Of Course the President Remembers You!

I'm Busy That Day

Loop reminder: Best think twice before accepting gifts or honors from Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen. Look what happened to Adm. Vladimir Masorin, chief of the Russian navy, after he accepted the Legion of Merit Aug. 24 from Mullen, then chief of naval operations, in a ceremony at the Navy Yard.

The day also happened to be Masorin's 60th birthday, which is the maximum age for senior commanders. Although commanders' terms can be extended to 65, when Masorin submitted his resignation to President Vladimir Putin, Putin refused to extend his career, according to the Moscow Times.

Could be that Masorin was bounced because he accepted the honor without first clearing it with the defense ministry, as he was supposed to. In any event, a polite but firm no thanks might be the safest response if Mullen's offering.

I'm Busy That Day, Too

Mark your calendars! We just got an invite from conservative radio talker and sometime federal government contractor Armstrong Williams to a book party on the Hill Oct. 3 for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas's memoir: "My Grandfather's Son."

"Like a nice cup of tea in the afternoon," the invite says, "we hope you receive a fresh mental tonic from this long-awaited event!!" The book covers his youth and ends with his take on that nasty confirmation battle, but it doesn't include his high court days.

Valet parking available.

Now of Legal Age

The Bush administration's controversial choice to head U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Julie L. Myers, has won the support of Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), potentially clearing the way to her confirmation -- after nearly two years on the job as a recess appointee.

When Bush named Myers, then 36, to be assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security in September '05, senators in both parties said she lacked five years of management experience as required by statute to oversee the law enforcement agency.

Myers -- who is the former chief of staff for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and a niece of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Richard B. Myers, and who is married to another former Chertoff chief of staff -- received a Bush recess appointment.

"Based on your performance and on more than 20 interviews . . . of people . . . who have worked with you," Lieberman said the other day, "I believe that you have what it takes to get the job done." The committee expects to schedule a vote within a couple of weeks, a spokesman said. Myers's nomination may also be reviewed by the Judiciary Committee before reaching the Senate floor.