Inside the Beltway

Mr. Tancredo has been invited to the White House twice each year in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and once so far in 2007 with another invitation on its way.

“And, lo and behold, he accepted and showed up on most, if not all, of those occasions,” the magazine concludes.

Doctor again

When we caught up with him at the recent Larry King Cardiac Foundation dinner, former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist recalled how happy he was to have helped a 7-year-old boy from Afghanistan receive open-heart surgery last year at Children’s National Medical Center in the District.

It was a U.S. Army surgeon stationed in Afghanistan, Maj. T. Sloane Guy, who sought assistance from the senator — a fellow heart surgeon with whom the major had operated in the past — after the boy, Umer Mohammed, nicknamed “Blue” because of his skin color, and his father, Fateh, were twice denied visas to enter the United States.

“I believe that providing humanitarian relief is not only an act of compassion, but can also serve as a currency for peace,” said Dr. Frist, noting that Mr. King’s cardiac foundation covered medical costs for the boy’s surgery.

Now we see that Dr. Frist this week has been appointed to the board of directors of Africare, which provides more than 150 development programs, including medical assistance, to 22 nations in Africa. As it stands, Dr. Frist already travels each year to Africa on medical missions.

Quite frankly

“I should not have purchased decaf this morning.”

Or so read a statement issued yesterday by Jeffrey Wrase, chief economist on the Joint Economic Committee, who had issued an earlier statement referring toRep. H. James Saxton of New Jersey as the committee’s ranking Republican “senator” instead of “member.”

c John McCaslin can be reached at 202/636-3284 or jmccaslin@washingtontimes.com.