NOT AGAIN

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6. We Heard . . .

THAT former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Liz won't rule out following in her father's footsteps and running for public office.

Liz Cheney, an attorney, has no "near-term plans" to run for office, according to Paul Bedard's Washington Whispers column in U.S. News & World Report.

She has been busy lately defending her father's record through numerous media appearances, at the same time she is raising five young children and helping the former vice president write his memoirs.

"But Liz, 42, is not closing the door to a House or Senate bid in Virginia," Bedard disclosed.

A close friend of Liz told Bedard about a possible run in the future: "She spent her life around politics. She is not ruling it out."

Asked in late May about talk that Cheney would run, Republican strategist Karl Rove declared: "She might!"

THAT Republican Bob Smith, who served two terms as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire, has announced that he is running for the Senate again — this time from Florida.

Smith was defeated by John Sununu in the 2002 GOP primary in New Hampshire, and moved to Sarasota, Fla.

He will face Florida Gov. Charlie Crist and former state House Speaker Marco Rubio in the primary as they seek to replace Republican Sen. Mel Martinez, who is not running for re-election.

THAT Republican-turned-Democratic Sen. Arlen Specter could face a serious challenge from another Democrat as he seeks re-election in Pennsylvania next year — Rep. Joe Sestak is set to throw his hat in the ring.

Sestak, a former Navy admiral, hasn't formally announced his campaign, but he told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: "I'm there. I've made a personal decision to get into the race."

Sestak recently traveled to Pittsburgh for interviews with the Tribune-Review and met with the paper's owner, Dick Scaife.

Sestak said 19 county party chairmen have asked him to visit their counties, according to Tribune-Review reporters Salena Zito and Mike Wereschagin.

Specter has been endorsed by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell. But Sestak, who won election to the House in 2006, said Pennsylvania voters don't want top officials selecting a candidate for them.

He told the Tribune-Review: "They really do believe there should be a choice."

A U.S. Supreme Court justice has rejected former newspaper magnate Conrad Black's request for bail during the court's review of his conviction for mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

Justice John Paul Stevens refused to order bail but said Black can refile his request with a federal trial judge in Chicago, the New York Post reported.

Black was convicted in 2007 for his role in the theft of $6.1 million from Hollinger Inc., and has been serving a 6 1/2-year prison sentence in Florida since March 2008. The Supreme Court will consider his appeal during its 2009-2010 session, which begins in October.


PLESE GOD, NO !