Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin, The Examiner
2006-11-07 10:00:00.0
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Jeff Dufour and Patrick Gavin cover people, power and politics in the beltway each weekday. Email them at yan@dcexaminer.com .

The key to excess

Former “Apprentice” star and Republican congressional candidate Raj Bhakta is not known for his humility.

He’s confident and cocksure and, now, there’s even paraphernalia to match his personality. The United Kingdom’s division of eBay.com (could Bhakta be more popular abroad than he is in Pennsylvania’s 13th District, where he trails Democratic Rep. Allyson Schwartz?) features item 260048917675: A custom made 2-inch-by-3-inch plastic keychain featuring Raj’s studly mug. It reads, “When God created Raj Bhakta, He was just showing off!”

Flattering to be sure, but given his current poll numbers, keys to a congressional office won’t be hanging from such a chain for Bhakta anytime soon.

Election night plans: Democrats stocking the bar, while GOPers staying home?

In anticipation of Tuesday’s electoral action, we asked several prominent Washingtonians how they’ll be spending their election night. Here’s what they said:

» Thomas H. Quinn, longtime Democratic lobbyist with Venable LLP: He’ll be at the DSCC, the Democratic Club and on the phone to Montana and his native Rhode Island. “My problem is this: I had planned to spend it at Signatures with all my Republican friends,” he said. “But a lot of people will go to the Capital Grille to watch the Republicans.”

» Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform: “Since there is nothing productive to be done the afternoon and evening of Election Day,” he’ll be working on editing his book, said a spokesman. “On Election Day, Congress is out of session. No one wants to think about the future. So it is a good time to write.”

» Jack Kemp, former HUD secretary and vice presidential candidate: He’ll be out of the country on a business trip. He has voted by absentee ballot, says a spokeswoman.

» Lyndon Boozer, powerful Democratic lobbyist with BellSouth: He’ll be hosting an election watch party at 701 Restaurant.

» John Podesta, former Clinton chief of staff and president of the Center for American Progress: He’ll be at CAP, watching election night returns with “staff and a few invited guests.”

» Tony Podesta, Democratic lobbyist: He’ll be in Philadelphia, where he has been running Gov. Ed Rendell’s re-election campaign.

» Hilary Rosen, Democratic consultant with Berman Rosen Global Strategies: “I’m going to be on ‘Hardball,’ hopefully crowing about a Democratic victory,” she says.

» Bill Novelli, president of AARP: He’ll be in South Carolina, watching returns with his brother’s family.

» Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way: “We’ll be monitoring reports from our staff and volunteers in 18 states and working with them to ensure that votes are counted fairly and accurately.”

» Barbara Kennelly, former Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut and head of the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare: She’ll be attending parties at the Democratic Club and the DCCC, as well as a private party.

» Dr. David Abshire, former ambassador to NATO under Ronald Reagan and president of the Center for the Study of the Presidency: “Normally Dr. Abshire doesn’t get involved in politics,” a spokeswoman said.

How to booze, win or lose

Usually, these things are reserved for presidential elections, but in his column Monday at Poynter.org, Al Tompkins offered a way to spice up your Election Night TV-watching with a little game. Of course, he adds parenthetically that it could be turned into a drinking game.

Let us expand on his idea a bit. Player one must take a belt every time talking heads utter any of the following phrases: “A real horserace, nip and tuck, red state, Florida, a referendum on the Iraq War, God Bless America, my fellow [fill in state resident descriptor — i.e. Floridians — or the word Americans], campaign trail, liberal, stem cell, Mark Foley, Michael J. Fox, support the troops, control of the House.”

Player two must tip his glass for these phrases: “too close to call, conservative, exit polling, time will tell, Ohio, God bless you, blue state, a real nail-biter, back to you, gay marriage, Speaker Dennis Hastert, Osama Bin Laden, John Kerry, control of the Senate.”

Happy drinking, er, playing.

Ladies who lunch … for the ballet

Two hundred women crowded into Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase on Monday to catch the first local glimpse of Oscar de la Renta’s Spring Collection. The youthful collection was a big hit with the not-so-youthful crowd, many of whom remarked that it would look lovely on their grandchildren. The $100-a-head, $2,500-per-table event benefited the Washington Ballet.

So who garners front-row status for fashion in Washington? Kay Kendall and Septime Webre of the Washington Ballet; Mai Abdo, wife of developer Jim Abdo, restaurant designer Olvia Demetriou; artist Izette Folger; and Nicole Feld, the 28-year-old co-producer of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Shirley Feld, who recently turned 90, was presented with the “Mary Day Award” for her dedication to the ballet.

Gamblers: GOP keeping both houses is a long shot

The bookies aren’t often wrong. (That’s how they make money, right?)

So, late Monday afternoon, we consulted some of the top betting and futures sites to see what they had to say about what will happen today.

BetUS.com is taking odds for five separate Senate races: Montana, Rhode Island, Tennessee, New Jersey and Virginia. Largely reflecting conventional wisdom, the site favored Republicans Bob Corker in Tennessee and George Allen in Virginia, but the Democrats in the other key races.

TradeSports.com is a site that lets users buy futures contracts on possible outcomes. According to the consensus of bettors Monday night, the GOP’s chances of holding on to the Senate fluctuated between 67 percent and 71 percent. In the House, their odds ran between a 19 percent and 21 percent chance of hanging on to power.

The Washington Stock Exchange, a similar site where investors play with pretend money, offered slightly better odds for Republicans in the House but worse odds in the Senate. As of 5:30 p.m. last night, futures on the GOP retaining control of the House indicated a 31 percent chance. Odds of Republicans retaining the Senate hovered around 65 percent. The most surprising development on that site? The odds of Allen being re-elected had dropped nearly four percentage points to less than 39 percent.

Rush to buy

A few weeks ago, we reported on Rush Limbaugh’s upcoming lecture/Q&A/stand-up routine at the Warner Theatre on Nov. 16.

Turns out D.C. has plenty of Dittoheads. The $75 and $100 tickets sold out in 48 hours. Even in the upper level, not a single ticket remains available.

On eBay, good seats are being offered for as much as $200 each.