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Partisan parties
Tuesday was an interesting evening: In one part of town, Vice President Dick Cheney hosted a slew of VIPs at his Naval Observatory residence for his annual holiday party. And, in another part of town, Valerie Plame — the former CIA spy who was made famous, in part, by the blabbing of Cheney aide Scooter Libby — was busy being feted at a party for her book, “Fair Game.”
So given that these two have been butting heads for years, where would Washingtonians go for the evening?
As you might suspect,Cheney brought in the biggest crowd, with such names as Brit Hume, Alan Greenspan, Michael Hayden, Newt Gingrich, Samuel Alito and Bill Kristol making their way to greet the veep. But Plame had her own notables, including Sens. Frank Lautenberg and Arlen Specter, Reps. Rush Holt and Jan Schakowski and, of course, Plame’s husband, Joe Wilson. Plame’s bash was hosted at the Georgetown home of Ellen and Gerry Sigal and the party was co-hosted by Jackie and Sidney Blumenthal, Melody Miller and Bill Wilson.
At Cheney’s place, daughter Mary Cheney showed off pictures of her new baby and Lynne Cheney was
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overheard talking about how much she likes XM radio (who knew she was so hip?). At the Plame love-in, the conversation largely focused on columnist Bob Novak … and not in a good way. That, and how good Plame looked in her black V-neck dress.
At Cheney’s, you had to decide whether to wait in the line to shake Cheney’s hand or wait in the (concededly smaller) line that was developing to say hello to former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. At Plame’s, you had to decide whether it was worth it to try to make your way up to Plame, given the large crowd (200, easily) and long and narrow party venue.
But it was no contest when it came down to party favors: At the Plame party, you were lucky to leave with a signed book. At Cheney’s, guests were treated to an impressive key chain with silvery stars attached to celebrate the party’s theme of “nighttime sky and the U.S. Naval Observatory.” The image of the vice president’s residence that decorates the boxes containing the key chain was painted by local artist Claudia Minicozzi.
Proving that Specter is never afraid of crossing party lines, Plame and the senior senator from Pennsylvania were spotted having dinner together.
