By Ed Henry

December 7, 2000

Birthday Suit. It's a good thing that Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) never got to set his eyes on the two female strippers who were wandering around the Capitol trying to deliver a "present" for his 98th birthday Tuesday.

If the two ladies sent by a local radio station had gone through with their act, Thurmond's reaction might have thrown the balance of power in the Senate into further disarray.

"I was ready to go naked," Amy, one of the, uh, exotic dancers, told HOH by telephone yesterday. "I was hoping that we could lap-dance him."

The stripper said she was wearing a silver "tight-fitting tube miniskirt-dress with thong panties underneath." Her partner, Chastity, was also scantily clad, although they both had trench coats for cover.

Accompanied by Flounder, one of the sidekicks from DC-101 FM's morning show, the pair first showed up at Thurmond's Russell Building office. The Senator's chief of staff, Duke Short, greeted the gals but declined the present.

"We appreciate it, very kind of you," Short said, adding that Thurmond was over in the Capitol.

After searching in vain for Thurmond in the Capitol, the two ladies commenced a mission to find Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.).

"If I couldn't find Thurmond, I at least wanted Kennedy," said Amy, who works with amazingentertainment.com. "I didn't want to leave empty-handed. We were asking for Kennedy."

The Capitol Police, however, finally shooed the ladies away after the radio guy pulled out a bullhorn to help the Senatorial search effort. Even though peeling her clothes off would have undoubtedly led to an arrest, Amy wasn't worried.

"Well, the cops loved it," she claimed. "They got a show in the elevator because Chastity and I kissed."