'The Glue' to Hold Jackson Together

Washington's Raymone Bain has emerged as Michael Jackson's new general manager. The singer has severed ties with his business manager and accountants, is moving to Europe and expects to release an album of new material next year, Bain said yesterday.

And the woman to help orchestrate all this is Bain, best known for repping Marion Barry even when he was in jail. "I will have oversight authority" of the new Michael Jackson Co., said Bain yesterday. "I report directly to him, and I am his personal liaison between him and his business entities. I'll be the glue to hold things together for him."

Bain, who would not divulge her age, served as the former mayor's spokeswoman for many years and represented Boyz II Men , Serena Williams and Mike Tyson ; Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds remains a client. She has been Jackson's rep since February 2004 -- during his trial on child molestation charges and the year-long overseas retreat that followed. "Michael's going to Bahrain was not running away -- he needed a break," said Bain. "He was able to rest and relax and determine what it was he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it. . . . My job is just to make his job easier."

First up: house hunting in Europe. He's downsized Neverland, but plans to keep the property in California and another in Bahrain. He recently made a public appearance in Japan.

Jackson, 47, has also hired the New York-based McMillan Firm, which specializes in business turnarounds, to oversee legal matters. He's currently facing three lawsuits: two contract disputes and a child custody battle with ex-wife Debbie Rowe . Still to be named: new music and business managers.

Bain declined to say how much she is getting paid for the new gig. "He's a great person and a brilliant musician and performer. I think the more he gets out and people can interact with him, they will be able to determine for themselves who he really is."

Oh, Deer, This May Not Be the Right House

Bambi has jumped into politics -- well, at least into Dick Cheney's yard. Last week, a fully grown deer was spotted inside the fence of the Naval Observatory grounds in a wooded area near Observatory Circle.

But how? The veep's house is surrounded by a high fence and -- we assume -- a bunch of other top-secret stuff like motion detectors and radar. In this day and age, nothing the size of a deer meanders around the 40-acre property unless the Secret Service gives it special security clearance.

"It's not uncommon for deer to be there," explained Bill Anderson of Naval District Washington. "They do kind of wander in and out the front gate area and they eat their grasses. We aren't stopping them from walking around the property."

The deer do not affect "at all" the vice president or the house, said Anderson. But he added that the Park Service is preparing an environmental impact statement to look at the "options" for dealing with the four-legged trespassers. Uh-oh! Seem to recall that someone on the premises likes to hunt.

Love, Etc.

Disengaged: It was like a made-for-MTV movie: the congressman's daughter who melted the heart of the gangsta rapper. In March, The Game , 26, was secretly engaged to Valeisha Butterfield , 28, daughter of first-term Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.), according to the exclusive interview the two gave to Jamie Foster Brown in the July issue of Sister 2 Sister magazine. (Other details: They didn't sleep together until after he proposed with a 19-carat diamond; Dad "gave him the third degree" when they met.) But media outlets ranging from Allhiphop.com to the Hill newspaper rushed to investigate -- didn't the drug-dealer-turned-platinum-seller just show up at the "Waist Deep" premiere with a different gal? Seems a lot can happen between press time and the newsstand. "After a long friendship and a brief engagement, they decided to continue on as friends," said Rep. Butterfield's spokesman, Ken Willis .Valeisha, who works in NYC for Russell Simmons's Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, returned the ring. What did Dad think about the whole thing? "He didn't pass on much about his meeting, to tell you the truth," said Willis.

Quoted

"Why was Bob Dole's luggage on my plane? . . . Customs just didn't believe me when I told them I got the pills at the Clinton Library Gift Shop and I was told they were just blue M&Ms. . . . I told my doctor I was worried about the next ELECTION."

-- Rush Limbaugh on his radio show yesterday, trying a little stand-up humor about customs agents finding Viagra (without a proper prescription) in his suitcase Monday.