He Wrote the Songs, and She Sings His Praises

No matter how much fame and success you achieve, the miserable truth is you will be totally eclipsed by someone else from your high school class. Steve Goodman wrote a couple of perfect country-folk songs ("City of New Orleans," "You Never Even Call Me by My Name") and won a pair of Grammys; had he not died of leukemia at age 36, he would have been the star of all those reunions -- at least until a certain Park Ridge, Ill., classmate, name of Hillary Clinton, emerged on the world's radar. Now, in an exhaustive 778-page bio ("Steve Goodman: Facing the Music" by Clay Eals), the presidential hopeful pops up in one distracting cameo after another:

Page 63: Clinton, like Goodman, attended Friday night bashes at which politics was discussed and Meister Brau beer was served.

Page 77: Clinton loved Goodman's 1964 talent-show performance of "Ol' Man River," she tells Eals. "He felt the emotional content of music."

Page 79: Clinton says Goodman was popular with all crowds, positive, upbeat.

Page 85: Clinton envied Goodman's song parodies, which "made politics more entertaining."

Page 126: Goodman hitched rides to Lake Forest College, north of Chicago, with a fellow student who lived across the street from Clinton.

Page 706: Clinton calls "City of New Orleans" "one of the great songs that came out of my generation."

Page 724: Clinton thinks Goodman's "A Dying Cubs' Fan's Last Request" really captures what it's like to be a Cubs fan.

No Longer a Two-Jack City: The Mighty Quinn Mix-Up Comes to an End

The rumors are true: Jack Quinn pulled up stakes and moved to Buffalo. Don't believe the rumors: Jack Quinn is staying put in D.C.

Alas, Washington is no longer a two-Quinn town.

For 15 years, the two men shared the same name and each other's calls, mail and complaints. That all changed Friday when the white-haired Quinn (GOP congressman for 12 years, president of lobbying firm Cassidy & Associates) went home to become president of Erie Community College in Upstate New York. The dark-haired Democratic insider (Clinton's former White House counsel, co-founder of lobby shop Quinn Gillespie & Associates) will continue working in Washington.

"He and I have had a ball with this," said the former rep yesterday. "Over the years we have become very good friends." The two Irishmen met shortly after the 1992 election and bonded over switched place cards at a White House dinner party. The confusion deepened: ABC and CBS mixed up their pictures on air; the Democratic Quinn got brag-wall pics of the other Quinn with T om Delay; the congressman received angry mail about White House policy and once received a late-night call from Bill Clinton. Before the president uttered a word, Rep. Quinn identified himself. Long pause, then POTUS said, "So . . . how's it going up there in Buffalo, Jack?"

GOP Quinn starts the $185,000-per-year job as president of the three-campus college next week -- although we're told a competitor has been telling folks it's the Democrat who's taking the gig.

Clinton's Quinn chalked it up to one last mix-up with his name-twin, and added: "I'm going to miss him. He's a great guy." Plus, our remaining Jack Quinn just lost his no-fail excuse for the past decade: "It wasn't me. It was the Republican."

LOVE, ETC.

¿ Reconciling? Pulitzer-winning novelist Alice Walker, 64, and her memoirist daughter Rebecca Walker, 38, who recently signaled (in bloggy yet oblique fashion) a possible detente to their estrangement. The two fell out after Rebecca's 2001 book described "The Color Purple" author as a distant mother. Just last fall the younger Walker told a reporter, "We're not speaking." But last week, Mom published an essay on TheRoot.com (owned by The Washington Post Co.) about the pull between race and sex in the '08 campaign (she backs Obama) -- and drew an online comment from Daughter, a blogger for the site. "Great post, Mom. . . . So glad to see you adding your truth to the many being unearthed in this election season."

¿ Engaged: Andy Roddick, 25, to Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooklyn Decker, 20, the top-ranked U.S. tennis star announced yesterday. Roddick, who used to date Mandy Moore, proposed early last month. According to People, they met last year when Roddick asked his agent to track down a number for Decker. How cute!