he believes “such tactics are spiritually and politically counterproductive.”

“The other candidates are all fine public servants and long-time friends,” he continues. “I ask that you join me in wishing every one of them well by expressing compassion for all candidates who strive to serve. ‘Monitoring’ projects are inherently pretentious, divisive and mean-spirited [and] come from a place of fear.”

Kucinich allows that he “reserve[s] the right and accept[s] sole responsibility to draw factual comparisons on policy matters.”

Get ready to eat April 21

It’s never too early to get excited about the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on April 21. In that spirit, we bring you ... drumroll, please ... the menu:

Guests will dine on bourbon brown sugar shrimp with chipotle appetizer alongside a terrine of white corn and butternut squash and greens with peach citrus viniagrette.

The upscale salmon is twinned with a petite filet in a rich cafe au lait sauce and green peppercorns. Caramelized onion mashed potatoes will also make an appearance.

As for dessert, well, sorry, that’s a virtual state secret, but we can report that the unusual twin pastries combine mango mousse and chocolate espresso.

Connery backs Museum of Women in the Arts

Sir Sean Connery and his wife, Micheline Roquebrune, quietly slipped into town Friday to attend an evening reception at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, where they have been major benefactors.

Museum trustees and NMWA founder Wilhelmina Cole Holladay celebrated the Oscar-winner as a supporter of women in the arts, and he in turn announced that he’d donate much more funding, beyond the millions he and his wife have already contributed.

Perhaps he’s still atoning for his 1987 comments to Barbara Walters that it’s okay to slap a woman to “keep her in line.”

A juggling White House

The White House is used to juggling lots of things.

So it makes sense that it’s hired professional jugglers to perform at the annual Easter Egg Roll on April 9.

We’ll have to wait and see if “The Passing Zone,” the comedic juggling duo of Jon Wee and Owen Morse, can teach the White House a thing or two about not dropping the ball.

Media mix

Juleanna Glover Weiss is a former spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney and Republican presidential hopeful Rudolph W. Giuliani. She currently serves as an adviser for The Ashcroft Group consulting firm and is famous for her fabulous house parties. She gave us her Media Mix via e-mail.

Q: What book are you currently reading?

“The End of the Old Order: Napoleon And Europe, 1801-1805,” by Fred Kagan

Q : What Web site do you visit first thing in the morning?

The Wall Street Journal

Q: What’s the last CD you bought?

Weird Al Yankovic’s “Running with Scissors” (my kids love the Star Wars song, “The Saga Begins”)

Q: What’s the last movie you saw?

A Very Long Engagement

Q: What’s the one TV show you can’t live without?

“Meet the Press” when presidential candidates appear. I don’t watch TV otherwise.