Lott Waits for Clinton's Apology and Gets One

The theme of the lunch was so political that the GOP leaders moved the lunch to the headquarters of the National Republican Senatorial Committee a few blocks from the Capitol, so they could strong-arm the rank-and-file senators to give and raise more money for the NRSC. Attendees watched a highlights reel of unfavorable news clips about Democrats, including one that brought down the house. It was CNN's report on the vote to strip a $1 million earmark for a museum honoring the Woodstock music festival, a provision that was sought by Clinton and Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.). We're told Cheney watched with a belly laugh.

We're guessing that, unlike her apologetic phone call to Lott, Clinton still hasn't phoned Cheney to apologize for calling him " Darth Vader" a month ago.

Something to Talk About

Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) has more than fulfilled her daydream of hanging out with a rock star. She wound up totally bonding with legendary redhead Bonnie Raitt over lunch this week and realizing the two of them have a close mutual friend.

DeGette lunched Tuesday with Raitt and fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Jackson Browne, both of whom -- along with Graham Nash-- were on Capitol Hill lobbying against a provision in the energy bill moving through Congress that would provide taxpayer funding for new nuclear power plants.

Turns out, Raitt's roommate at Harvard was DeGette's mentor and professor some years later at New York University Law School. Raitt whipped out her cellphone and dialed her old college buddy and said, "You will never believe who I'm sitting here having lunch with . . . your old student, Diana DeGette!"

Feeling like more than just a roadie at that point, DeGette invited Raitt and Browne to perform at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver next summer. Later, the congresswoman was heard bragging about her star-studded lunch at a senior Democratic whip meeting. (Get ready to cringe: We hear the whip's meeting devolved into group-singing of Bonnie Raitt songs.)

Send in the Reid-Inforcements

Hit with terrible poll numbers back home, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.) is bringing back one of his most trusted advisers: Susan McCue, his former chief of staff who left in January to take over the One Campaign, the catchall group founded by U2 front man Bono to fight global poverty and raise health standards in Third World nations.

McCue, who is leaving One effective Dec. 1, will serve as an outside consultant for Bono's group and also take on a strategic communications consulting role for Reid's political team. McCue's touch may be necessary, not just in helping shape the fights against Senate Republicans and the White House. Earlier this month, a Mason-Dixon Poll for the Las Vegas Review-Journal showed Reid to be the most unpopular politician in Nevada, with a job-approval rating at a dismal 32 percent.