Watt and the three-second rule

Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Mel Watt (D-N.C.) was spotted walking in the hallway outside HC-5 on Thursday in the Capitol. The lawmaker was eating what appeared to be a large chocolate-chip cookie, breaking it up into pieces as he went.

According to an ITK spy, the lawmaker dropped a piece of cookie the size of an elephant animal cracker onto the polished stone floor. Watt didn’t miss a beat; he picked up the piece of cookie, popped it into is mouth and kept on walking.

“I didn’t drop it on the floor, I dropped it on my shoe,” Watt protested when asked about the matter, adding, “I don’t know about the three-second rule. From where I grew up you don’t do away with anything. I know where my shoe has been.”

Attendees of Rep. Gary Ackerman’s (D-N.Y.) annual New York fundraiser had, as usual, several ways to sate a hungry stomach, what with the matzo balls; rolls of pastrami, bologna and salami; and hot dogs with heaps of sauerkraut.

After issuing a loud whistle in true New Yorker fashion, Ackerman urged anyone holding back to dig in.

“The House physician is here, so you don’t have to worry about the cholesterol,” said the 12th-term congressman, whose event atop 101 Constitution has grown into one of the most popular in Washington.

Among the attendees were Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Reps. Major Owens (D-N.Y.), Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.), Allyson Schwartz (D-Pa.) and Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.).

Gary Trauner, a Democrat challenging Wyoming Republican Rep. Barbara Cubin, joined Ackerman in addressing the quieted throng and enthusiastically thanked lawmakers for their support for his campaign.

The towns are small, he said, but the roads long. Nevertheless, Trauner pledged to door-knock on as many homes as humanly possible to secure what would be an upset win for Democrats.

Trauner declared to The Hill that his fundraising trip to the nation’s capital had been a success, saying he won financial commitments from several trade groups and even more members.

In between rain showers, a full-blown rainbow appeared that spanned the House and Senate sides of the Capitol. Several Democrats seemed to take it as a good omen in their campaign to retake control of Congress, piling out on the balcony to get their picture taken under it.

Ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was walking around the Capitol last week free of his usual entourage of aides and personal security guards. Looking carefree, DeLay chatted with chamber security officials in the Speaker’s Lobby about mundane matters.

“I feel very liberated,” he said. “I have a lot more time on my hands. I didn’t realize how hard I worked.”

Last Thursday, Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, received high praise from Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) at his annual “Ninth District Day,” where he invites constituents to hear speakers from both political parties discuss what life is like in Washington.

Before Harman spoke, Smith gushed about her knowledge on intelligence matters, calling her “one of the most intelligent” members in the house.

As Smith praised her, Harman, in a humble reaction, shook her head in response. Upon reaching the podium in the ornate Members’ Room at the Jefferson Building, she made the audience laugh by making light of Smith’s words.

“My own husband this morning didn’t say anything nearly as nice,” she told the crowd. “He often tells me, ‘You make a lot more sense on TV.’”

And Harman is on TV a lot. To date, she has appeared on seven Sunday news talk shows, the third most appearances in Congress.

Over the weekend, Harman was again addressing a crowd, this time delivering the 128th commencement at Smith College, her alma mater. Known for her candor, Harman told the grads, “Leadership is tough, but leaders never give up. Dreams don’t come true. They are pursued.”

Before the speech, on Saturday, Harman participated in the opening of an exhibit of her papers donated to the college’s Sophia Smith Collection. Titled “Jane Lakes Harman: A Woman of Intelligence,” the display draws from some 270 boxes of papers and materials covering Harman’s first three terms in Congress.

“The Jane Harman papers are a gold mine to students, particularly government majors,” said Karen Kukil, reference archivist in the collection, who is organizing the papers and curating an exhibition. “They will be able to see firsthand how Congress works.”

The exhibition will include some 75 items, such as photographs from Harman’s youth and her political life, published papers, congressional writings, speech scripts, letters, and other documents.

Confusion reigned for Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) last week when he received press tickets on the House floor intended for Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.).

King says this happens all the time. In fact, not only does he receive press requests meant for Tancredo, but pages often confuse them and give them notes intended for the other.

“Gaze deeply,” remarked King, referring to his eyes. “If they are blue it’s King; if they are green it’s Tancredo.”

Looking to have some fun with their twin-like status, a few Christmases ago King and Tancredo switched nametags at a party at the White House. It was a risk for King, considering that presidential adviser Karl Rove had told Tancredo to “never darken the doorstep of this White House” after the congressman criticized the president for his border-security policies.

“He had a better time than I did,” King joked. “They let me in as Tom Tancredo. Karl Rove wasn’t manning the door.”

King said their wives, who are close friends, have also confused their husbands for the other. King himself has been confused, saying, “I have walked by the television and thought, ‘I don’t have a tie like that.’”

Last week, ITK reported that Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) recently wore a head wrap on the House floor, where hats are prohibited. House Parliamentarian John Sullivan approached and asked her to remove it, but she refused, causing a second official to ask her to remove it. Again, she refused.

McKinney’s office released a statement through her spokesman, Coz Carson. “The congresswoman wore a traditional African headdress, not a hat,” Carson wrote in an e-mail. “The parliamentarian and the congresswoman had an enlightening historical discussion about the definition of ‘hat.’”

Sullivan had no comment on the matter.

Al Gore didn’t win the chance to be the leader of the free world, but that doesn’t mean he abandoned plans to save it. The global-warming documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” enjoyed its East Coast premiere last Wednesday, to the excitement of celebrities and politicians alike.

Gore whisked past the press on the green carpet and said, “I have no plans to run again at this time,” but that wouldn’t stop the speculation.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) wanted to keep the focus on Gore and the feature-length documentary: “I think what he’s focused on is being a strong advocate for the country and the world.”

Singer Moby was less than confident in Gore for 2008. “I hope that whoever runs has a chance to win,” he said. Moby didn’t shy away from criticizing Congress either, adding, “It’s pretty clear that they’re doing a disastrous job.”

“Wonder Woman” Lynda Carter, self-proclaimed Wonkette Emerita Ana Marie Cox and pseudo-celebrity Valerie Plame also stopped by. The Democratic political set came out in force, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and former Clinton Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.