2006 A list

Heads Turn When They Enter the Room

Power is as power does. It's a flexible force in this town. No wonder we Washingtonians often take refuge in lists, a comfort zone of sorts in a world where reality is constantly shifting. Lists turn up everywhere. The form suits a place that thrives on hierarchy - on knowing just who posesses a predetermined political status. The government's plum list of political jobs is the apotheosis of this. Keeping everyone happy: conferring a title, an objective who's in and who's out. And why not? It's a small comfort in the face of daily life conditions that threaten to overwhelm one's sense of identity.

There is comfort in rank because it makes it easier to navigate the terrain. It gives a lift to the spirit to know the Calvinist ideal of predestination is not entirely dominant.

What do we make of the fact that, often, the most powerful among us have the shortest titles, the least number of words in front of their names? Agreed, subdivisions are much less impressive. Assistant, associate, deputy: hardearned, to be sure, but how do they compare with President, Partner, Secretary? (The last title, by the way, might rightly come from a piece of furniture in which notations of rank were on file. This is just a wayward thought, but when you are next in the White House Lincoln bedroom spending the night, take a glance at a particular desk there, the so-called "cabinet.") In other words (casting our net in a very broad direction), there is no easy way to explain what a list means, especially since having a title doesn't really explain someone's influence. Having a title is meaningless without access to the next on the list… And that is where the hierarchical element really kicks in. Power is saying "I'm in the swim; I'm a part of the club." But it is a club that has no physical dimension, no officers. Why not, then, draw up an alphabetical mix of people connected in varied ways to the multidimensional life of a capital city in the 21st century- a group (some of whom wouldn't recognize one another, whatever the occasion) that reflects the spirit of a town that is far less one-dimensional than any Washingtonian of a previous era could ever imagine..

Now in it's 15th year, Washington Life and a confidential committee assembled the "2006 A List," the people that make us turn our heads and take notice. ~ Ann Geracimos

2006 A-List

The President of the United States George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush
The Vice President of the United States and Mrs. Richard B. Cheney (Lynne)
The Ambassador of Saudi Arabia His Royal Highness Prince Turki Al-Faisal and
Her Royal Highness Princess Nouf bint fahad
Senator and Mrs. George Allen (Susan)
His Excellency the Ambassador of Kuwait Sheikh Salem Abdullah Al-Jaber
Al-Sabah and Sheika Al-Sabah (Rima)
Mr. and Mrs. James H. Billington (Marjorie)
Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin C. Bradlee (Sally Quinn)
Mr. and Mrs. David Bradley (Katherine)
Justice and Mrs. Stephen G. Breyer (Joanna)
Mr. and Mrs. William N. Cafritz (Buffy)
Mr. and Mrs. Andrew H. Card, Jr. (Kathleene)
Mr. and Mrs. Steven B. Case (Jean)
His Excellency the Ambassador of Italy and Mrs. Giovanni Castellaneta (Leila)
Mrs. Robert H. Charles (Oatsie)
The Honorable William Jefferson Clinton and
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton
Mr. and Mrs. Leo Daly (Grega)
Representative and Mrs. John Dingell (Debbie)
Mr. and Mrs. Placido Domingo (Marta)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Duvall (Luciana Pedraza)
Mrs. Nancy McElroy Folger (Bitsey)
Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Friedman (Ann)
Senator and Mrs. William H. Frist (Karyn)
Mr. and Mrs. Joe Gibbs (Melissa)
The Honorable and Mrs. Daniel Glickman (Rhoda)
Attorney General and Mrs. Alberto R. Gonzalez (Rebecca Turner)
Mr. and Mrs. Donald Graham (Mary)
The Speaker of the House and Mrs. J. Dennis Hastert (Jean)
Mr. James Hoagland and Ms. Jane Stanton Hitchcock
The Honorable and Mrs. Clay Johnson, III (Ann)
Mr. Robert Johnson
Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Jordan (Ann)
Senator and Mrs. Edward M. Kennedy (Vicky)
Senator John F. Kerry and Mrs. Teresa Heinz
Mr. James V. Kimsey
Mrs. Polly Kraft
Mr. and Mrs. James Lehrer (Kate)
His Excellency the Ambassador of France and Mrs. Jean-David Levitte (Marie-Cecile)
The Honorable and Mrs. Frederic V. Malek (Marlene)
His Excellency the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Sir David G. Manning and Lady Manning (Catherine)
Ms. Jacqueline Badger Mars
Mr. John F. Mars
Senator and Mrs. John McCain (Cindy)
His Eminence Cardinal Theodore McCarrick
The Director of National Intelligence and Mrs. John Negroponte (Diane)
The honorable and Mrs. William T. Newman, Jr. (Shelia Johnson)
Her Majesty Queen Noor al-Hussein of Jordan
Senator and Mrs. Barack Obama (Michelle)
Mr. and Mrs. Mandell J. Ourisman (Mary)
General Peter Pace, Chairman of the joint Chiefs of Staff, and Mrs. Pace (Lynne)
His Excellency the ambassador of colombia and Mrs. Andres Pastrana (Nohra)
Representative Nancy Pelosi and Mr. Paul Pelosi
Mr. and Mrs. John Podesta (Mary)
The Honorable and Mrs. Colin L. Powell (Alma)
Mr. and Mrs. Earl A. Powell, III (Nancy)
Mr. and Mrs. Wayne B. Reynolds (Catherine)
Chief Justice and Mrs. John Glover Roberts, Jr. (Jane)
The Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
Mr. Joseph Robert, Jr.
Mr. and Mrs. Frank Robinson (Barbara)
Senator and Mrs. John D. Rockefeller, IV (Sharon Percy)
The Honorable Selwa S. “Lucky” Roosevelt
Mr. and Mrs. Karl Rove (Darby)
The Secretary of Defense and Mrs. Donald H. Rumsfeld (Joyce)
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Russert (Maureen Orth)
Mr. and Mrs. Roger Sant (Victoria)
Justice and Mrs. Antonin Scalia (Maureen)
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Schwarzman (Christine)
The Honorable and Mrs. R. Sargent Shriver, Jr. (Eunice Kennedy)
The Honorable and Mrs. Lawrence Small (Sandra)
Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Snyder (Tanya)
The Honorable and Mrs. Robert S. Strauss (Helen)
Senator and Mrs. Ted Stevens (Catherine)
His Excellency the Ambassador of Russia and Mrs. Yuri Ushakov (Svetlana)
The Honorable and mrs. Marc R. Warner (Lisa Collis)
The Honorable Anthony A. Williams, Mayor of Washington, D.C., and Mrs. Williams (Diane)
The Honorable Paul Wolfowitz
Mr. Bob Woodward and Ms. Elsa Walsh