NAMES & FACES

The No. 1 Deliverer of Number 2

Morley Safer from CBS's "60 Minutes" asked Jon Stewart , king of "The Daily Show," who dishes out the most baloney? As a "60 Minutes" source put it to us: "Safer visited Stewart to discuss the state of [baloney] in the U.S. with the man who exposes it nightly." The answer airs tomorrow -- or you can read on.

So, who's the worst Stewart has come across?

Ari Fleischer . (Sorry, Fleischer fans.)

The former press secretary for President Bush is, "and I don't say this pejoratively, but a professional BSer," says Stewart on the show. "His job was basically to use it to deflect any queries, like Wonder Woman ."

"He was an artist," interjects Safer.

"He was an artist," Stewart agrees. "And sitting here for six minutes, I'd buzzed around him, you know, and for him it was batting practice."

Fleischer did not respond to an e-mail request for comment yesterday.

Rita Cosby Weighs Anchor

Fox News Channel's Rita Cosby is switching teams in the cable news big leagues. Cosby, who has been with ratings champion Fox since its inception in 1996, will join MSNBC next month as a special correspondent and will anchor a daily evening program that debuts in the fall, reports The Post's John Maynard. MSNBC, which ranks third among the big three cable news nets, would not specify what time Cosby's show would run, but network officials say the current prime-time lineup will remain intact. Cosby's switch comes one day after Fox News Channel said it was not renewing her contract. Cosby anchored the Saturday night "Big Story Weekend Edition" and "Fox News Live" on Sunday nights.

A Quackerjack Suggestion

Remember the two sets of ducks we told you about a few weeks back?

One we dubbed the safest duck on the planet, given that she'd made her nest directly outside the entrance of the Treasury Department, and thus, resided under the watchful eyes of the Secret Service. The other chose a glitzier location, nesting outside the Ritz-Carlton in Georgetown. And all its eggs have hatched.

Well, the Ritz folks held a name-that-duck-and-duckling contest, the results of which were released yesterday: Our Lady of Victory second-grader Claudia Baker won the name game, offering up the presidential family. Mama Barbara and baby ducks George , Jeb , Marvin , Neil and Doro . Kudos to Claudia for knowing all five. (No offense, Doro.)

"We do hope the Bush family knows that Miss Baker meant this as a great honor to the family," Ritz General Manager Jennifer Brown says.

As for the safest duck on the planet, she is now resting in Rock Creek Park with her 11 ducklings, as was reported a couple of weeks ago. But did you know this: They hatched April 30, the night of the White House Correspondents' Association dinner-- at which, by sheer coincidence, Jon Cryer, "Duckie" in the '80s flick "Pretty in Pink," was a guest.

Noted . . .

Ed Viesturs has done it. He made it to the top of Nepal's 26,540-foot Annapurna, achieving what no other American has done: scale all 14 of the world's highest peaks. The 44-year-old from Bainbridge Island, Wash., summited Thursday afternoon -- without using bottled oxygen -- making him the 12th person in the world to bag the 14 big ones.

. . . and Quoted

"Being a little girl, you have to be thrilled by a country that greets you with this magnificent statue of a woman placed on a pedestal -- it's been a good model for my husband."

--Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao , who received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor yesterday, giving a hint to her husband, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell.

-- Compiled by Anne Schroeder from staff and wire reports