Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

LUCY, ETHEL, MICHAELE

The feminine dynamics will play out upon “the nexus of politics, society, and even race,” while a purse-load of explorations explore “how the proximity to political power dictates where one fits within Beltway society,” promises Bravo, on confirming that ’The Real Housewives of D.C.’ is set to premiere Aug. 5. So either run for the hills or break out the Dom Perignon and bear witness to the show, incubating since President Obama’s inauguration.

Indeed, the quintet of high-end hausfraus includes White House party crasher and polo goddess Michaele Salahi - along with Mary Schmidt Amons, granddaughter of splendid old-school radio/TV personality Arthur Godfrey. Inquiring minds are already wondering if any or all of the ladies pine to run for office, or at least disrupt one.

“We wanted to dive into the Beltway subculture as it underwent an historic shift. … We knew this was going to expose a different social narrative” says Bravo Vice President Andy Cohen. “To the people who might excoriate us and say we’re making Michaele famous or glorifying what she did: we don’t make shows to make people famous and as a corollary, we don’t view being on a television show either as a reward or a punishment. Michaele is one of the many characters whose lives intersect in the series, and in real life.”

RAZING ARIZONA

“The White House says President Obama had nothing to do with the Justice Department’s challenge to Arizona’s immigration law, insisting the decision was Attorney General Eric Holder’s alone. Please. This is a political lawsuit, driven by Obama’s drop in the polls among Hispanics and Democrats’ hope of bringing out Latinos this fall by hanging an anti-immigrant millstone around the GOP’s neck” says a New York Post editorial.

“How differently might he and Holder feel if either had ever actually lived in Arizona - which has been flooded with illegals for years. And which has had to deal with a narcotics-driven war on the border that has claimed at least 23,000 lives. Which is why Gov. Jan Brewer rightly notes that the lawsuit itself is a wasteful diversion of federal resources that could better be used against the violent Mexican cartels than the people of Arizona.”

The Post concludes, “And why even Arizona’s Democratic elected officials agree with her. And why the law itself enjoys widespread support across the U.S. Soon the nation will come to see this suit for what it is - an act exceeded in cynicism only by its contempt for the rule of law. And for the American people.”

NO NOD IS GOOD NOD

Another reason why President Obama should hang around town a little more. His campaign endorsements don’t help in the field. Mr. Obama’s visits did little to help Democratic candidates in Massachusetts, New Jersey and Virginia. The party may be better off if he stays in the White House and focuses on governing this fall, says Tom Jensen of Public Policy Polling, where survey numbers reveal that 55 percent of Louisiana voters, for example, would be “less likely” to support a candidate endorsed by the president.

The percentages were 51 percent less likely in Ohio, 50 percent in both Pennsylvania and Wisconsin and 40 percent in Illinois. Voters were not swayed by the prospect of candidate endorsements from former President Bill Clinton, either.

“If Democrats want to avoid nationalizing this year’s election - which is probably prudent - they’re better off if both Obama and Clinton stay off the campaign trail,” Mr. Jensen suggests.

BUMPER PATROL

“11-02-10: Day of Reckoning.”

(Bumper sticker spotted in Springfield, Va.)

“I am a Russian spy. (Please ignore)”

New T-shirt from sazzle.com

JUST SO YOU KNOW

“The better a politician’s looks, the higher the frequency of television news coverage,” says a trio of Israeli communication professors at the University of Haifa who compared the physical appearance of leading politicians with the amount of press they got.

“Earlier studies have shown that people generally tend to prefer the company of people who are physically attractive and even value them as more worthy people. Our study reveals that journalists probably behave just like the rest,” says Yariv Tsfati, who led the study.

CANDIDATE IN WAITING

“The policies coming out of D.C. right now, this fundamental transformation of America, well a lot of women concerned about their kids’ futures are saying we don’t like this fundamental transformation, and we’re going to do something. It seems like it’s kind of a mom awakening in the last year and a half. … Because moms sort of just know when something is wrong. We’re going to turn this thing around. We’re going to get our country back on the right track. Look out Washington, ’cause there’s a whole stampede of elephants crossing the line and the ETA for them stampeding through is November 2, 2010.”

(Sarah Palin, in a new campaign video. See it here: www.sarahpac.com).

POLL DU JOUR

c 86 percent of U.S. voters say the immigration issue is “important” in determining how they will vote in the 2010 midterms.

c 68 percent say gaining control of the U.S. border is the most important action in immigration reform.

c 64 percent blame the federal government and its failure “to enforce immigration law” for creating the immigration controversy.

c 61 percent would like an immigration law similar to Arizona’s legislation for their own state.

c 28 percent agree with the U.S. Justice Department legal challenge to the Arizona law.

c 28 percent would oppose the passage of immigration law in their state that is similar to Arizona’s.

Source: A Rasmussen Reports survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted July 6-7.

c Proclamations and such to jharper@washingtontimes.com. Follow her at twitter.com/ harperbulletin.