But Who Really Cares, Outside Newt’s Beltway?
You may have heard how hefty House Speaker Newt Gingrich stuck to his New Year’s resolution and has managed to shed more than 20 excess pounds.
But, as is typical in political circles, the big question now is who deserves the credit - besides the Newtster himself, that is.
Florida gym owner Bill D’Addio issued a press release claiming he’s the one really responsible.
“When the speaker went to Asia,” D’Addio says, “he asked me to fax his diet to the Air Force so the proper foods would be available.”
But John DeFendis, a former Mr. USA and Gingrich’s personal trainer, says that he’s the one who should be grabbing the glory.
“It sickens me,” DeFendis said in the New York Post about D’Addio’s claim. “This is my big moment and he’s taking credit for it.”
Loose talk
Hip-hop queen Mary J. Blige, on her first official act if she were president (in George magazine): “I’d tell everyone in the White House to loosen up and take off those tight ties.”
Guess the voters told him to take a hike
Jack Kemp turns 62 today.
It’s one way to drown those Mary Jo sorrows
Christopher Kennedy, 34-year-old son of the late Robert F. Kennedy, tells Vanity Fair that at least eight or nine members of his immediate family attend daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. And, he adds, when “alcohol contributed to inappropriate behavior - in every case - these people don’t drink anymore.”
To love, honor and R-E-S-P-E-C-T …
None other than the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, did vocal duties at Saturday’s wedding of Karenna Gore, 23-year-old daughter of Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper. Franklin performed a selection from Puccini’s “La Boheme.”
If he’d known, he would’ve asked for a photo, too
At the recent White House Correspondents Dinner, President Clinton chatted with a woman, then asked a man he thought was an aide to get him one of her business cards. The “aide” was actually a Newsweek photographer, but he did what the president asked anyway.
Actually, there’s not much we can add to that
Martha’s Vineyard residents are bracing for another vacation arrival of the Clinton clan and its extensive entourage in mid-August. “He has a right to be here,” said local Realtor Harland Gibbs. “It’s just that he takes up more space than your average person.”
She’s the type we could picture biting back
A recent advertisement in the Denver Post for a series of motivational lectures included Barbara Bush , whose picture was captioned: “World Heavyweight Boxing Champion.” The red-faced production company explained that was left over from a previous speaker, George Foreman.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Photos
The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Compiled by staff writer Rick Bonino