Newsflash: Hillary Can Smile

Last week's book party and 50th birthday bash for former Democratic Party Chairman Terry McAuliffe was notable for many reasons. The most prominent: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton smiled for over 20 minutes.

As McAuliffe and his wife bragged on about their life and friends, mostly Hillary, she smiled and nodded in the background with a glow we rarely see. Then, when it was her turn to speak, she even told a couple of jokes. But mostly, Clinton talked about her good friend McAuliffe.

And what a bash it was. Arriving at the Park Hyatt for the event to celebrate McAuliffe's book, What a Party!, we were given a card for a free book and quickly released from our coat. Within seconds, a waiter handed us a glass of good champagne and pushed us to the chow, a seafood buffet.

Soon, a hotel worker urgently told us to get to the ballroom because "President Clinton" was about to speak. Well, almost. Bubba wasn't there and the "president" turned out to be Hillary.

By Paul Bedard