Inside the Beltway

Amid the thorns

Jordan, you might say, is stuck between Iraq and a hard place.

Short of telling his Middle Eastern ally that the U.S. population is “addicted to oil,” President Bush can help Jordan’s King Abdullah II with only one of his kingdom’s “two new challenges” as laid out in Washington on Tuesday — the “rising price of oil” and the “decline in foreign aid.”

Still, both concerns will be high on the king’s agenda when he meets with Mr. Bush next week, a senior Jordanian official told Inside the Beltway during a breakfast meeting yesterday.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the official acknowledged several developments:

• Jordan is aware of a “growing influence” of Iran in Iraq, particularly in the southern region of the war-torn country, where there has been an increase in Iranian “sightings.”Jordan, meanwhile, is pressing for the nuclear standoff with Iran to be “solved through dialogue,” the official said, making clear that the Middle East cannot bear a further “escalation” in tension.

• Hamas “never dreamed” of its landslide victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections — “I think they were surprised by their victory,” said the official, adding that senior Hamas members he spoke with before the Jan. 25 balloting aimed at most for “40 percent.” A Jordanian diplomat who called on Hamas leaders two days ago “made clear” that Jordan expects the new government “to engage in the peace process.”

• There has been a “huge drop in any support” that existed among Jordanians (once estimated at 5 percent to 10 percent of the population) for Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi, who heads one network behind the terrorist attacks in Iraq and the bombings of three hotels in Jordan’s capital, Amman. But because of “private donations” and other unknown sources, Zarqawi has seen an increase in “resources to act and organize.”

Proud beans

We’d written last month of a push by coffee growers in Hawaii to have the White House serve U.S.-made coffee at presidential functions, rather than imported coffee blends from Central and South America.

We have it on good authority that numerous packages of 100 percent U.S.-estate-grown Kona coffee — medium roast to private reserve — have been delivered by promoters of U.S. coffee to White House usher Daniel Shanks (11 pounds, 12 varieties), senior White House aide Karl Rove (4.5 pounds, five varieties), first lady Laura Bush (4.5 pounds, five varieties) and Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick (6.5 pounds, seven varieties).

Meet the professors

Liberal-turned-conservative David Horowitz’s new book, “The Professors,” exposes what he calls the 100 most-dangerous academics in America.

Among them: a law professor who spent 10 years on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted” list, a professor who teaches that rap music is an effective tool for learning English literacy, a professor who praised the September 11 attack on the Pentagon and an English professor who regards the fall of communism as a “moral catastrophe.”

Pass the water

Their names are cropping up again as the 2006 midterm elections approach, but when it comes to the nation’s most widely quoted political pollster, the crystal ball of the year award — if there is such a glimmering paperweight — goes to Frank Luntz.

That is according to a list of citations culled from Lexis-Nexis for 2005. We might point out that Mr. Luntz honed his sound-bite skills as a debater at the Oxford Union, where he once spoke for 24 straight hours. (“I was so tired during the early morning hours, I paid friends to yell at me in the debating chamber,” he says.)

There were 457 references to the Washington pollster last year, averaging more than one quote a day in a newspaper, magazine or television program. Finishing a close second is Democratic numbers cruncher Stan Greenberg, whose client list includes former President Bill Clinton, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and leaders from several continents. Coincidentally, third place is owned by Mr. Greenberg’s former polling partner, Celinda Lake. Fourth overall is Republican pollster Dave Winston.

Former Clinton pollster-turned-cable TV guru Dick Morris is mentioned more often than all of the above, but he hasn’t been in the polling business for several years. Meanwhile, in the category of public-opinion pollsters, not concentrating solely on politics, John Zogby gets the most nods.

• John McCaslin, whose column is nationally syndicated, can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.