Raining on 'West Wing's' Inaugural Parade: Some Bloopers Were Whoppers

One of the best things about "The West Wing" was catching those Washington bloopers. Fortunately, Sunday night's finale contained some delicious whoppers spotted immediately by sharp-eyed political obsessives. For the record:

· The show opens on a frigid Inauguration Day: "Who in his right mind decided that January would be the best time of year to hold an outdoor ceremony north of the equator?" asks the first lady. "Jefferson, Adams, Franklin," answers President Jed Bartlet . Wrong! Bartlet should know that presidents were sworn in on March 4 until FDR's second inauguration on Jan. 20, 1937. (It's the 20th Amendment, people.)

· It was supposedly 10 degrees, but there was no frosty breath or shivering. Where was the congressional leadership when President-elect Matt Santos walked through the Capitol? And where the heck were his kids on the biggest day of his life?

· The new first lady wonders if she has to wear nine different gowns to the nine balls. She waits until that day to think about her inaugural ball dress?

· Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg slips out the White House front gate and walks across a sleepy Pennsylvania Avenue -- mysteriously devoid of the crowds, reviewing stands and security folk on the inaugural parade route.

· The Bartlets leave for Andrews and jet home to New Hampshire, an 83-minute flight that seems to last hours and take them over open sea. Okay -- maybe if they got delayed by bad weather and maybe if they took the coast-skimming route between Andrews and Manchester.

And yes, that was "WW" creator Aaron Sorkin in a cameo shot during the swearing-in.

Kevin Spacey, the $2,600 Man

Whoo-hoo, Kevin Spacey , take it off ! Things got a little crazy at the Shakespeare Theatre gala Saturday. It all started when auctioneer Kathleen Matthews held up a cummerbund someone found on the floor and started bidding at $5. It eventually went for $260 to its original owner, Mark Walsh , who had no idea he had even lost it. (What kind of gala was this?)

Oscar-winner Spacey, on hand to accept the theater's Will Award, then stood up, took off his Armani cummerbund and told Matthews to start the bidding at $500. "Pony up, people," he cajoled. After intense bidding, an anonymous fan claimed it for $2,600.

No idea how Spacey made it through the rest of the night; the star himself joked that he never guessed going in that he'd have trouble keeping his pants on.

A Relationship Whose Roots Go Way Back. And Down.

Australia's PM with shovel, tree and executive branch.(Evan Vucci - Associated Press)

Australian Prime Minister John Howard arrived in Washington over the weekend for some high-level munching: On Saturday he brunched and sailed on Chesapeake Bay with Vice President Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld ; on Sunday he planted trees with President Bush before dinner at Australian Ambassador Dennis Richardson's residence; yesterday there was the State Department lunch with Condi Rice and Alan Greenspan. And tonight's the big black-tie dinner at the White House.

HEY, ISN'T THAT . . . ?

· The nominee to be CIA chief, Gen. Michael Hayden, and his wife, dining at D.C.'s Bombay Club Saturday at the barely civilized hour of 5:30 p.m.; pretty much had the restaurant to themselves until security whisked them off and into a waiting van. Early-bird special?

· Former Bush chief of staff Andy Card and family, patiently waiting more than half an hour for a table at Maggiano's Little Italy in Tysons Corner on Mother's Day. Welcome to life after the White House!

· Bill Clinton , the elder George B ush and Ellen DeGeneres dining at New Orleans landmark Arnaud's Friday before their speeches at Tulane's graduation Saturday. Clinton had the gator sausage, DeGeneres and Bush had raw oysters, and all three enjoyed the pompano.

THIS JUST IN . . .

· Air rage! Rap star DMX , who had a brush with the law last year after plowing his SUV through an airport security gate, was arrested in London after he refused to buckle up and became belligerent on a flight from NYC Saturday. He was released after a warning.

· The United Nations has named Naomi Watts a "special representative" for its HIV/AIDS program. Will this let her pull rank on U.N. goodwill ambassadors Nicole Kidman and Angelina Jolie ?

· Former solicitor general Ted Olson has signed on to help Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel appeal his Connecticut murder conviction for the 1975 death of a teenage neighbor before the Supreme Court.