White House Correspondents Insider

Behind the scenes of the most powerful city in the world — Washington, D.C. — and those who cover it.

Archives for September 2010

Tw'oh No, Twitter!

By

As Twitter continues to unroll its “New Twitter” functionality, a rather pornographic exploit came to light this morning.

Mashable explains that “The flaw uses a JavaScript function called onMouseOver which creates an event when the mouse is passed over a chunk of text. We’ve seen the flaw being abused to launch simple pop-up windows, redirect users elsewhere (including porn sites), and we’ve also seen it used in combination with blocks of color, covering the true “intention” of the tweet.”

The bug was fully patched as of 9:50 am according to Twitter’s Status Blog, luckily saving the day of all bloggers and media types desperate to tweet their relief.

(video via Gizmodo)

Obama's Town Hall Tackles Economy and The Not-So-Dead American Dream

By

President Obama’s town hall discussion took on the economy and Ted Brassfield’s loaded question.

“What I found was I simply–there weren’t jobs out there right now. I took advantage of the loans you were just speaking about, but I can’t make the interest payments on those loans today let alone think about getting a mortgage, having a family having a marriage–it’s awfully expensive,” Brassfield, the 30-year old “recent” law school graduate, said.

“Let me just say, whatever the expense, it’s worth it,” Obama said.

But the ultimate question–“Is the American Dream dead for me?”–prompted this response, via the CNBC live blog, from the President:

“The American dream is not dead. I think there’s no country in the world that would trade places with us. The single most important thing we can do is to grow our economy.”

Like that, the hour long discussion featured a suited Obama taking on questions about the economy, his stimulus plan and how the last few months have brought us to a point where we are seeing a turn-around. But he acknowledges that people will continue to be angry:

“I know how frustrated people are. I know in some cases how desperate people are,” he said, later adding, “I am confident that if we stay on a course that gets us back to old-fashioned values of hard work and responsibility and looking out for one another, that America will thrive.”

Video from the event can be found here.

Election 2010 Round-Up: 43 Days and Counting

By

Six weeks until the 2010 election and the Tea Party remains the big discussion point for wonks across the country. Here’s what’s been happening over the weekend:

  • The Untied Nations Summit and Clinton Global Initiative begin today in New York City. [USA Today]
  • CNBC’s John Harwood hosts a town hall event in Washington DC with President Obama today at noon. [CNBC]
  • The New York Times cites Obama aides as prepping a united front against the Tea Party by tying them to the GOP…
  • …yet Politico‘s own White House sources say the Times is “100 percent wrong.”
  • And the Washington Post cites an AP poll claiming both Republicans and Democrats are disliked by voters, which always leaves a third-party option.

Sarah Brown, Donna Karan, Arianna Huffington Empower Women

By

The Women: Inspiration & Enterprise symposium on September 20th, hosted by the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood, is designed to be a “dynamic new annual conference for women” alongside the Clinton Global Initiative and UN General Assembly.

Hosted by Sarah Brown, Donna Karan and Arianna Huffington, the symposium will focus on empowering women in a new media standpoint while being able to network with like-minded and powerful members of the global community. Much like the educating experience that the May 2010 Women Deliver event profiling filmmaker Christy Turlington Burns‘ documentary No Woman No Cry.

NO WOMAN, NO CRY Panel Discussion from whcinsider on Vimeo.

Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert Take DC

By

The Daily Show and The Colbert Report will each march on Washington, DC on Saturday October 30th.

Both Jon Stewart and Stephe–sorry, Dr. Stephen T. Colbert announced their dueling rallies last night on each other’s programs (twice.) What reasoning could there be behind such events? Because it was the day before Halloween? Because it was 10/30/10 during an election year? Because there was a tornado in Brooklyn?

None of the above as Stewart sheepishly explained on last night’s show, “we were already filming there that week.”

The Daily Show’s Rally To Restore Sanity promises a venue “for the people who think shouting is annoying, counterproductive, and terrible for your throat; who feel that the loudest voices shouldn’t be the only ones that get heard; and who believe that the only time it’s appropriate to draw a Hitler mustache on someone is when that person is actually Hitler. Or Charlie Chaplin in certain roles.”

