Well, that’s that: The only places you can now smoke in Virgina are on private property, in the outdoors, and in sin. [DC Examiner] MORE »

We were perusing this Washingtonian list of fancy inauguration parties, which somehow includes Wonkette’s, and were disheartened to see that Luke Russert’s country club “jacket required” soiree is no longer an option. “Old Man Brown” (Obama) has other commitments? [Washingtonian]

Ha ha ha Luke Russert, NBC’s Official Young Persons Correspondent, apparently made a terrible slip this morning and said “the smartest kids in the state go [to UVA], so it’s leaning a little bit towards Obama,” which was a terrible insult to all the remedial readers at the University of Virginia who will also vote for Obama. Naturally, an apology was in order. MORE »

NBC News’ strategy in hiring young Luke Russert is now clear: whenever anything happens, Brian Williams can ask Luke what his dead father thinks about it. [MSNBC]

Some time ago, we posted the email above. We solicited your advice on how to find Tim, then promptly forgot about it and went on vacation. Now, the time has come to re-open the mailbag and post our favorite responses. MORE »

So, you ladies want your own radio show?

We weren’t expecting too much when we were invited to a party at the XM Satellite Radio studios — big brick building in an ugly part of town, people not attractive enough for real radio, etc. — but the soirée was sponsored by Capitol File and it was for the spawn of Tim Russert, so it was packed fulla the media elite and their hangers-on, dressed in a confused amalgam of fancy and casual that DC still can’t quite pull off.

Still, we had a good time — mostly because the open bar was one the best-stocked we’ve seen so far (Makers! Beam Black! Turkey!), but also because James Carville kind of hit us on the shoulder and growled something unintelligible-but-maybe-threatening as he passed by us to refill his drink. Our full report, complete with exclusive pictures from Liz Gorman, Intrepid Girl Reporter, after the jump.

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* Reliable Source: Condoleezza Rice plays a duet with Marvin Hamlisch at International Women’s Day celebration attended by Laura Bush, Kirk Douglas, Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Karl Rove, Alberto Gonzales, Michael Chertoff, and John Negroponte. . . John Ashcroft and wife Janet attend mandatory ethics course to complete their induction to the D.C. Bar. . . Jack Abramoff shows Vanity Fair photos of him with Newt Gingrich, who denies knowing the former lobbyist. . . Ann Richards, former Texas governor, has cancer of the esophagus. [WP]
* Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: The James Carville and Luke Russert sports show launches March 17th on XM Radio. [NYDN]
* The Scoop: Madonna supports Hillary ‘08: “I don

• Reliable Source: Sports talk show with James Carville and Luke Russert was created on the sidelines. . . Washington Convention Center plans to bid for the Miss America contest. . . Donald Rumsfeld spotted at Sunday’s Wizards game. [WP]
• Page Six: Chris Heinz is engaged to Sasha Lewis, a graduate student. Heinz: “Between this and the Steelers going to the Super Bowl, it’s been a good weekend at the Heinz house.”. . . Al Gore makes the rounds at Sundance. . . Bill O’Reilly said to be a fan of “The Colbert Report.” [NYP, NYP]
• Lloyd Grove’s Lowdown: In “the old days,” Sen. Ted Kennedy’s brother-in-law Steve Smith would cooperate with the National Enquirer “as long as the paper backed away from the more lurid speculation.” [NYDN]

• Bush will make aggressive attempts to frame secret NSA activities as a political asset at events this week; the “next few days could prove critical” for both sides. Scott McClellan: “We are stepping up our efforts to educate the American people about this vital tool in the war on terrorism.” [NYT, USAT]
• Justice Department is accused of conservative bias in voting-rights cases. [WP]
• In 2005, Democrats “were more unified than at any time in the past half century”; observers credit Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). [LAT]
• Republicans now expect 55-45 vote for Samuel Alito. [WP]
• Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) criticize eavesdropping program. Kerry: “We’re prepared to eavesdrop wherever and whenever necessary in order to make America safer. But we need to put a procedure in place to protect the constitutional rights of Americans.” [WT, WP]

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• Butterstick was robbed of the SCOTUS nom, but, on the bright side, he’s HUGE. Pound for pound, his adorability ratio puts Alito to shame [Reuters]
• Luke Russert is yummy looking. He can press our meet any day. [Gawker]
• And starring Dr. Phil as Matt Cooper… [Mr. Sun]
• Who doesn’t want to be Karl Rove for a night? [I Love Karl Rove]
• According to operatives, Libby’s hottie is assistant Christian Woelk, and you will be shocked to learn that she is a Young Americans for Freedom alumnus. But where did she get her shoes? [YAF]