Gym Instructor Spins Some Unwise Words

Glenn Makl will be back on the job tomorrow, teaching his once-a-week 6:15 a.m. spinning class at D.C.'s swank Sports Club/LA. Whether two of his famous students will be there -- well, that's another question.

The fitness instructor put his foot in his mouth last Thursday when he shared a couple of President Bush's better-known malapropisms with his class -- having no idea that First Twins Jenna and Barbara were among the 20 or so students on stationary bikes in the room.

The incident, first reported in Roll Call, rattled the sisters enough that Jenna's boyfriend, Henry Hager , called the West End spa to complain. The club is maintaining an official no-comment policy. "It's a private club, and the privacy of our members is top priority," said spokeswoman Carrie Foster .

Sources in the room say Makl's comments were hardly the Bush-bashing tirade of some accounts. The instructor is a former Department of Justice attorney who worked under both Clinton and Bush -- until leaving in 2004 to work as an accountant and stay-at-home dad -- who tells friends he voted for Dubya. The gaffe slipped out as Makl was wrapping up the class, a time when he usually gives away a CD of the class music to a lucky student. Last week, he had a bonus: a collection of funny video clips that friends had e-mailed him -- the usual random mix of Internet ephemera, most not political. But Makl specifically quoted two bits that captured Bush's famous verbal stumbles. (Including "Fool me once, shame on -- shame on you. Fool me -- you can't get fooled again.")

Makl was "mortified" when students approached him later to say the twins had been in the room. (How could he not have noticed them? Darn that new haircut of Jenna's!) Sources close to the club, though, say he apologized to the management profusely -- and that yes, he still has the job.

Mother Duck's New Brood at the Ritz - and Limo Service Back to the River

The duck that selected the Georgetown Ritz-Carlton Residences for her nest hatched 11 ducklings Monday, then got a lift in a Lincoln Town Car to the Potomac River.

Home sweet planter.(Courtesy The Ritz Carlton, Georgetown)

For the second year in a row, " Mother Duck " settled into a planter last month, leaving her eggs only for a daily lunch with a handsome mallard nearby. On Sunday, she never left the nest, and the " Ritz Quackers " were born Monday afternoon. Just a few hours later, she hopped out of the planter and waddled into the foyer, followed by her tiny fuzz balls. The disoriented mom was scooped up and soothed by the concierge, while helpers gathered the ducklings into a cardboard box. The family was then chauffeured the short distance to the river, released in the same spot she took her babies to last year, and Daddy was spotted with them all shortly thereafter.

Awwwwwww. Duck Family Values!

Quote

"This administration is SOARING! They're rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg."

-- Stephen Colbert , disputing the notion that recent White House shake-ups amount to "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic," during an off-air exchange with Jon Stewart at a "Daily Show" taping in New York Monday. Colbert said he was thinking of using the joke when hosting the White House Correspondents' dinner in Washington Saturday.

For Early Bird Andy Card, Old Habits Die Hard

An extra 40 minutes of sleep can do wonders for a guy! Former White House chief of staff Andy Card has been sleeping in for only 10 days -- but looked downright perky Monday night at the 35th-anniversary dinner for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Peter Pace and his wife, Lynne , at Sette Bello restaurant in Clarendon.

So what time is he getting up these days? "I'm getting up at 5 a.m.," Card said happily. His alarm had been set for 4:20 a.m. for five years; now he lingers in bed until . . . well, before dawn, and then works out with his wife, Kathleene . "I love morning!"

Hey Isn't That . . . ?

· Laura Bush , planning her summer garden with a stop at Georgetown's Smith & Hawken on Saturday afternoon. The first lady arrived with two friends and spent 30 minutes browsing through the upscale gardening store before purchasing one book.

· Sissy Spacek , in a denim skirt and blue sweater, singing backup vocals at the Birchmere on Monday night. The actress, who won an Oscar portraying Loretta Lynn in "Coal Miner's Daughter," sang harmony with her actress-singer daughter, Schuyler Fisk, who just signed a deal with Universal Records. A ripple went through the audience when the crowd recognized the 56-year-old Spacek. "That's my mom," said Fisk, 23. When audience members playfully asked her name, Spacek answered, "Mom." Finally, Fisk admitted it was "Sissy or something."