The Face of DHS Looks a Little Pale

US Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff turns to look at his staff who were asked to stand by a member of the House Judiciary Committee as Chertoff testifies March 05, 2008 on oversight of the Homeland Security Department in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Mandel Ngan - /AFP/Getty Images)

As it turns out, there was indeed diversity in the group, a DHS spokesman said yesterday. One of the men was of Peruvian heritage, he said, another was born in Russia of Jewish heritage and a third was a lawyer originally from Iran.

We're pretty sure there were also at least two left-handers and one Episcopalian.

The Air Down There

Some Senate staffers investigating whether asbestos has affected the health of people working in the heating and cooling tunnels beneath Capitol Hill have come down with serious maladies.

Last fall, about a half-dozen people, working out of Room 113 of the Hart Senate Office Building, began to experience respiratory problems, including persistent coughing and asthma. Others had aches and pains or complained of not feeling well.

So in November, the Architect of the Capitol's office began testing for mold and other common "sick building" problems, sources said. They found chlorine fumes and carbon monoxide apparently being vented into the room.

The aides -- some from the staff of Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), others from a subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee -- were moved in the last couple of weeks to Hart 143. Room 113 has been sealed.

So far there is no indication that aides in any of the offices nearby were affected.

Lose One for the Gipper

A book we didn't get to read on time:

"The Fred Factor: How Fred Thompson May Change the Face of the '08 Campaign." This nifty little gem was written last spring by Steve Gill, a Nashville radio talk-show host and chief political analyst for the ABC television news affiliate there, back when the former senator was pondering whether to jump into the race. Thompson announced in September, flamed out in January.

But Gill, repeatedly comparing Thompson to Ronald Reagan, writes that "Reaganesque Fred Dalton Thompson may be the only potential candidate who can prevent Hillary Rodham Clinton from being" president. There's also a useful and historic 31-page section on where Thompson stands on the issues. The back-cover blurb says the book "reveals the man behind the role, a man who could very well be the next President of the United States."

Or not.

Still, the book ranks No. 543,699 on Amazon's sales list. We'd loan our copy, but it's autographed by the author.