[Read more…]

Mika Touts Fashion And Epilepsy Research

By

While New York wraps up its Fashion Week, DC had it’s own celebration of fashion mixed with a great cause spearheaded by Susan Axelrod, founder of CURE Epilepsy.    Mika Brzezinski, of Morning Joe fame brought her great fashion sense and even bigger heart to the J.McLaughlin Clothing store to benefit CURE Epilepsy at the Georgetown shop.

Mika Brzezinski and Susan Axelrod

Amongst a colorful display of handbags, sweaters, and dresses,  glittering media (the sparkly Mike Allen and Morning Joe’s Louis Burgdorf) and government officials (FLOTUS Chief of Staff Susan Sher) picking up some of the latest trends for fall.  A percentage of the proceeds go straight to fund research to find a cure for epilepsy.

Fashion plate Postie Jonathan Capehart bought a nice selection of shirts, and Politico’s Mike Allen got a shirt and tie combo while Quorvis’ Kelly McCormick picked up the perfect little black dress.

CURE board member Gardiner Lapham and her mother were in attendance and  J. McLaughlin CEO Steven Siegler charmed the crowd offering wine and cheese and great cheer.   Debbie Dingell,  Jayni Chase and Marc Adelman, Patrick and Anne Gavin, and other Georgetown socialites chatted with Axelrod as she posed with supporters and friends.

What is more fitting in Georgetown than a parting gift of a Georgetown Cupcake in a blue J. McLaughlin box!

Check out more photos below:

Rhee: Election "Devastating for DC children"

By

Education policy and political players came to the Newseum for the DC premiere of Washington’s own Oscar-winning filmmaker David Guggenheim’s new documentary “Waiting for Superman.” But it was DC Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee who locals were talking about as they were exiting the Newseum auditorium.

Rhee, featured in the documentary and on the Newseum panel discussion last night, has made headlines for her radical education reforms in the District. When asked whether it was her fault Mayor Adrian Fenty, seeking re-election, lost the Democratic primary on Tuesday, she blasted the results as being “devastating to DC public school students.”

“Yesterday’s election results were devastating – devastating.  Not for me, I will be fine.  Not for Fenty, he will be fine too.  It was devastating for the children of Washington, DC,” said Rhee. Her comments drew applause by Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Guggenheim and the audience.

Rhee continued, “The biggest tragedy is the lesson we should take from this is to pull back. We cannot retreat now in anything….Now is the time to lean forward and be more aggressive and more adamant.”

Rhee was surrounded by fans who lined up for photos and hugs after the session.

New York magazine writer John Heilemann moderated the panel which also included Guggenheim; Randi Weingarten, President of the American Federation of Teachers; and Geoffrey Canada, the Harlem educator who is the bright star of the film.

The top dogs at Paramount including Brad Grey and Phillipe Dauman were on hand to introduce the film after a hilarious video intro by Stephen Colbert.  Attendees included David and Susan Axelrod, Bill and Elaine Bennett, Bill and Laura Burton, Julianna Smoot and Lon Johnson, George Stevens, Hilary Rosen, Mike Feldman, and Ebs Burnough.  Top news reporters and pundits in the crowd included Jake Tapper, Ed Henry, Michele Martin, Jamal Simmons, and Roland Martin.

“Waiting for Superman” will be in select theaters on September 24.

Endorsements Pull Through While Incumbents Suffer on Primary Day

By

In the primary aftermath, the only campaigns that seem to matter belong to the Tea Party. After Christine O’Donnell, one of Sarah Palin’s picks, took the Delaware GOP primary yesterday and Carl Paladino taking the GOP nod for New York Governor from the New York Times.

Politico brings the word of doom that O’Donnell as the GOP candidate could snatch an all-but-confirmed victory away in November: “In the wake of Tuesday’s results, a state that would have almost certainly been a pick-up for the GOP is now likely to stay with the Democrats, making it more difficult for Republicans to win the 10 seats necessary to take back control of the Senate. ”

And yet, Mitt Romney endorses her.

