There's Summering, and Then There's Summering

Washingtonians are slowly drifting back into town this week, chatting about where they went for a break from the elite East Coast establishment. Many just vacation at nearby beaches -- Ocean City, Duck, etc. Others get a chance to go to niftier venues.

Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, for example, finally fulfilled a solemn promise he made when he took over the department two years ago: to visit every one of the four U.S. territories under his supervision -- he's been to Guam, the Marianas and American Samoa -- and to go to three other U.S.- affiliated nations for which he has responsibilities: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. No matter how far or difficult the journey, he promised to stop by.

So Kempthorne, accompanied by five aides, including the department's photographer, finally got to the U.S. Virgin Islands on Aug. 20 (he had to cancel a planned visit there in the spring). The group toured all three islands and met local officials. They visited the national parks, hospitals, health-care facilities, a water project and such and left on Aug. 24.

The group roughed it a bit, camping out, sort of, in the national park on St. John. They stayed in a resort that didn't even have television sets. But it was, after all, the stunning Caneel Bay resort, which features some of the most beautiful scenery anywhere on the planet.

We were told they received the government rate -- $295 a night -- in a place where prices, even in the summer, can run as high as $1,025 a night. "It's a nice place," one aide said.

Meanwhile, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao was tapped by President Bush to lead the U.S. delegation to the Closing Ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing after Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dropped out to go to Georgia -- the one invaded by Russia.

Chao was accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, who had been traveling on a decidedly not Loop-recommended Africa trip that focused on AIDS work in Ethiopia, Mali and Ivory Coast, followed by Pakistan. He linked up with the delegation in Beijing on Aug. 21 and returned home Aug. 25.

But Chao stayed on for a week, traveling with her father, shipping magnate James Chao, and five staff members -- including a translator -- to the Chao ancestral home in Shanghai, where she gave speeches and chatted with senior government officials. Then she stopped in Singapore at the invitation of the U.S. ambassador. (We heard some embassy folks, exhausted from working on the Olympics, were not pleased about having to find venues for Chao to visit in Shanghai, but everything apparently went off well.)

Then it was back home on Saturday, with plenty of time to head up to the Twin Cities for the Republican convention.

Hockey Mom Chronicles

Seems everyone, even the Brits, is claiming to have been prescient in picking Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as a possible GOP vice presidential candidate. Monocle, a London-based magazine, calls to alert us to an interview it did in late summer of last year.

In the article, published in October, when it appeared that elite East Coast establishment candidate Rudy Giuliani, former community-organizer-with-responsibilities for New York City, would be getting the nomination, the magazine asked Palin if Giuliani might pick her as his running mate.

"I think it is so far in outer space," she said, "the possibility that he would ever want a hockey mom from Wasilla to be his running mate, that I haven't considered it."

But the interviewer, David Usborne, returned to the question. "Say the Democratic ticket is Clinton-Obama, a woman and a black man. You can see why the party might approach you," he noted.

"That's diversity right there isn't it?" she responded. "Wow! And who do the Republicans have? Good old rich white boys. I think that's another factor that has to be considered by the Republicans, that in some way their candidates are a reflection of more politics as usual. Not to slime the good old rich boys, but it sure wouldn't hurt for a new energy and new perspective to be enveloped by the Republican Party."

Is That a Gas Grill on the Registry?

Some churlish readers might think indicted Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who just won a solid primary victory and is running for reelection in November, might be worried about raising money for that race -- or maybe for his legal defense fund. In fact, he didn't seem worried about cash at all last weekend, at the wedding of his 27-year-old daughter, Lily.

We're told there were more than 400 -- that's four hundred -- guests watching as Stevens, 84, gave away the bride -- a UC-Berkeley law school graduate now clerking at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims -- at the luxury Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. That's got to set you back a good $60,000 just for the food and drinks.

Well, at least there are no more law school bills.

Forgot to File That Form

And now, some important legal advice from the Justice Department. Seems Minnesota U.S. Attorney Frank J. Magill last week charged one Matthew Bradley DePalma, a 23-year-old man from Flint, Mich., with illegally possessing Molotov cocktails, which he allegedly intended to use at the Republican National Convention, according to a department news release.

He was charged with "one count of possession of firearms that were not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record."

So make sure you register your Molotov cocktails, okay?

It's a Gusher!

President Bush, in Baton Rouge on Wednesday for an hour-long toe touch on Hurricane Gustav damage and relief efforts, talked to reporters about his decision to allow oil released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve if necessary.

"Bobby talked about the need for -- to release energy or oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve," Bush said, referring to Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). "Last night we got a request from a company doing business here in Louisiana and we met that request. And if -- so oil was released from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. And we will continue to do that upon requests by companies."

Turns out the company Bush was talking about was none other than Citgo, owned by the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chávez. (Actually, Citgo withdrew the request later, White House spokesman Dana Perino said yesterday. But it's the thought that counts.)