HOH’s One-Minute Recess: The Floor Report
Health care and hecklers might have been the headlines from the president’s joint address to Congress Wednesday night, but HOH was on the lookout for the quirkier details.
To wit:
[IMGCAP(1)] House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) was spotted out pre-gaming, having a glass of wine at House-side Italian restaurant Trattoria Alberto just before the speech began.
Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) showed up in the House chamber — where everyone else was wearing his or her prime-time best — in a pair of bright white athletic shoes, along with a snazzy suit. A spokeswoman tells us that the Indiana Democrat is still healing from a painful running injury, plantar fasciitis, that HOH reported on back in June. Ouch!
Rep. John Hall (D-N.Y.) was rocking a pair of black shades during most of the speech. A spokeswoman explains that the former rock star wasn’t reverting to his roots — he had simply misplaced his regular glasses and had to use his prescription sunglasses to see the prez.
Great minds dress alike: Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton were practically twins in their bright reddish pantsuits. And the rest of the Cabinet apparently has a uniform: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis wore matching coral-colored jackets and black skirts.
A security agent leading Solis through the Capitol was attempting to give her directions, but Solis, who served in the House for five terms, politely informed him that she “knew her way around.—
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.), whose heckling of the president lifted him out of relative obscurity, apparently wasn’t ready for all the attention. Shortly after the speech, a visitor to Wilson’s Web site got this message: “This site is down for maintenance. Please check back again soon.—
In Non-Speech-Related News. Soccer star Mia Hamm is on Capitol Hill Thursday meeting with Members in both chambers about the importance of getting a seasonal flu vaccine.
Hamm is an official spokeswoman for the “Don’t Play with the Flu— awareness campaign, which urges people to get vaccinated and take other actions, such as getting plenty of rest, to prevent getting the flu.
Overheard on the Hill. “If not for adults, but for the youth of America, you should RESIGN! You can not lead a trained donkey, since you acted like an ASS! I’m off to contribute to Rob Miller!—
From a United States Citizen!—
— Portion of a faxed letter sent to an anonymous Congressional office that was apparently intended to go to Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.).
Miller, Wilson’s 2010 election opponent, raised $200,000 overnight, according to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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