Perino on life at the top

With Tony Snow back in control of White House press briefings, we had to ask: So how did deputy press secretary, Dana Perino, do in his absence?

“I’m not saying it was a stellar performance,” Perino told Yeas & Nays. “But I think we got through it just fine.”

Perino, who became White House deputy press secretary in March 2006, took sole command of press gaggles and press briefings March 27 when Snow took a leave of absence after discovering that his cancer had returned. The diminutive Perino instantly found Snow’s shoes tough to fill.

After a few days running the show, “I finally realized that I couldn’t fill them,” Perino said. “I had to try to prevent myself from comparing myself to Tony. He’s the best press secretary to ever be at that podium. I was never able to beat that. I didn’t try.”

Still, Perino said, “I don’t think anything in my career will ever match” her time at the helm.

White House reporters thought Perino handled herself just fine.

Mike Allen, Politico: “She totally perfected the smiling gut punch. A well-known Republican said with awe, ‘Where did SHE come from?’ She pulled off what Tony does, which is benefit the president and press at the same time.”

Ann Compton, ABC: “Dana did not delegate the little stuff. She was very quick with e-mail responses on breaking news and even on press travel logistics — those were never Tony’s long suit. Her BlackBerry hours were so arduous she ran into pain problems in her right index finger.”

Julie Mason, Houston Chronicle. “Dana has a different style from Tony, and she never tried to be Tony. Her humor is dry and low-key, and she doesn’t personalize encounters with reporters.”

And, The Examiner’s own Bill Sammon: “Perino stepped up to the plate and delivered. I was quite impressed.”

Larry the Cable Guy entertains the troops at Andrews

Blue-collar comic Larry the Cable Guy rolled into Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday to promote his new movie, “Delta Farce,” which opens May 11.

Larry, 100 percent in character, greeted wounded soldiers from Walter Reed before walking the red carpet with co-stars D.J. Qualls, Danny Trejo, Keith David and Lisa Lampanelli. Then it was into the base’s movie theater for a special screening with military personnel. Before coming to the base, Larry said, he had a helicopter ride over Washington.

“Let me tell you, 30 minutes is too long for me,” he said. “It’s about seven minutes too long. I see three of everything.” He said he initially agreed to do the film only “if I can have the premiere at Walter Reed, although they moved it to Andrews.”

When we asked which candidate would “Git-R-Done” in 2008, he replied, “I don’t know, Fred Thompson.”

Stein: Sleeping at the scene of the crime

Sure, his former boss may have been disgraced thanks to events in the Watergate Hotel (ahem, President Nixon), but that doesn’t stop former Nixon speechwriter (and current comedian, economist, actor, etc.) Ben Stein from resting his head there.

Stein spent part of Tuesday speaking with two Iraqi widows and, when he bumped into our Examiner colleague Bill Myers at the McPherson Square joint Loeb’s Perfect New York Deli Restaurant, Stein confessed that he was staying at the famed Watergate hotel, where Nixon’s “plumbers” got into so much trouble.

Old habits die hard.

Star-studded funeral for Valenti

At 10 a.m. on Tuesday, an employee of the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington was growing frantic, because funeral services for Jack Valenti, scheduled at that hour, had yet to begin. "They're late,” he said. “It's 10:00." “It's Hollywood,” came the response from the photographers.

Indeed it was. Kirk Douglas, Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sandra Bullock all turned up at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle to pay tribute to the former Motion Picture Association of America chief. Steven Spielberg, sporting a grey driving cap over his long grey hair, strolled up the steps, as did Martin Scorsese and a bevy of studio heads, including Peter Chernin (News Corp.), Brad Grey (Paramount), Ron Meyer (Universal), Michael Lynton (Sony) and Michael Eisner (formerly of Disney).

Also among the thousand or so mourners, most of whom wore white roses on their lapels: John and Teresa Kerry, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Donald Rumsfeld, Mike Wallace and son Chris, Bob Schieffer, Al Hunt and Judy Woodruff, former Sens. Tom Daschle and Don Nickles, Sens. Ted Kennedy and Ted Stevens, and Reps. John Dingell and Henry Waxman. "I always said I could imagine Jack giving his own eulogy, and in fact he did," said Tom Quinn, a lobbyist with Venable LLP who has been plying his trade in Washington nearly as long as Valenti. Sen. Daniel Inouye, LBJ aide Lloyd Hand, Valenti's son John, and Warner Bros. chief Barry Meyer all read from Valenti's as-yet-unreleased memoir, "This Time. This Place." "It was one of the few Washington events that people actually affectionately came," added Quinn. "It wasn't business, they were here because they cared for Jack."

SEE THE LOCAL PHOTO BLOG ON WHO ATTENDED THE FUNERAL