Five children might not be enough at the Yanta household

Former KSTP-TV anchor woman Kalley King Yanta had her fifth child in March.

Do they have any idea what's causing this, I asked her husband, Jon Yanta?

"Love," he said. "When we got married, I think they said there was folklore in the Catholic church from the Germans that says, If it rains on your wedding day you are blessed with children. It poured, literally, on our wedding night. So we are very blessed. She's been pregnant nine times in less than 10 years of marriage. Four little ones up in heaven; miscarriages. My poor wife, who's a saint, has been pregnant all the way through our marriage."

The kids are Isaac, 8, Augie, 7, Mariana, 4, Kolbe, 3, and Adelaide, born March 25.

"It's interesting, very interesting," he said of having five children.

He offered to get me a family photo, but I told him I'd rather shoot some video. I expected kids to be bouncing off the walls, but theirs is a fairly calm household of well-mannered kids. "He runs a tight ship," Kalley said. In his head. Dad showed off "the spanking spoon," which helps him keep order, but I didn't see anybody looking particularly spooked by the kitchen utensil.

The star of the video is Kolbe, who looks like he gives Mom and Dad a run for their money. He's up on the side table. He doesn't like to eat; however, he's open to having a few bites if Mommy is willing to feed him. He's regressing a little because of the new baby competition.

Kolbe's refusal to eat dinner meant he had to stay home with Kalley, the baby and me when everybody else went off to Isaac's baseball game. Time flew by after Kolbe realized that not only am I The Tickle Machine but also a fairly fun human swing.

Kalley thinks Adelaide is it, though they may adopt. Yet John still has a twinkle in his eyes -- he wants more. "If I [had been] 20 when I got married, we would have had 10 or 12," he said. "But I'm an old guy, open to God's wants, but my wife might not be able to handle me anymore. I've got to be respectful of that and the gifts I have right now."

Check out the video at www.startribune.com/video.

Some ID, please With Robin Williams coming to town to do shows at Acme Comedy Club, one wonders where Michael Poole is. He's the Twin Citian who fooled MEdia with Michael Clayton, the Williams impersonator.

I know that I'll be asking to see identification should I run into Williams, whose lawyers put an end to the shenanigans in which Clayton claimed to be Poole's pawn.

Jimmy Carter's world Attorney Lori Peterson is happier about former President Jimmy Carter's recent talks with Hamas than, well, most anybody in the Bush administration.

"I'm so proud of him," Peterson told me. "I love the way he won't knuckle under to certain folks who think they have the right to dictate to the rest of the world who they are allowed to talk to and what they are allowed to say. He's never cared about politics; he cares about what's right. He just goes into the lion's den."

Although Jewish groups and others also denounced Carter for talking to what the United States has labeled a terrorist group, I think talking to people with whom you don't agree is essential to encourage them to change their tactics. We Americans need to come to grips with the reality that we don't run the world anymore. Fareed Zakaria, columnist and Newsweek International editor, recently discussed this topic on NPR while promoting his book "The Post-American World." Zakaria argues that the era of the United States projecting its hubristic inclinations on the world may have passed as a result of waging war in Iraq. End of my digression.

A few weeks ago, after I told Peterson that Carter didn't look well to me on TV, she said he told her he was fine. And "he sent me a Carter Center hat he had been wearing. Now that I have a tie he's worn and a hat (he autographed each on the side), I'm thinking I should just keep asking and seeing if I can get an entire outfit!"

Peterson told a funny story about going to the Twin Cities airport to spend time with Jimmy and Rosalyn Carter during a layover.

The former prez decided he needed another book to read. With the Secret Service in tow, the three went down the concourse, where they ran into Democratic Reps. Jim Oberstar and Collin Peterson. When Jimmy began to introduce Lori, both said they knew her because she had worked for them.

"So they were talking and I said to Rosalyn, knowing they were getting late for their next flight, 'Let's go get Jimmy's book.' We start off and Jimmy yells, Wait for me. I'm picking my own book!" Lori said. "They are wonderful people and I wish people knew how truly funny he is."

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. More of her attitude can be seen on Fox 9 Thursday mornings.