KC Buzz Blog

Remember the first day of kindergarten?

   Apparently that's kind of like the seating chart for a president's State of the Union speech. A wild scramble ensued last night and seniority does have its perks.(Apparently the "good" aisle seats to be able to glad-hand on national teeevee the president as he walks in and out of the House Chambers require staking 'em out 12 hours or so beforehand.)

   One of those on the aisle was Sen. Kit Bond, who was next to Penn. Sen. Arlen Specter on the Republican side. His bipartisan display was a blue paisley tie.

  On the Democratic aisle side no, that wasn't Congresman Emanuel Cleaver mauling President Bush last night and saying he was going to pray for him. That was his near twin, Rep. Sanford Bishop.

   A spokesman for Cleaver said Cleaver sat dead center in the Democratic side of the House chambers. Cleaver grabbed a salad beforehand and got to the chambers early. He said he couldn't imagine the pressure the president faced last night.

   Afterward, as Cleaver was on the telephone doing an interview with KCUR-FM, he waved at Sen. Claire McCaskill as she prepared to do an interview with KMBC.

   During the speech, McCaskill was several rows back from Sen. Hillary Clinton, which got her on television a bit. But apparently even closer to her and thus getting more camera time was Congressman Dennis Moore, who is today on The New York Times Web site thanks to this picture.

  He may be in the minority now, but Rep. Roy Blunt was one of the first to make his way to Bush after the speech. Cameras caught him broadly smiling his accolades to Bush. Right behind Blunt, but not seeking Bush out for any back slapping would be Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott, who blamed Bush in part for him losing the title of majority leader. Lott was smiling jovially to everyone else on his way out.

   Getting the biggest post-speech interview from our neck of the woods was McCaskill who charmed MSNBC's Joe Scarborough. (Check it out here). She was rewarded with almost 10 minutes of airtime, a lifetime by teevee standards. The best part of the interview was when she joked about the difficulties in knowing when to stand and clap and when to sit stoically.

   "It's a mess!" she joked, adding it was "silly" the whole "game" about when to stand up.

Posted by DeAnn Smith

T. Graves lauds U.S. Attorney pick

   Former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves said today he wanted to make certain KC Buzz Blog readers know he is delighted with the selection of John Wood as his replacement. He said his mind was elsewhere when asked yesterday about Wood's appointment, but that in no way should reflect on the nomination by President Bush. He said he believes Wood deserves effusive praise.

   "He has had a stellar career. He has had very important positions in D.C. He has clerked for a Supreme Court judge," Graves said. "The guy graduated magna cum laude from Harvard law school and nobody gives that to you."

   Graves said he wishes Wood well and wants to help him however he can.

   "I am thrilled they are going to get political leadership back in that job," he said, adding that will provide important long-term strategic direction for the 120 employees in the office.

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Kanatzar gets an overflow crowd

    New Prosecutor Jim Kanatzar formally took the oath of office this afternoon in a Jackson County courtroom to an overflow crowd. Afterward, a reception was held by the Tim Dollar law firm at a downtown hotel. The Dollar law firm employs Kanatzar's wife, Jill, who glowed throughout the event. Kanatzar was surrounded by family members during the swearing-in festivities. Afterward, his adorable four-year-old son, Sam, clutched his father's hand as they were surrounded by well wishers.

   Mayor Pro Tem Alvin Brooks and former U.S. Attorney Todd Graves were among the overflow crowd spilling out into an outside corridor.

   In an interview, Graves wasn't exactly effusive with praise for John Wood's nomination to replace him as U.S. Attorney. He said Wood appears to be qualified for the job. Wood, the cousin of U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, was recently nominated for the post.  Graves said he likes that Wood has connections to the area. He said such knowledge is important to be able to do the job well.

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Bond won't head UM system

   U.S. Sen. Kit Bond has squelched the rumor that he might become the new president of the University of Missouri system.

   He told the Columbia Tribune Thursday, "There are very few things that we can say definitely these days, but you can definitely kill that one.

    "I have no interest in it," Bond said. UM curators "would have no interest in taking me out of this post."

   That post includes his seat on the Appropriations Committee, a lucrative source of bucks for the UM system.

Posted by Steve Kraske

Bond on the bubble to head MU?

