NAMES & FACES

Pat O'Brien of the Hollywood celeb show "The Insider" interviewed the first lady yesterday at the White House and wondered which candidate she fancies. "Well, all I have to say is my husband is the best looking." And John Edwards? "He's pretty cute, but I like Dick Cheney," Mrs. Bush noted. ("the Insider")

Twins Stepping Out

The Bush twins can't seem to take a breath of air without it generating lots of attention. Just this past Friday night (and rather early Saturday morning) Jenna and Barbs both graced the scene at their fave prepster Georgetown hangout, Smith Point.

Some Kerry supporters infiltrated the massively Republican hangout, getting past the tight list at the door, our tipster tells us, trying to snap pics of the twins. This maneuver did not seem to go over well, with some Bushies asking the camera-wielding peeps to knock it off. Eventually owner Bo Blair came to the twins' rescue. "It's just annoying because they are not doing anything, it's nothing interesting," he said in defense of his famous 22-year-old patrons yesterday.

Meanwhile, all eyes were on Miss Jenna Saturday night -- who, we're informed, was "looking very California hippie chick and cute." Dubya's blond daughter was finally able to party in peace with a couple of pals (sans cameras) at a swanky Glover Park joint, Bourbon, where she's also been known to drop by during the daylight hours for weekend brunches.

How to Quiet a Room

Those lunching at the Bombay Club Monday proved that Washingtonians still don't know what to do when they see a bona fide celeb.

We hear the room was silenced, practically coming to a halt, when Robert Redford quietly strolled into the Indian bistro a few steps from the White House. The avowed Kerry supporter drew various stares and gawks while he lunched, laughed and joked for more than two hours with "Bushworld" author and New York Times pundit Maureen Dowd. We just wonder one thing: In this town, whose name is bigger?

Noted . . .

Actor Christian Bale went through the wringer while prepping for his role as an insomniac whose health deteriorates in the flick "The Machinist." He went from a lean 180 pounds to a barely-there 120. "I just didn't eat," he told the New York Post. "I enjoyed the challenge and the slightly self-destructive urges involved in losing that amount of weight . . . I was genuinely more content than I've ever been in my life." (No wonder he played the lead in "American Psycho.") "People probably couldn't tell, though, because I didn't have the energy to smile too much." So how'd he get back to fightin' form, which was needed in his following role in "Batman Begins"? "Five meals in one sitting" . . . Well, it's that time of year to start casting yet another season of ABC's reality love-fest, "The Bachelor." Fifteen minutes of reality fame (and perhaps even true love -- hey, it worked for Trista and Ryan) can be all yours, just by sauntering into Ozio's martini and cigar lounge on M Street tonight, where rumor has it casting agents will be hunkering down from 8 p.m. until close . . . And while we're on the topic of bachelors, here's reason No. 583 why, just maybe, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will forever be single: "My longest relationship was 2 1/2 years," Damon says, according to London's Daily Mirror. "That's very short when you consider how long I've been friends with Ben . . . I can imagine growing old with him." Well, it's a start.

. . . and Quoted

"I wouldn't sleep with a married man. I have enough lovers. I don't need Brad."

-- Angelina Jolie in November's Allure magazine, shooting down rumors that she had a tryst with Brad Pitt, her married co-star in the upcoming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."

-- Compiled by Anne Schroeder

from staff and wire reports