It’s the Thursday before a long holiday weekend. So we’ll pretend it’s Friday, and entertain your more frivolous inquiries. One of you writes:

Just a question — I just saw this photograph of Nancy Pelosi:

And it seems that, besides the haircut, she looks considerably different than here:

Did she have her eyes lifted? Crazy.

We’re no experts, so we’ll turn it over to you. What do you think? After the jump, a reader poll.

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* CIA Director Porter Goss called it quits this week, and didn’t make up a reason for leaving. Not even the standard “time with my family” excuse, which of course makes us think it had something to do with the hookers or the gambling and payola. Anyway, he’s back on the gulf shore already, and everyone is waiting to hear who the next shady character to take over the job is going to be. MORE »

One-point-six billion says the baby’s not Souter’s. MORE »

Yesterday we did a little blogging about Labor Secretary Elaine Chao — a.k.a. Mrs. Mitch McConnell (address her that way, she loves it). We asked you for a little scuttlebutt about Secretary Chao. And then the floodgates opened.

After the jump, your catty comments and unverified gossip about our beloved Secretary of Labor.

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Yesterday we gave you two blind items for your consideration. Here’s the first (originally from Page Six):

WHICH Democratic party moneybags is getting divorced because he diddled with a candidate’s daughter? To cap it off, his wife, the mother of his children then had a go with her personal trainer (a woman)…

In the comments, the dominant response was George Zimmer, the founder and CEO of Men’s Wearhouse. By email, this additional response: “Terry McAuliffe with one of the Kerry daughters…. Or better yet, McAuliffe with one of the Bush twins. I would prefer the latter.”

And then the second item:

The daughter of a potential 2008 candidate was having a very spirited going-away party at the Tortilla Coast on Thursday night. Apparently she’s leaving Washington to work for her dad back at home. Quite a few staffers from various congressional offices were on hand, as well as close friends, roommates, and God only knows how many male admirers. Word is that in her new position she’ll be raising money for ‘08.

We received one, highly detailed response, which included some additional information about the alleged candidate in question. Check it out, after the jump.

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In case you haven’t noticed, we have a weakness for difficult women around here. High-handed women, like Katherine Harris and Cynthia McKinney, make for good copy. MORE »

We seem to have cornered the market in blind items about misbehaving daughters of prominent politicians. First we asked you about a cokehead daughter, and then about one who had an affair with a fundraising powerhouse. And now, we bring you this little item (courtesy of a tipster): MORE »

Sure, they’re scandal-ridden, their credibility in tatters. But the Page Six people still come up with scrumptious blind items: MORE »

* You have to respect hookers. Who else could take a regular oldho hum corruption case and make it really get interesting? This one could get very good, so keep watching — it’ll all be here.
* It’s just wait on see on our old buddy Karl too. All the orange jumpsuit pics will be here once we get ‘um.
* In the category of news that’s not news, but everyone wants to hear anyway, George Clooney spoke at the National Press Club. Swoon, swoon, loving sigh, swoon. Seems also that the light from George’s star burns so bright, it extinguishes other lesser, previously scheduled, stellar formations.
* Scott McCllelan has only been gone for a week and already Bush has a new lamb to lead to slaughter. They say Tony can take it though, that he’s a cool customer and part time rock god, but we’re reserving judgment til an .mp3 comes through. We did get a chance to go see for ourselves that everyone else was more than happy to line up for the gravy train.
* The kickball kids must have been too drunk to talk to reporters, and the non-profiter’s Ultimate league has already gone underground, so the Wall Street Journal (the paper to read if you really want to know what’s going on) put a little piece about Hill softball up on the front page and now all the staffers are a twitter. They’re not really fooling anyone (we already know what’s in the red cups) but the hitting and catching is a nice garnish.
* Don’t think we forgot there’s a huge party tonight. Wonkette’s gonna be there, and we’ll tell you all about it so it’ll be just like you were too.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, a Republican candidate for governor, is being lampooned in a series of videos at a clever new website, SorryCharlie.com. Here’s a screengrab from one: MORE »

And now, some news from the Land of Enchantment. The Albuquerque Journal reports:

A well-known blog chronicling Washington, D.C., politics and Beltway gossip reported that Gov. Bill Richardson recently hosted a retreat to “refine his national message” in preparation for a 2008 presidential run.

Richardson gubernatorial campaign manager Amanda Cooper said the site got it wrong: While Richardson did call campaign experts to the Governor’s Mansion in Santa Fe to discuss campaign strategy, Cooper said the meeting centered on his 2006 re-election campaign for governor.

Yeah, sure. And Hillary’s just focused on her reelection to the Senate. ‘Cause she really needs to raise a gajillion dollars to defeat… who’s she running against again?

Governor Richardson, there’s no need to be coy about your 2008 ambitions. At least one reader of ours is a huge fan. Check out his manifesto, in support of the proposition that “Bill Richardson MUST be the next Democratic candidate,” after the jump.

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