  This from Wonkette:  According to a Wonkette operative who heard this from two different sources, Republican Senator Kit Bond is going to bail on the Hill and become Chief Lord of the University of Missouri. In a dastardly move that won’t change the Balance of Power (unless it also involves somebody sneaking into Tim Johnson’s hospital room), Republican and Missourah Guv Matt Blunt will do a Dick Cheney and appoint himself to the Senate seat.

UPDATE: Roy Temple of FiredUpMissouri.com called to gently chide KC Buzz Blog that his Web site had the Bond rumor two weeks ago. Here's the link.

Posted by Keith Chrostowski

Bond to ding the bell

   U.S. Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri ring-a-ding-dings it tomorrow for the Salvation Army.

   The place: Marshall’s at Zona Rosa.

   The time: 3:30 p.m.

   Beware: The press release notes he'll be encouraging passersby to donate. It's safe to assume that given Bond's record of bringing home the pork to Missouri, he can be fairly persuasive.

Posted by Steve Kraske

Bond on Lamar Hunt

   Sen. Kit Bond issued a statement on the passing of Lamar Hunt:

    "Lamar was a good friend and will be sorely missed. He will be remembered as an innovator who changed the face of professional football. As the founder of the Kansas City Chiefs and a true entrepreneur, Lamar left his mark on Kansas City. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hunt family."

Posted by Keith Chrostowski

Bond slated to become vice chair of Intel

   AP is reporting that Missouri Sen. Kit Bond will become vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, replacing Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts.

Posted by Keith Chrostowski

Federal "hanging" judge Dean Whipple taking senior status

   Who is going to be the next Johnson County or Jackson County prosecutor is so yesterday's news. The legal community now is buzzing about who will get the really plum gig: a federal judgeship. 

  KC Buzz Blog heard through the grapevine that Federal Judge Dean Whipple had taken senior status and was trying to confirm it. And lo and behold having lunch today at see-and-be-seen Pierpont's was KC NAACP President Anita Russell and U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan Jr.

   And Gaitan kindly confirmed that, yes, Whipple's last "full-time" day is April 30 and that he will no longer be chief judge as of Jan. 22. What Gaitan modestly did not mention is that he will be the next chief judge.

   Taking senior status is not the same as retiring. Whipple will still have an office and staff. He can keep any existing cases that he chooses, but will have more say over which new cases he takes. There are already two senior judges and both carry heavy caseloads.

   Whipple is best known as the final judge in the 26-year, $2 billion Kansas City School District desegregation case. He often railed about patronage and micromanagement in the district and when he ended the case he said the district had a long ways to go before becoming a public school system that KC residents could be proud of. He also oversaw the Kansas City Housing Authority case and often provided wry and punchy quotes from the bench in a variety of cases.

   Whipple came to the bench in 1987 through an appointment by President Ronald Reagan. He had served 13 years as a state court judge in the Lake of the Ozarks area. He had previously served as a county prosecutor. 

    Colleague Dan Margolies says Whipple obtained a reputation as a "hanging judge" while on the state court bench, which Whipple confirmed in one of his earliest cases. In December 1988, he sentenced a real estate developer to 10 years in prison for bank fraud charges. In handing down the sentence, Whipple said he wanted to "send a message" to white-collar criminals, says Margolies who covered the sentencing.

   Politicos and attorneys are also curious to see how partisan of a replacement appointment does President Bush make with the Senate now controlled by Democrats. But several attorneys and politicos said today that Sen. Kit Bond, a Missouri Republican, is good about making sure the president nominates a well-qualified candidate.

  Of course, incoming Sen. Claire McCaskill can have her say and put a hold on anyone she objects to (remember Ronnie White?). Which brings to mind an election-eve comment from Bond about how important a Jim Talent win was to him: "I've tried it with my vote being canceled on every important issue I've worked on."

   Look for a story from reporter Mark Morris in Thursday's Star about Whipple.

Posted by DeAnn Smith

Don't stand so close to me

   Incoming Virginia Sen. James Webb apparently had no interest in getting photographed with or chit-chatting with President Bush at a recent reception and icily let him know, according to a Washington Post report. Senators and their staff are trying to figure out this unusual political character.

   But memo to Overland Park native and Virginia Gov. Timothy Kaine who in the same article proclaimed that Webb will be the only senator who faces everyday anxieties about a son on the front lines of Iraq. Ever heard of a guy named Kit Bond? The Missouri senator's son, Lt. Sam Bond of the U.S. Marines Corps, has done duty in Iraq and the day before the senior Bond's Iraq visit earlier this year five members of the officer's unit were killed.

Posted by DeAnn Smith