According to the weekend Bob Novak column:
Newly elected Rep. Steven Kagen, a rich allergist who self-financed his campaign in Wisconsin, by his own account taunted President and Mrs. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and presidential adviser Karl Rove during a White House function for new members of Congress in December.
Kagen told a group of activists that after he found himself in the restroom with Rove, he blocked the White House deputy chief of staff's departure by holding the door closed. According to Kagen, he then said: "You're in the White House and you think you're safe. . . . My name's Dr. Multimillionaire and I kicked your ass."
The new congressman said he said separately to both Bush and Cheney: "Thank you for coming to Green Bay. I couldn't have won without you coming." Kagen also said he approached Laura Bush and purposely called her Barbara, the name of the president's mother. Kagen's remarks were reported in "The Scene," published in Appleton, Wis.
According to The Scene's account:
"I said to my wife, ‘Honey, just follow my lead.’ She said, ‘Steven, it’s the president.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but he’s not any taller than I am.’ So the cameraman’s here. We’re introduced by a Marine. I said, ‘Mr. President , thank you for coming to Green Bay. My name is Dr. Multimillionaire.That was before the race. Now they call me Doctor Thousandaire. I couldn’t have won without you coming.’"
He said Bush gave one of his smiles and said, ‘I’ve lost a lot of money in my life, too.’ Then I go to his wife, ‘Hi Barbara, how are ya?’ I did that because I learned on the campaign that the meanest thing you can say to another gentlemen is, ‘he’s a fine fellow,’ and you then refer to his spouse by a different name."
Expect this side of Kagen to show up when he appears on the "Colbert Report" in February.
(The White House, naturally, claims this story is bullshit.)
I like this guy. Whether this story is true, an exaggeration, or just made up, not only is he aggressive in standing up to the Rethugs, but he also has a sense of humor.