Wonkette

Here’s a nice video from The Hill newspaper that shows fitness creep Richard Simmons annoying Capitol Hill for several hours yesterday. He testifies to a House committee about No Child Left Behind destroying public schools’ physical education programs, and he exercises with Hill staffers outside the building. For Republican Congressmen who could witness this from the Capitol’s bathroom windows, it was a dream come true. In this video, Simmons starts freaking out to Congress at :52, then ratchets it up at 1:15, then “climaxes” at 1:30. It is hilarious. This Hill reporter, Erica whatever, seems nice. [YouTube]

We’ve received a ridiculous number of emails and reader comments about former Secretary of State Madeleine’s Albright’s claim that she can leg press 400 pounds. We’ve heard persuasive contentions and evidence on both sides. The argument has been more vigorous, spirited, and detailed than the congressional debate over the Iraq war resolution. MORE »

The afternoon has been a bit slow in terms of news. So let’s take you back to the great debate over Madeleine Albright’s ability to leg press 400 pounds. We reported about it, and then we questioned it.

Several of you now question our questioning. One of Secretary Albright’s students at Georgetown writes:

I’ve been following your coverage of the great Albright leg-press debate and have some fuel to add to the fire. I am a student in her class at Georgetown and in our most recent class we discussed her leg-press abilities in between discussions about Kosovo and Kim Jong Il. She told us that she slowly worked up from small weights, adding a few pounds on each time. But she asserted that she most definitely can leg-press 400 pounds. And seeing how fit she looks now–she’s lost a lot of weight since she was Secretary–I wouldn’t doubt her. With guns like that, she doesn’t need diplomatic security anymore!

We just saw Albright on CNN — she was promoting her new book — and we’re inclined to agree. Maddy’s looking svelte these days.

And this is just for starters. After the jump, a frighteningly detailed defense of Albright’s ability to leg press four hundred pounds.

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* Reliable Source: Fitness instructor who joked about Bush told friends that he voted for him. . . Stephen Colbert: “This administration is SOARING! They’re rearranging the deck chairs on the Hindenburg.”. . . Laura Bush spotted at Smith & Hawken in Georgetown. . . Andy Card is looking “perky” now that he can sleep in — until 5 a.m. [WP]
* Heard on the Hill: Tony Snow has referred to Bush as “something of an embarrassment,” “impotent,” and not “truly special”. . . Fitness instructor who offended the Bush twins will go on spinning. [Roll Call]
* Page Six: Smithsonian portrait of Bill Clinton doesn’t include his wedding ring. Responds Hillary flack, “Can you just quote me giving you a different finger?” [NYP]
* Cindy Adams: Bob Woodward is being “kept on a short leash” at the Washington Post. [NYP]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Rumsfeld did not attend the retirement ceremony of Eric Shinseki, the former Army Chief of Staff who has been critical of war planning. [NYDN]

* Heard on the Hill: Fitness instructor was “horrified” to find out that the Bush twins were in his spin class after he made jokes about the president and distributed a DVD of “Bushisms”. . . Tennessee House candidate Joe Ford Jr. uses MySpace instead of an official campaign site. [Roll Call]
* Reliable Source: Drew Lachey and Steve Case are also attending the Correspondents’ Association Dinner. . . Euan Blair has a late, antic-filled night. . . Birthday party for WRC anchor Wendy Rieger is nearly ruined by the Cheneys and the Rumsfelds. [WP]
* Under the Dome: Reps. Grace Napolitano (D-Calif.) and Lynn Westmoreland (R-Ga.) are the only House members who did not sponsor a single bill during this session. . . Princeton students Lauren Bush, presidential niece, and Harrison Frist, son of the senator, helped to select Bill Clinton as commencement speaker. [The Hill]
* Inside the Beltway: Politicians announce their commencement speech plans. . . Sandra Day O’Connor: “I was disappointed to see the percentage of women on the court drop by 50 percent.” [WT]
* Rush & Molloy: Mick Jagger won’t give up his hotel suite in Vienna for Bush. . . Bill Clinton, in Las Vegas, “enjoying Grey Goose, sea bass and apple pie.” [NYDN]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: Laura Bush holds White House screening of “Akeelah and the Bee.” [NYDN]

We are impressed not so much with this man’s audacity as with his ability to give a “tirade” while leading a spin class. MORE »

In response to our recent item about Madeleine Albright’s ability to leg-press 400 pounds, a tipster tells us: MORE »

I WILL BREAK YOU LIKE TWIG MORE »

Hey, guys — you’re dropping the ball. You were all over Condicise, but nary a one of you thought to let us know that today, Barbara Harrison of NBC4 was gonna talk fitness with Laura Bush. Sure, Condi may be the more popular one, with her insane workout regimen and intense concentration, but we have a soft spot for Laura, because she seems a wonderful throwback to the Pat Nixon/Lady Bird Johnson tightly-wound unmoving haircut school of First Ladydom. Here, in a sharp contrast to Condi’s workout, we see that Laura just sort of walks around the White House:
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