Inside the Beltway

Highlights include a pair of first-class roundtrip airline tickets to Washington, four-nights in a presidential suite, seating at the Inaugural parade, tickets to an Inaugural ball, 24-hour on-call chauffeur, Gucci luggage set, and finally first-class air transfers from the January cold to the warmth of the Ritz-Carlton Grand Cayman for four days.

THREE BAIERS

Fox News White House Correspondent Bret Baier and his wife, Amy, helped the Central Intelligence Agency kick off its Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) at CIA headquarters in McLean this week, although the couple’s 15-month-old son, Paul, clearly stole the show.

The toddler, who was born with life-threatening heart defects, scampered into CIA Director Michael V. Hayden’s office and played with his commemorative coin collection before heading back downstairs with his parents for the rally, during which he blew kisses to the audience.

The couple told the agency’s employees about the amazing care their son received at Children’s National Medical Center, and their decision as a family to support its ongoing work and research.

Noted Mr. Hayden: “I’m pleased that someone who knows our agency and our mission agreed to speak here today, but … it was something they did as a family - an act of generosity - that caught our attention. The Baiers, together with Amy’s parents, Paul and Barbara Hills, recently donated $1 million to Children’s National Medical Center. Their gift was inspired by gratitude, and their story is itself inspirational.”

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