WMR can report that a Mayflower Hotel staffer has confirmed that First Lady Laura Bush spent at least one night this past week at the hotel, which is four blocks north of the White House. Mrs. Bush reportedly moved out of the White House after a confrontation with President Bush over his on-going affair with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. The Mayflower's official position on the story is that they can "neither confirm nor deny" the identities of their guests. Because it's penchant for security and secrecy is well known to the Secret Service, the Mayflower has become a reliable hotel for U.S. and international VIPs.
Some Washington observers believe that the recent flare up between Laura Bush and the president stems from the fact that her poll numbers are twice as favorable as her husband's (60 percent to 29 percent). Laura Bush's recent solo missions to New Orleans, Colorado, and an AIDS conference at the United Nations represent a virtual declaration of independence from the most unpopular president in U.S. history. "She's [Laura's] taking a page right out of Hillary's book," said one Washington pundit. Rice, on the other hand, has been very close and loyal to Bush since she signed on as his chief foreign policy adviser in 2000. WMR has been told of intimate encounters between Mr. Bush and Rice on trips to New York City (multiple occasions) and New Orleans following Katrina.
Mayflower officially mum on recent VIP guest and her Secret Service detail.
WMR has received numerous email from the typical right-wing political direct marketing operations with the same talking point: how dare we violate the privacy of the President and First Lady in time of war. To refresh the memory of the right, we offer this one peek into recent history:
In the GOP view of morality, Republican Presidents are entitled to more privacy than Democratic Presidents.
Feb. 18, 1998 (CNN) -- . . . Clinton also faces a divided public. In the latest CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll, 54 percent of people surveyed said they would prefer to see the Iraqi crisis resolved by diplomatic pressure and economic sanctions. Maybe more importantly, though, the poll indicated a significant drop since early February in support for military strikes against Iraq, from 50 percent to 41 percent. At the same time, by about a 2-1 margin, people say if the U.S. does attack, its goal should be remove Hussein, not just to reduce Iraq's capacity to develop weapons of mass destruction and threaten its neighbors.
And Clinton has another problem, and her name is Monica Lewinsky. In this public test of wills with Hussein, Clinton has tried to stake out the moral high ground. He has talked about "the chance to do the right thing for our children and grandchildren." But some of his political opponents think Clinton cannot claim the moral high ground, not now, not after the past month's lurid tales. As restrained as Republicans have been in discussing the Lewinsky controversy, there are signs that approach is ending.
In another bit of GOP hypocrisy, on Monday, President Bush will hold a VIP ceremony at the White House to back a bill enshrining a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. The name of the legislation: The Sanctity of Marriage Act. WMR hopes the mainstream TV media will focus on Laura Bush's facial reaction when Mr. Bush proclaims his support for The Sanctity of Marriage Act, i.e., if Mrs. Bush is even present for the event.
Postscript: We want to thank radio hosts Randi Rhodes and Stephanie Miller for not being cowered by the right-wing spin machine and reporting this story on their programs.
