Wonkette

Today’s Wonk’d brings us Hu Jintao, guarded like the superpower leader that he is, and Chris Rock — also being guarded, but maybe for different reasons. Jenna Bush and friends were seen, shockingly, waiting their turn in line, but the guys from Franz Ferdinand had ladies waiting in line for them. Media elites Tucker Carlson and David Gregory, ignoring high gas prices, were fillin’ ‘er up. Also spotted: Chelsea Clinton, hiding behind the latest fashions; R. Kelly, trying to get himself in more trouble; and John Ashcroft, ACTUALLY TAKING THE METRO. We deliver what we promise, plus so much more, after the jump.

We love our tipsters and all your hilarious tips, so please keep sending them to us via email, with “Wonk’d” or “Sighting” in the subject line (along with the name of the spotted celeb). Thanks!

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* Deep in the bowels of his fortified bunker, devilishly wringing his hands, Hu Jintao channels his best evil scientist: “Yes, yes, my plan is working perfectly.” [Peking Duck] MORE »

Dick and Condi were, too. Photos from last week, when Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the White House:

Sorry for not blogging about this earlier! Guess we were asleep at the blogging wheel. Or maybe we were just “looking at our notes.”

(The Condi photo, by the way, lends support to the rumor that our superwoman Secretary of State occasionally naps at her desk.)

Also in the “we-meant-to-blog-about-this-last-week” file: the paparazzi shots of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s bare butt (or, as the British tabloid The Sun referred to it, her “Bumdestag”). Photographers grabbed the shot while Chancellor Merkel changed into her bathing suit.

(After the jump, a not-safe-for-the-workplace photo of the German rump parliament. WARNING: Before clicking on the “More” button below, make sure your boss isn’t around.)

President Hu’s White House Visit [AFP/Getty Images]
ASSleep with the Fishes [PerezHilton]
Should Cheney Be Next? [Froomkin!]
Merkel’s Long, Strange Honeymoon [Newsweek]

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* We definitely think the fact that it was a grenade and some weed is the funniest part. [The Boston Channel] MORE »

• 53% disapprove of Bush in WP-ABC poll. Two-thirds complain about gas prices and a majority think the administration can reduce them, painting “a portrait of national frustration with the direction and leadership of the country, which, if not reversed in coming months, is likely to color the environment for next year’s midterm elections, putting incumbents in both parties on the defensive.” 52% think Bush should meet with Sheehan; Democrats and independents are disappointed by their leaders. [WP]
• Reagan library finds thousands of Roberts-related documents; officials rush to sort them out before next week’s confirmation hearings. [NYT, LAT]
• Bush decides to tap oil reserves; returns to Washington to orchestrate response to Hurricane Katrina. [WP, WP]
• Oil prices likely to pass $3 a gallon this weekend. [WP]
• Incomes have not grown in five years and the poverty rate has increased to 12.7%, the Census Bureau reports. [NYT]
• Bush compares Iraq war to WWII: “They will fail, because the terrorists of our century are making the same mistake that the followers of totalitarian ideology made in the last century. They believe that democracies are inherently weak and corrupt and can be brought to their knees.” [WP]
• Administration has drafted rules that weaken environmental oversight for power plants, allowing for the release of more pollution. [WP]

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