Inside the Beltway

Advice taken

Given the irony surrounding this week’s U.S. air strike in Iraq that killed terrorist leader Abu Musab Zarqawi, one thing is certain: henceforth, Rep. Ray LaHood of Illinois will have President Bush’s ear whenever he desires.

“I was shocked, I really was. I had no idea this air strike was going on over there,” the six-term Republican from Peoria told Inside the Beltway yesterday.

The congressman was among several invited into the White House on Wednesday afternoon to brief Mr. Bush on congressional fact-finding missions in Iraq.

“I told him what my impressions were, and I went on to say that the most we as a nation could do for the new leaders of Iraq, and for the military, is if we could get al-Zarqawi. I told him it would be a huge boost, like when we captured Saddam Hussein.”

Unbeknownst to Mr. LaHood, at the same time that Mr. Bush was huddling with the lawmakers, the president was receiving secret updates surrounding a successful air strike of a safe house where Zarqawi was hiding.

“The president was nice enough to call me this morning,” Mr. LaHood told this column. “He said, ‘LaHood, you will go down in history for making a prediction that this would happen. ‘ ”

Playing politics

As if Baltimore Orioles team owner Peter Angelos hasn’t angered enough Washingtonians, given his dislike for the new Washington Nationals baseball franchise.

Now, Mr. Angelos is playing politics — way out in left field — by inviting wealthy guests to join him in hosting Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean “for an evening of fun at the ballpark.”

Or, more specifically, a party in the owner’s box at Camden Yards. Price: $25,000 to be an event chairman, $5,000 to be a host and $1,000 per guest.

The invitation is for June 27, when the Orioles face the Philadelphia Phillies.

One invitee, Georgetown resident Joseph C. Goulden, tells Inside the Beltway that “2006 marks my 50th year as an Orioles fan.”

“I’ve stuck with those Birds through thick and thin. … Now, even Angelos has gone the proverbial step too far — using the Birds as a political vehicle for Howard Dean.

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