Inside the Beltway by Ellen Holiday

Senator Davis Hudson has a silver tongue that has so far kept the stress off those lesser political organs, the heart and the brain. But he's just made a political speech that will transform him from a Senate back-bencher to a public figure and presidential contender—whether he's ready or not—and suddenly he wants his words and actions to mean something. It's a crucial time in his political career, and Davis needs all the publicity he can get. He just doesn't expect the highlight of his first CNN interview to be the conversation he has with makeup artist Kurt Lamb.