Taniec Kwaśniewskiego u Busha (ENGLISH)

Nothing like an Oval Office photo op with a foreign leader. Its a chance for smiling handshakes and a series of banalities and platitudes before the warm fire.


But not yesterday. President Bush was in the usual mode with Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski when a reporter asked about visa requirements for Poles when people from other countries, including France and Germany, dont need visas.

Bush was in top form, saying "Were working . . . on this very delicate issue" and "Weve got a study group" and blaming the GOP-controlled Congress. This led to a mini-filibuster by Bush, on "realities . . . here" and "what the realities are on the ground in Poland." Poland, which sent troops to Iraq, "is our great friend," Bush said, showing his mastery at these events. "There are thousands of Polish-Americans who . . ."

"Millions," Kwasniewski interjected.

Bush, taken aback, kept it light. "Millions, excuse me. I just dont want to overstate the case here," he said as the reporters laughed.

"No, thats true," Kwasniewski said, veering dangerously off-cue.

"That . . ." Bush tried again.

"Especially before the election, there are millions and millions!" Kwasniewski said as Bush laughed a bit more weakly, blamed Congress again and tried to talk about how "we understand the need for dialogue and travel . . . and look forward to working with [Kwasniewski] on these issues."

Kwasniewski, leaning into Bush at times, was now in full lobby mode. "We will work, of course, but" the goal is no visa requirements, he said.

"Yeah," Bush said.

No stopping the visitor now. "I speak to you. You know that is the future," Kwasniewski said.

"Well, it could be," Bush said, staying on message, again saying Congress should pass an "immigration policy that matches willing workers with willing employers."

Great, Kwasniewski pressed. "We appreciate it very much, but it is the present. The future is no visa."

"Hmm," Bush said, according to a transcript.

Just wait till Kwasniewski tries to get back into this country.



Of Feathers and Gravity

As famed philosopher Mel Brooks opined in his classic "History of the World": "Its good to be the king." The same could be said for Smithsonian Institution chief Lawrence H. Small.

Sure, Small was sentenced last week for buying hundreds of art objects made with the feathers of protected species. He copped to violating the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, a misdemeanor that could have gotten him six months in the slammer. But hes not going to do any time, just two years probation and 100 hours of community service, along with a letter of apology to be put in various newspapers.

But imagine if Small had been a lowly staffer at the National Zoo, which is but a sliver of his overall kingdom. Then the zoo might have to wonder whether the violation would affect the zoos accreditation with the American Zoo and Aquarium Association. This is the zoo equivalent of the Good Housekeeping seal of approval, very good for fundraising, image and recruitment.

A question on the AZAs accreditation application asks: "Have any staff members ever been found guilty of violating wildlife regulations enacted by any of the various states or any agency of the U.S. Government or those of any foreign nation? If yes, attach detailed explanation."

Another question asks if any staff members are "currently under investigation" for violating such regulations.

Is Small considered staff? Not really, said AZA spokeswoman Jane Ballantine. He would be technically at the board of directors level. The question would apply to people on the staff of the zoo itself, she said, adding that she has never heard of any denial of accreditation based on those questions.

And, as Brooks would doubtless say, "community service is better than doing time."

The Wrong End of a Drug Charge

Speaking of criminal activities. . . . Department of Agriculture administrative law Judge Leslie Holt and a female companion were arrested earlier this month in Puerto Rico for alleged possession of crack cocaine, the Associated Press reported.

Holt and the woman were picked up after federal agents got a tip that the two were buying drugs in a San Juan housing project, an FBI spokeswoman said.

Holt had been driving a car rented at a government contract rate, the AP said. Agents nabbed them after finding alleged drugs and paraphernalia in his hotel room, according to a court affidavit.

Well, at least he got the government rate.

Sen. Frists Good People

Log on now to Amazon.com! Its the only way to buy Senate Majority Leader Bill Frists new book, "Good People Beget Good People: A Genealogy of the Frist Family."

It wont be sold in local bookstores, but it can be yours online for only $50.

Frist did the book for his family and paid for it himself, a spokesman said. He worked on it for about 20 years and wrote it with Shirley Wilson, a Tennessee genealogist. Its got a lovely shot on the cover of the Frist family home in Meridian, Miss., which was his grandfathers and the place where his father was born.

And the catchy title phrase, "Good People Beget Good People," is a saying passed down from Frists father in a letter in 1997, when he was 89 and nearing death, to his great-grandchildren, setting out his views on life.