A big-voiced, but diminutive man singing "Those Were The Days My Friend" in Russian and English was oneof the many details that set the mood for merrymaking at Jay Carney’s surprise birthday in June at theRussian Embassy’s new cultural center in Kalorama. Guests enjoyed plenty of caviar, vodka, and champagneon the Russian buffet before and after the evening’s special surprise: a video that Carney’s wife, NBCNews White House correspondent, Claire Shipman, had produced with interviews of various news types andpoliticians such as Vice President Al Gore, Gov. George W. Bush, Sen. John McCain, White House PressSecretary Joe Lockhart and Time magazine journalist John Dickerson, among others. All credited Carney’ssuccess to his thick head of blond hair.