Empathy 101

"Spring training," Bolton deadpanned. For the November Classic.

Double or Nothing

The White House's request that Vice President Cheney and President Bush be together to chat with the 9/11 commission has sparked the usual snarky and wholly unfair media commentary about how Bush needs Cheney to get his story straight.

It could well be the other way around, as former New Jersey governor and commission Chairman Thomas H. Kean told reporters Wednesday.

"Can you say why you would agree to have the vice president and the president testify at the same time?" New York Post reporter Vince Morris asked Kean. "It seems . . . it might be to allow, you know, Mr. Cheney to help Mr. Bush with the answers. . . . It seems like it compromises your investigation to have them answer questions at the same time."

"Well, we recognize that Mr. Bush may help Mr. Cheney with some of the answers," Kean said to "scattered laughter," according to a transcript. "But . . . it was the suggestion of the White House," Kean said, "and it seemed to us, in exchange for getting all 10 commissioners to be able to ask any questions" and to have a staffer in there as well, "that we'd get the answers to the questions we needed to write the report."

Two Strikes and You're Out

Many Loop fans have inquired of the identity of " Eric," the Pentagon aide who happened to leave some of his notes for prepping Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld for the Sunday talk shows on a table at a D.C. Starbucks.

He's Eric Ruff, a Washington pro and effectively the No. 2 official in the Pentagon's public affairs shop.

Ruff, a longtime Senate aide, moved to the Pentagon eight weeks ago after heading the communications operation at the Interior Department. And no, he's not going to be punished, we're told. The Pentagon's view seems to be that anyone can make a mistake. Maybe just one, though.

New Director for ATF

Carl J. Truscott, assistant director for the Secret Service office that handles intelligence, threat assessment, technical security and other issues, and earlier the head of the division responsible for presidential security, has been picked to be director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Truscott replaces Bradley A. Buckles, who left in December to work for the Recording Industry Association of America.