Inside the Beltway

NEWS AND OPINION:

THE WHEELS TURN

Gears have definitely shifted. Rolling Thunder will not have a traditional audience at the White House to kick-start the 23rd annual “Ride for Freedom” rally. Officials from the mammoth motorcycle group tell Inside the Beltway they will not pay a call on President Obama this weekend when 900,000 riders gather in the nation’s capital in the name of patriotism, and to honor active-duty troops, prisoners of war, those missing in action and veterans.

The informal, cordial welcome was an annual rite during the previous administration, capped off in 2008 when President George W. Bush met Rolling Thunder President Artie Mueller and others in the White House driveway, escorted them to the Oval Office and was made an honorary member of the group. Last year, Mr. Obama met with Mr. Mueller before the rally, with a few hours’ notice. But alas, there’s “no White House this year,” a spokeswoman says.

Citing his “commitment to veterans,” Rep. J. Randy Forbes, Virginia Republican, will ride at the head of the long line of bikers when they begin their momentous journey from the Pentagon to the Mall - joined by, among many others, former Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Richard B. Myers and singer Nancy Sinatra.

FRUM PATROL

When is a book review not a book review? Bob Tyrrell, editor-in-chief of the American Spectator, is skeptical about The Washington Post’s choice of David Frum to weigh in on “Rush Limbaugh: An Army of One,” a biography by Zev Chafets. The review ran Tuesday, and Mr. Tyrrell deems its author as “unfitting” for the task.

“Most publications have a reviewing policy of not giving books to reviewers who have a personal stake in an author. Frum and Limbaugh have a longstanding dispute with each other, a matter that should have disqualified Frum from reviewing the book,” Mr. Tyrrell says.

He has his own opinions, the one-time speechwriter for President George W. Bush, calling Mr. Frum a “reformed conservative - one who attempts to appease liberals by sniping at conservatives for self promotion.”

The Media Research Center’s Tim Graham agrees, noting: “The Washington Post knows how to thrust two middle fingers in Rush Limbaugh’s face, on the front page of the Style section, reviewed by David Frum, the Republican establishment’s leading Rush-hater. This is a little like assigning a Bill Clinton book review to Jim Clyburn, so he can call him a racist again for 1,000 words.”

AND FROM FRUM

“Well, The Washington Post commissioned the piece and I wrote it. I hope it was interesting, and I hope the critics thought it was interesting,” Mr. Frum tells Beltway.

PLUGGING A CAUSE

“Experts propose plugging oil leak with BP executives: Submerging execs could be ’win-win.’ “

(Parody headline from comedian Andy Borowitz)

POLICE REPORT

A change in White House talking points about Arizona’s immigration law soon? Ten police chiefs meet with Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Wednesday. All “are concerned that the new S.B. 1070 law in Arizona will drive a wedge between the community and the police, and will damage the trust that police agencies have worked to establish over many years with members of all their communities,” says an organizer with the Police Executive Research Forum.

Attending: Phoenix Chief of Police Jack Harris; Tucson Chief of Police Roberto Villasenor; Sahuarita, Ariz., Chief of Police John W. Harris; Los Angeles Chief of Police Charlie Beck; Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey; Houston Chief of Police Charles McClelland; Minneapolis Chief of Police Tim Dolan; San Jose, Calif., Chief of Police Rob Davis; Salt Lake City Chief of Police Chris Burbank; and Montgomery County, Md., Chief of Police Thomas Manger.

SHORT BUT NIMBLE

Showcased Wednesday evening at the historic Occidental Grill in the Willard InterContinental hotel: a dozen new “pamphlets” intended to steer the political discourse from Encounter Broadsides, authored by the likes of former U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton (“How Barack Obama is endangering our National Sovereignty”) and former Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey (“How Obama Has Mishandled the War on Terror”).

“This new publishing venture aims to combine an 18th-century sense of political urgency and rhetorical wit - think ’The Federalist Papers,’ ’Common Sense’ - with 21st-century technology and channels of distribution,” publisher Roger Kimball tells the Beltway.

“This series of pamphlets offers essays of some 5,000-7,000 words. Long enough to elaborate a case, short enough to be composed quickly by a seasoned writer and to be read in a sitting. We have been able to move from inspiration to availability in bookstores and the Internet in only six to eight weeks,” Mr. Kimball says.

Investigate the old pamphlet reinvented here: www.encounterbooks.com/broadsides.

POLL DU JOUR

*85 percent of Americans are familiar with the “tea party” movement.

*38 percent support the movement.

*70 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats and 45 percent of independents support it.

*49 percent overall say “almost everyone in Congress should be thrown out.”

*62 percent of Republicans, 30 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of tea party members agree.

*35 percent would favor a Democrat in the 2010 midterm elections.

*19 percent would favor a Republican, 12 percent would support a tea party candidate and 35 percent are not sure.

Source: A Harris Poll of 2,503 adults surveyed May 10-17.

*Rumbles, grumbles, humble observations to jharper@washingtontimes.com.