Now some fresh pickings from the Political Grapevine:
A new FOX News Opinion Dynamics poll out Thursday shows that a majority of those polled — Republicans, Democrats and Independents alike — believe Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts is qualified for the job.
All three groups — 83 percent overall — said they've heard nothing that would disqualify Roberts from serving on the highest court of the land.
Nearly two thirds of those questioned say President Bush should be allowed to nominate someone who shares his political philosophy.
Still in the early going, only about half — 48 percent of those polled — say they approve of the Roberts nomination, while roughly a third of respondents offered no opinion.
To Run or Not to Run?
Just days ago, Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Rick Santorum said he had no intention of running for president in 2008 saying, "The idea of coming off a [re-election] race of the intensity that I am engaged in at this point and turning around and running another two-year campaign for president is not ... in the best interest of my family."
But now Santorum says he might run after all insisting, "there's a remote chance." After all, he said, "It's three years from now. I don't know what my life's going to be like then." And late Thursday, Santorum put it this way: "The door ... is closed, it's just not locked."
Cheney in '08?
Speaking of the 2008 presidential elections, some people in Washington have been speculating — perhaps wishfully — that V.P. Dick Cheney might seek the presidency. But at least one member of the White House press corps is hoping that never happens.
Hearst columnist and former UPI correspondent Helen Thomas says, "The day I say Dick Cheney is going to run for president, I'll kill myself. I think he'd like to run, but it would be a sad day for the country if he does."
Thomas told The Hill newspaper, "All we need is one more liar."
Enveloped by the Mystery of It?
Officials in Rowan County, North Carolina, were so upset by the threatening tone of anonymous letters and postcards they received, that they secretly hired private investigators to track down the person who wrote them. The messages — which came from the "Department of Common Sense" — slammed county spending practices.
Well, after five years and more than $23,000 in taxpayer money, investigators say they have discovered that the author of those letters was... none other than Rowan County Commissioner Arnold Chamberlain. Investigators say they investigated more than seven Rowan County residents before coming to that conclusion.
Chamberlain denies being the culprit insisting, "This was sprung on me. I am shocked and amazed."
— FOX News' Michael Levine contributed to this report