Gossip Roundup: Rice’s Banned Reading

• Names & Faces: Bono says he feels “exploited” by the use of his photo in campaign literature for Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi. [WP]
• Washington Whispers: Playboy and Penthouse are banned from State Department newsstands at the request of Condoleezza Rice… Josh Bolten recently cut work to watch a few Washington Nationals games… Fidel Castro could die within the next few years, American officials contend… Frank Luntz has a favorable view of Mark Warner… Rep. Nancy Pelosi misses the chocolate she gave up for lent. [USN&WR]
• Page Six: Site indicates Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) may have kept a “love nest” with his former chief of staff… Jenna once woke Bush up and made him call her then-boyfriend Blake Gottesman after they fought. [NYP]
• Lloyd Groves’s Lowdown: Gore blames Bush for failures surrounding Katrina and 9/11 in the “green issue” of Vanity Fair. [NYDN]
• The Scoop: Susan Sarandon wants national elections to be monitored by a third party: “The last one was an embarrassment. Everybody knew there was fraud, but nothing was done about it.” [MSNBC]

READ MORE: 2004, 2008, Personalities, al gore, blake gottesman, bono, chocolate, condoleezza rice, fidel castro, frank luntz, george w. bush, italy, jenna bush, josh bolten, mark warner, nancy pelosi, playboy, silvio berlusconi, susan sarandon, vanity fair, washington nationals

Remainders: With the Benefit of Hindsight

• According to David Brooks, many pundits correctly predicted the direction the Iraq war would take. But not David Brooks. [Radosh.net]

• Bush’s appearance in Cleveland actually went pretty well — but maybe he regrets that unfortunate rhetorical question. [HuffPo]

• Cindy Sheehan will be portrayed by Susan Sarandon in a biopic. Bush won’t meet with her either. [San Francisco Chronicle]

• The Young Turks tell it like it is. [LAT]

• Parodying the Drudge Report may be easy — but it’s still fun. [Moderately Effed]

READ MORE: Remainders, bush, cindy sheehan, david brooks, drudge, drudge report, george w. bush, susan sarandon, the young turks

Gossip Roundup: Jessica, We Hardly Knew Ye

• Reliable Source: Jessica Simpson maintains smile throughout brief trip to Capitol Hill… Gore may have exaggerated the response of conservatives to his film… Olympic speedskater Joey Cheek meets Bush, Pelosi. [WP]
• Inside the Beltway: After Sunday services, Bush changes from his suit to his biking gear faster than a speeding bullet… Scott McClellan on rumors of a shakeup: “This is part of the inside Washington babble that goes on in this town. It’s part of the parlor game.” [WT]
• Page Six: Susan Sarandon on Sen. Clinton: “I find Hillary to be a great disappointment… She’s not worse than other politicians, but I hoped she would be better. What America is looking for is authentic people who want to go into public service because they strongly believe in something, not people who are [just] trying to get elected.” [NYP]

READ MORE: 2008, Personalities, al gore, bush, george w. bush, gossip, hillary clinton, jessica simpson, joey cheek, nancy pelosi, rumors, scott mcclellan, susan sarandon