Donald H. Rumsfeld

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With the Senate and House under Democratic control, and the defense department in new hands, some members of Congress are apparently now comfortable enough to tell their scariest Donald Rumsfeld stories.

Here's one from Jerry Nadler:

"During the one month official war with Iraq, you know, before Mission Accomplished, when the tanks were rolling across the dessert, we had a secret briefing with Rumsfeld. And I went to him at the end of the briefing and I said to him privately, 'Mr. Secretary, what is our policy to keep Iran from getting atomic weapons?' And he looked at me, because I was not concerned about Iraq, he looked at me and he said, 'The Iranian regime is very unpopular, there is lot of opposition internally, it may be unstable. We hope the regime will be overthrown before they get nuclear weapons.' I said 'Well I hope so too, but what is our policy?' And he turned and walked away."

--Jason Horowitz

As Hillary Clinton traveled on a statewide thank you tour, she appeared to add a necessary (if highly incremental) adjustment " to her standard line about just focusing on the current election: "All I'm thinking now is how excited I am that we've had a great election for the country and for our state and for our city."

Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is running for president.

New York's congressional delegation gained some major clout after Tuesday's election, with Chuck Schumer explaining, "Now when I say to one of my colleagues, New York needs something, or I need something, they'll be more amenable."

Iraq, Donald Rumsfeld and Mark Foley all became helpful issues for Democrats.

The president told reporters that Rumsfeld was doing a great job while he was interviewing replacements.

Joe Lieberman will retain his seniority in the Senate, caucusing with Democrats and likely chairing the Homeland Security Committee.

According to an exit poll, more than half of Connecticut voters surveyed didn't think Ned Lamont had enough experience to be a senator.

Eliot Spitzer faces more questions about what to do with Alan Hevesi.

Jill Gardiner expands on what we said about the six out-of-state candidates Mike Bloomberg and his aides helped elect on Tuesday.

Joe Bruno is the top Republican in the state now, but what he's inherited are "ashes," in the words of pollster John Zogby.

Dennis Rivera braced his union members for the hospital closings expected to be announced later this year.

One Democrat on the City Council doesn't want his salary raised.

And starting next year, the City Council will identify which members received member items in the budget.

-- Azi Paybarah

The new, independent Joe Lieberman says he wants Donald Rumsfeld to quit as Secretary of Defense.

Jeanine Pirro is accused of doing much the same thing that led the NJ attorney general to resign by using her position to argue a traffic ticket.

John Faso says "no one" is leading the state Republican Party right now.

Jonathan Hicks rounds up the battle for the 57th assembly district in Brooklyn.

A Sun editorial says Hillary Clinton has "has the luxury of being against 'luxury housing'" when it comes to her opposition to a plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park.

George Pataki goes on the attack telling New Hampshire's Concord Monitor Hillary Clinton is a polarizing personality, and "I fear that Sen. Clinton has focused more on the negative and on attacking, as opposed to coming up with any positive solutions."

Anthony Weiner attacks insurance companies holding back payments related to 9/11, which are "between $188 million and $390 million, should be seized by the state and turned over to the World Trade Center Memorial Fund."

And Wayne Barrett's book on Rudy Giuliani's unpreparedeness leading up to Sept. 11 is ranked 33,047 on Amazon's bookseller's list [updated]. It hits shelves tomorrow.

-- Azi Paybarah

Jonathan Hicks introduces readers to the battle for the 57th assembly district in Brooklyn.

Joe Lieberman calls for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld on Face the Nation, saying: "With all respect to Don Rumsfeld, who has done a grueling job for six years, we would benefit from new leadership to work with our military in Iraq." John Faso tells the New York Sun the state Republican Party is "suffering from a leadership void."

A Sun editorial says Hillary Clinton has "has the luxury of being against 'luxury housing'" when it comes to her opposition to a plan for Brooklyn Bridge Park.

George Pataki goes on the attack telling New Hampshire's Concord Monitor Hillary Clinton is a polarizing personality, and "I fear that Sen. Clinton has focused more on the negative and on attacking, as opposed to coming up with any positive solutions."

Anthony Weiner attacks insurance companies holding back payments related to 9/11, which are "between $188 million and $390 million, should be seized by the state and turned over to the World Trade Center Memorial Fund."

