By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Will Maureen Dowd feel more kindly toward the Bush White House now that it's saved her life-- or, at least, cured her wicked case of stomach flu?

The New York Times' flame-haired, Pulitzer-winning columnist, who has long enjoyed skewering the man she refers to as W, fell horribly ill while covering Bush's eight-day Middle East tour, beginning the day the group landed in Israel a week ago Tuesday -- either "New Hampshire fever or Jerusalem food poisoning," she told our colleague Michael Abramowitz.

For days, Dowd tried to tough it out, passing up offers to see POTUS's doctor, Air Force Brig. Gen. Richard J. Tubb. But by the time the caravan moved from Kuwait to Bahrain on Saturday, she was too sick to write her regular Sunday column.

Time for a trip to Tubb, who had set up a fully staffed medical office in the luxury hotel where the White House gang stayed. He gave her Cipro and Pepto-Bismol. The next day, Dowd was to fly on the press charter -- but Air Force One made room for her so she could have a checkup with Tubb.

"He was wonderful -- just really sweet," she said. The president "was very generous to share his doctor -- even if he didn't know it."

Last week, Arnold entrepreneur-mom Tammy Cheskis headed to Hollywood to hand out her Incog-Neato decorative bed-wetting pads at one of those infamous award-show "gifting suites." How'd it go?

"Every single star loved my product," she told us. Among the swag-happy B-listers grabbing for freebies:

"Bridget Moynahan. She was, like, so nice and so gracious. Her publicist came in first and said everyone had to put their cameras away. I don't blame her. She took my product and absolutely loved it. Denise Richards -- so down-to-earth, so sweet. She came in with her sister, took my product, loved it. Samantha Harris from 'Dancing With the Stars.' She loved it. Joshua Malina from 'The West Wing,' he was so excited because he has a boy and a girl. He loved it. Tori Spelling, oh my God, she was so nice and so shy! Kelly Hu from 'CSI' -- she took her little toy dog, Mu Shu, put him on top of my product for a picture. I thought that was so nice of her. Shar Jackson, K-Fed's ex, she was so nice."

Cheskis shelled out $5,000 for the trip but hopes the buzz will help her biz, so no complaints. Well, except for a certain actress who took one of the $85 pads and then "actually asked me to send her a second. Don't you think she could afford to buy it?"

Oops! Diane Keaton said a very naughty word on yesterday's live broadcast of "Good Morning America" -- which isn't supposed to happen in this FCC-fine, no-profanity era. The actress was promoting her new movie, "Mad Money," about 8:20 a.m. when she started waxing on about Diane Sawyer's beauty, especially those lush lips. "I'd like to have lips like that," Keaton told Sawyer. "Then I wouldn't have worked on my [expletive] personality."

Spokeswoman Bridgette Maney told us that "GMA" -- like most morning news shows -- doesn't use a delay and that the obscenity was bleeped in all but the East Coast broadcasts. Any talk of a fine? "So far, I have not heard a complaint from anyone," she said.

Zac Efron was rushed to L.A.'s Cedars-Sinai yesterday for an emergency appendectomy, reports TMZ. The "High School Musical" star is recuperating, said his rep.

Gwyneth Paltrow was released from N.Y.C.'s Mount Sinai Hospital yesterday, one day after she was admitted for undisclosed reasons; an employee at Organic Avenue told New York magazine the actress is doing the restaurant's five-day food regimen. Paltrow is "fine and at home," said her rep.

Richard Gere lunching at I Ricchi yesterday. The actor, looking typically silver-foxish in a navy blazer, dined with five corporate types. No word why he was in D.C.