OMG, DHS! ASICs and OTMs!

Then someone, apparently Secret Service, approached and said: "Bob, I'm sorry, I'm going to have to take the gun." Schieffer protested that the weapon was plastic, but to no avail. Seems you may be famous, your brother may be a close Bush pal and twice-appointed ambassador (to Australia and now Japan). But you're still assumed to be a threat.

And what, in retrospect, of the real guest of honor that evening, New York's presumptive former governor, Eliot Spitzer (D)?

"He was seated right below the speaker's podium," Schieffer recalled, "and came up to me and said, 'Bob, how are you?' and I said, 'How are you, Governor?' and we chatted for a minute."

Reporters have been buzzing about how Spitzer, though already apprised Friday by the FBI that he had been implicated as love "Client-9," in the court filing, seemed in great humor as he energetically worked the crowd.

Schieffer recalled running into him again after the show and thanking him for coming. "He said he had a great time."

As they say, denial is not just a river in Egypt.

The Intimidation Factor

No question but what the Clinton campaign's full-throttle media-bashing effort has worked magnificently. As far as we know, not one single non-New York newspaper -- even those far away from New York, where readers had never heard of Spitzer -- used the most obvious headline for his legal dilemma: "Clinton Superdelegate Linked to Sex Ring."

Illinois Voters Want Representation?

Republicans were chagrined over the weekend when Democrats captured the Illinois congressional seat held for 21 years by former GOP House speaker J. Dennis Hastert. (Hastert called it quits in November, 10 months after the Democrats took over the House.) Worse, the Democratic candidate won by a comfortable 52 to 48 margin, in a district President Bush won easily in 2004.

But there's some inkling that Illinois Republicans were a bit rattled even before Saturday's loss. We got this fundraising letter five days before the election from Rep. Mark Kirk, whose district includes upscale Winnetka.

"Despite my record of achievement, outside organizations are trying to defeat me," Kirk wrote. "With their support, my 2006 opponent is back with funding from big government unions, the trial lawyers and MoveOn.org. These groups want to represent you in Congress, not me."

Hughes Gets Battle-Ready

Former top White House aide Karen P. Hughes, a veteran of the Texas governor's office and the Bush inner sanctum and a high-level diplomat with substantial -- if somewhat inauspicious -- foreign affairs experience, looks to be burnishing her commander-in-chief-on-Day-One credentials. (Isn't everyone?)

Bush yesterday announced he was going to appoint her as a member of the board of visitors to the United States Military Academy at West Point, for a term that ends Dec. 30, 2010. (Hughes comes from a military family.)