First Read sums up yesterday’s results as such:

How do we make sense of Christine O’Donnell’s stunning Mike Castle in Delaware, Carl Paladino crushing Rick Lazio in New York’s GOP gubernatorial primary, and Kelly Ayotte and Ovide Lamontagne still running neck-and-neck in New Hampshire’s Senate GOP contest? It’s simple: We’re witnessing a purge within the Republican Party.

On the local front, Adrian Fenty conceded to Vince Gray for the D.C. Mayorship according to TBD–and here’s a possible of explanation as to why Fenty’s campaign hit a snag.
And of course, Charlie Rangel “easily defeats” any and all comers from The New York Times thanks to NY voter apathy.
We’re 48 days away from election day. Who knows what’ll happen next–aside from speculation and analysts waiting to see whether or not the Republican party implodes on itself.

Checking In on Today's 2010 Primary

By

If you’ve been living under a rock, good for you. If not, you know today is primary day for New Hampshire, Delaware, New York, Wisconsin, Maryland,Massachusetts, Rhode Island–and even Washington, D.C itself, but that’s only relevant if you’re inside inside the Beltway.

Politico provides the complete rundown for what to watch for today and how November could shape itself:

Several marquee House and Senate primaries are on tap. In Delaware, Rep. Mike Castle, the establishment favorite and the most popular Republican in the state, is fending off an insurgent challenge from the right in his bid to win the state’s open Senate seat. In New Hampshire, a crowded field is seeking the GOP nomination in order to face Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes in November in another open Senate contest.

The most closely watched House race will take place in New York, where Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, the embattled former Ways and Means Committee chairman, faces a handful of challengers in his bid for a 21st term.

The New Hampshire, Maryland and Delaware’s races provide more of a microcosm, as both of those races represent the first main battle between so-called “fringe” tea-partiers and traditional Republicans. MSNBC stresses the losses that incumbents have suffered this election year and wonders if we’ll see the promised tea party/”traditional GOP” brawl Democrats have been speculating for the last few weeks. The brunt of this focus in Maryland falls to Brian Murphy, endorsed by Sarah Palin, and struggling with a race that he can’t seem to win–literally as Bloomberg reports–and the Washington Post’s live-blog of Maryland is here.

In New York, Rep. Charlie Rangel may be making his last dance amid speculation of fraud and investiagations. But it won’t be rage and revolution in the streets of Albany, according to the New York Times. It seems everyone’s just fed up and tired of the political system that inspired a bagel tax.

For anything related to D.C. politics, we turn to TBD who break down the big local race: incumbent Adrian Fenty vs. Vince Gray. On one hand, things look rather dire for Mayor Fenty and TBD even wonders how he’ll fare in the current job market.

Washington City Paper’s Loose Lips spoke with Fenty earlier today after the age-old “faulty voting machine” rumor leaked out. To see how this started, look no further than City Paper’s late July profile on Gray’s rise as a threat to Mayor Fenty’s campaign.

Polls will close tonight at 8 pm in DC and stagger elsewhere, allowing for the proper speculation and nail-biting that live-blogs and Twitter thrive on.

Then again, it’s never too soon to air colorful ads referencing fighter jets, The Wizard of Oz and…god knows what else John Dennis is thinking per the Washington Wire.

50 Days Until The Election…

By

So what’s happening? So glad you asked.

  • Jusitn Bieber is proof you can market anything with his name and it will become popular. For example, “WHAT IF BIEBER WAS A REPUBLICAN?! THEN WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?!!” (Politico)
  • Sharon Angle’s last-minute departure from a debate prompts Jon Ralston to point out this is a Senate, not a High School, race. [CNN]
  • The Delaware race for Mike Castle’s seat is becoming TEA PARTY V. REPUBLICANS rather than about the candidates. (Washington Post)
  • This election will be rough for Dems, but there’re seven races that could lessen any blows. (Washington Post)
  • Not tied to an election per se, but The Atlantic Media Company is shifting Hotline, National Journal and Congress Daily to be free. Thanks, Politico! (NYTimes)