WHERE BARF, RUSH LIMBAUGH AND THE MISSOURIAN MEET

Today marks the anniversary of my first week in Washington, D.C., achieved after a slight delay in leaving Cape Girardeau. Hit by a flu bug, I spent the last week at home retching into the john so intently that I'm sure at one point I vomited half my brains. While lacking any scientific or medical proof of this unique occurrence, I hadn't eaten anything solid for days prior. If it wasn't my brains, I shudder to think what else it could have been.

This, of course, puts me somewhat in league with the big enchilada himself, Rush Limbaugh.

But while Rush conducts political and social commentary with one half his brain tied behind his back, I'll be doing it with half of mine in the toilet.

Or the sewer.

Or, if it wasn't sucked into a water system somewhere along the way _ near Caruthersville, for example _ in the Gulf of Mexico.

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Social and political commentary will be the general theme of this column in the future, although I feel compelled to warn you, (ITAL) you just never know. (UNITAL) Almost anything _ ANYTHING _ could appear here. This is because I will be inviting questions from you, the reader, about what goes on inside the beltway or anything else you might want to know about life, liberty and the arcane operation of our nation's government.

As you contemplate whether you want to participate in this endeavor, please understand:No issue is too serious or too complicated. No question too irrelevant. Even irreverent queries are welcome. Just don't expect me to find out if the president wears boxers or briefs. I have standards, after all, and only a person who fails to understand the seriousness of the presidency would delve into such an issue.

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When not answering questions from you, I'll offer you my perspective on current events. Often, I'll try to enhance this perspective through interviews with people in the news. For example, on Thursday I had a conversation with General Colin Powell, Gulf War hero, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and potential Republican/Democrat candidate for president.

The conversation went something like this.

Me:"General."

Him:"Morning."

Now, at first read this might not sound like a very significant conversation. (ITAL)Au contraire. (UNITAL) The General's and my time together showed to me a man who is congenial, but with a certain urgency about him. The way his eyes lit up when I addressed him also indicated that he enjoys being recognized, and will soon be back into the public spotlight. Whether the esteemed general plans to run for president as a Republican or Democrat, or whether he would prefer seeking a vice-presidential spot, or what, even, he would suggest about Cuba, unfortunately, was a little beyond the specificity of our meeting.

In fact, I "met" the general while touring the Pentagon with a friend who works in the European Policy Office of the Secretary of Defense. This friend was kind enough to set up a luncheon with his supervisor in the Pentagon's Executive Dining Room, a place where you can eat all the bread and applebutter you want free of charge.

I'll tell you about that most interesting conversation _ as well as some of the more pertinent things I saw at the Pentagon _ on Friday. Meanwhile, if you have a question or comment, you can call my voice mail at (314)335-6611, ext. 103. Or write to me at:5004 South 12th Street, Arlington, VA 22204.

Jon K. Rust, a former editorial page editor of the Southeast Missourian, lives in the Washington, D.C. area.