Inside the Beltway

A CENTRAL MOMENT

So. The CIA is a faceless, clandestine agency without a heart? Think again. CIA Director Leon Panetta hosted his first “Agency Family Day” for 20,000 employees and their families on Saturday, a source tells Inside the Beltway. Mr. Panetta got right to the point, praising his people for their “public service without any expectation of public thanks.”

“Our people do it for one overriding reason: They love this country and are willing to fight for it,” he said.

A proverbial good time was had by all. But Mr. Panetta had a special word for the many children present.

“This day is especially for you. You may not know everything about the work your mom or dad, brother or sister, aunt or uncle does each day. But remember the most important thing: They are giving something back to the country,” the director said.

NORTON HEARS A WHO

Former Colorado Lt. Gov. Jane Norton announces her intent to run for U.S. Senate on Tuesday morning, one of six Republicans to seek the seat currently held by freshman Sen. Michael Bennet , a Democrat. But Mrs. Norton didn’t even get to put on her lipstick and get up to the dais before the critics pounced.

“We call on Jane Norton to immediately come clean on her work history in ‘government relations’ for the for-profit health care industry,” Michael Huttner, founder of ProgressNow Colorado, tells Beltway. “We also question why Norton did not register as a lobbyist when she was head of ‘government relations’ for a for-profit health industry lobbying organization. We want to know the full extent of Norton’s lobbying and whether she failed to comply with the law.”

Well. Sheesh. That was quick. Buckle up, Mrs. Norton.

HYBRID CONSERVATIVE

(Corrected paragraph:) He’s got a video camera and a mission to make big conservative noise. William J. Kelly - an independent conservative TV producer that produced a show for FOX on WFLD-TV in Chicago and an on-camera host on Comcast - is not beyond lunging at political candidates, bristling with “gotcha” questions. Mr. Kelly’s latest target is Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias, now a Democratic hopeful for the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Sen. Roland W. Burris. The candidate was racing to make a $500-a-plate fund-raiser at the Union League Club in Chicago at 8:45 a.m. Friday when Mr. Kelly stepped forward.

“Why are you having a fundraiser at the exact moment the first plane struck the Twin Towers on September 11, eight years ago?” he asked Mr. Giannoulias as the camera rolled.

The flustered candidate immediately withdrew his handshake and ducked through the hotel door.

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