—Nicole Brydson

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John Kerry sounded like a candidate this morning when he spoke to the National Action Network annual convention breakfast via phone (he had been scheduled to speak in person, but like New York's Senators, was stuck in DC due to the debate on the immigration reform). On Katrina:

Hurricane Katrina showed us with Mr. Brown, you know Mr. Brown--Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job, Brown. Well let me tell you, Mr. Brown is to Katrina--it's a metaphor for the whole administration--Mr. Brown is to Katrina, what this guy Paul Wolfowitz is to our troops being received in Iraq with flowers and parades; and Mr. Brown is to Katrina what Donald Rumsfeld is to decent wartime planning and leadership and making sure our troops have armor and up armored humvees; and Mr. Brown is to Katrina what Dick Cheney is to visionary energy policy; and Mr. Brown is to Katrina what Tom Delay is to ethics; and Mr. Brown is to Katrina what George Tenet is to 'slam dunk intelligence'; and Mr. Brown is to Katrina what George Bush is to 'Mission Accomplished' and 'Wanted Dead or Alive.' This is the Katrina Administration.

Then, Kerry ended on this note:

We didn't win the presidency, nobody feels that more than I do every single day, but you know what, we won 10 million more votes then Bill Clinton won when he won re-election in 1996. We exceeded our goals in every single precinct in America and the lesson is: next time we're just going to set bigger goals. We're going to go out there and get the job done. We're going to turn this country around, win back our future, and win back what we deserve, and we're going to make this country what it can be.

—Nicole Brydson

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The plight of impoverished Africans is all the rage with film people lately. Again!

At The Constant Gardener premiere, Rachel Weisz arrived in a backless teal gown by Narcisco Rodriguez and Cartier earrings. She was followed closely by a handler who let the young journos know that they were to ask only about the movie "or else we're moving on." So no one dared to ask about Ms. Weisz's upcoming nuptials.

But they did ask about Africa. According to Ms. Weisz, while filming The Constant Gardener in Kenya, they lived in tents close to the shanty towns. The Kenyan children would always run right up to the crew; she was asked by one Kenyan mother if, where she comes from, children greet adults they don't know. Ms. Weisz said, "where I come from, children don't speak to strangers."

Ms. Weisz, who runs deep elsewhere, often keeps her thoughts to herself in these settings. It is a successful tactic in her profession.

Co-star Ralph Fiennes followed Ms. Weisz; his eyes popped in a beige suit and a baby blue buttoned shirt. "I wish [America] knew that even with a severe lack of resources there is a fantastic spirit. There are real courage, dignity and joy," said Mr. Fiennes about his experience filming in Kenya. "You can feel moved by it, the simple moments of human contact—a smile, a greeting." Ah: language barriers.

The Constant Gardener follows Mr. Fiennes' character, a career British diplomat, as he researches his activist wife's death. He discovers disturbing secrets about pharmaceutical industry dealings in Africa.

The film's auteur, Fernando Meirelles, said that "there's a lot of films coming out this year about Africa. We've really forgotten about this continent." He told another reporter that his next movie will be about globalization. It will be filmed in seven countries; its working title is Intolerance: The Sequel.

The two co-presidents of Focus Features spoke to the audience before the movie started; one made mention of "our philosopher and epistemologist Donald Rumsfeld." He scoffed at Rumsfeld's assessment of the known-knowns, known-unknowns; he felt that Mr. Rumsfeld left out the unknown-knowns. "We know it, but we don't really know it," he said in regarding the troubles of Africa.

After the movie, which in some ways is a well-meaning commercial for Amnesty International and depicts the unjust lack of basic health care in Africa, the party immediately headed one block west to Compass where the entire frosted-glass enclosed room of the restaurant was devoted to tiny square desserts and icy sangria; the beverages were served with a "cheers."

Problems? Africa?

One partygoer exclaimed "this is filled with sex," as he masticated a chocolate treat topped with a blackberry and gold leafing.

There were banquets full of cold shrimp, mussels, and raw oysters. Diners fed on pasta salads, grilled chicken and mini-mushroom sandwiches.

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One assistant to a female celebrity said the movie "highlights a different life that no one here knows begins to exist. It presented an interesting viewpoint of third world needs, but I think we need to hear the pharmaceutical side." Err, we do? She and her friend Sarah both agreed that the movie had "beautiful saturated colors."

Dirty martinis; champagne poured with an easy hand. The party ended woozily at 1:30 a.m. —Raegan Johnson

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