An exchange of letters over immigration between Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Colo.) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) — two possible presidential candidates — escalated late last week when Tancredo challenged the governor to a public debate.

Alarmed by a report in the Las Cruces Sun-News that at least part of a $1 million emergency grant to border counties was being used to monitor the Minuteman Project, a program where citizens volunteer to help patrol the border, Tancredo asked Richardson in a Sept. 27 letter “to direct state funding in your command to combating illegal immigration, not obstructing volunteers who want to help.”

He also questioned Richardson’s commitment to reducing illegal immigration, writing, “Given your new rhetoric on border security and your emergency declaration, I had hoped that you might actually change the way you govern your state. But, after the camera left and the satellite trucks drove away, it appears to be business as usual for your administration.”

That obviously didn’t sit well with Richardson, who, while denying that the money was being used for anything but enforcement, wrote the next day, “Frankly, people are growing tired of your blustering, and would much rather see you … actually accomplish something for the common good.”

That elicited another letter from Tancredo, which reviewed Richardson’s record on immigration as a congressman and governor, noting that “fortunately for the country, you took a break from handling immigration for a few years while in the Clinton administration.”

Tancredo then went on to challenge Richardson to a public debate. “I ask you to present your views about immigration and border security in a debate with me, as our schedules permit.”

No word yet on whether the governor will accept such a gracious invitation. But we doubt it.

The mildly embarrassing moment for the Bush administration and the beleaguered drug agency received media coverage across the country. But somebody apparently forgot to tell the press shop at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). A press release dated Tuesday included a quotation from “Director Andrew von Eschenbach” praising a new cancer study.

Could someone be impersonating the good doctor? No, an NCI spokesperson assured us. The release simply was written before von Eschenbach stepped aside and was not was changed.

 Seven members among top ‘emerging leaders’

The Aspen Institute has chosen seven current members of Congress as part of the inaugural class of 24 Aspen-Rodel fellows, a new program that brings together for two years the nation’s top “emerging leaders” between the ages of 25 and 45.

Led by former Rep. Mickey Edwards (R-Okla.), the program involves three weekend-long seminars and two overseas trips to study foreign policy and trade.

The Aspen Institute, headed by former Newsweek editor Walter Isaacson, has chosen Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), Dan Boren (D-Okla.), Artur Davis (D-Ala.), Kendrick Meek (D-Fla.), Heather Wilson (R-N.M.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.).

Sec. Bodman: But the Cadillac is comfier than Metrorail!

Secretary of Energy Samuel Bodman may have missed a chance yesterday to prove to the public that he’s serious about conserving energy.

Appearing at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast at the St. Regis Hotel in downtown Washington only days after President Bush exhorted Americans, including all federal employees, to save energy and avoid unnecessary car travel, Bodman confessed that he made the 15-block trip from Department of Energy headquarters in a Cadillac limousine instead of taking the Metro.

“I’d like to have done it, but you know the problems with security,” said Bodman, who was accompanied by an aide and several security officers driving a large SUV.

Had he chosen to, Bodman could have made the trip on the Orange or Blue Line from L’Enfant Plaza to McPherson Square and even gotten some exercise with a two-block walk to the hotel. And it only would have cost him $1.35 each way.

Or, as one over-65 reporter pointed out to him, the 67-year-old Bodman could have used a senior-citizen pass and gotten a 50 percent discount.

“That’s good to know,” said Bodman, who only two days earlier launched a national campaign to exhort families, government and businesses to conserve energy. The campaign features the Energy Department’s new cartoon mascot, the Energy Hog, a pig wearing blue jeans and a leather jacket, which will appear in media ads and on billboards, à la Smokey Bear.

Rummy: Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit

When it comes to holding memorable press conferences,no one takes a back seat to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Case in point: when Rumsfeld and Gen. George Casey Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, briefed reporters at the Pentagon about the coalition strategy in Iraq last week, it quickly turned into a rabbit hunt.

As reporters pressed Casey to explain why only one Iraqi battalion, instead of the three previously listed, is able to operate independently of American support, Rumsfeld interjected, “Just a minute. There are an awful lot of people chasing the wrong rabbit here, it seems to me.”

When the reporter persisted, Rumsfeld asked, “Are you going to go chase that wrong rabbit again?”

Then, as Casey tried to explain, Rumsfeld told the reporter, “You’re going to kill the rabbit.”

“Mr. Secretary,” the reporter replied, “I asked General Casey a question — I’m not chasing rabbits here.”
Maybe Rumsfeld should carry a rabbit’s foot with him at his next press conference.

 Unusual germs come with Mall protest

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a health advisory announcing that it had detected low levels of the bacteria that causes rabbit fever in the air over the National Mall area during the weekend of Sept. 24-25.

That weekend also saw the “Operation Ceasefire” antiwar march and concert on the very same National Mall.

According to the CDC, rabbit fever (tularemia) is common to rodents, rabbits and hares, but people do become infected through the bites of insects, by drinking contaminated water or inhaling airborne bacteria. It is not contagious from person to person.

Symptoms include skin lesions, fever and respiratory problems. The disease can be treated with antibiotics. The CDC says it has not received any reports of illnesses stemming from exposure on the Mall.

Of course, this turn of events is likely to be open to interpretation. Some alarmists would note that rabbit fever is on the CDC’s list of potential bioterrorism agents, and where better to terrorize than during a gathering of scores of thousands of people on the Mall?

Some of the protesters present that weekend — namely those in tinfoil hats — might argue that it was an unsuccessful attempt by Karl Rove & Co. to wipe them out once and for all.

Still others might suggest that such a disease of the lower mammals is exactly what you’d expect to find at a gathering of the current crop of antiwar protesters.

 Life after Congress …

Even in retirement, former Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.) sure has all the policy bases covered from his days as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

First he took a job as head of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Healthcare, check.

Now, he’s accepted a slot on the board of directors of Entergy Corp., a utility company that serves areas of Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Energy, check.

Meanwhile, residents of Oakland, Calif., are encouraging former Rep. Ron Dellums (D-Calif.) to challenge Mayor Jerry Brown. A legendary leftist, Dellums represented Berkeley and Oakland for nearly 30 years. He said he’ll wait until Friday to announce his intent.