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 November 2012

Karen Avrich: A Different Kind of Game Change

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Washington, DC’s top dogs cheered Karen Avrich and her new book, “Sasha and Emma: The Anarchist Odyssey of Alexander Berkman and Emma Goldman,” which Karen co-wrote with her father, the historian Paul Avrich. Todd Purdum and DeeDee Myers along with Politico’s Bill and Su-lin Nichols welcomed friends and fans to the Purdums’ Northwest home on Tuesday night. Ms. Avrich, Mark Halperin‘s partner, was feted by Fred Hochberg and Tom Healy at a New York party last week. Click to order on Amazon.

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Guests included Jonathan Martin and Betsy Fischer Martin, Fred Hochberg, James Bennet and Sarah Jessup, John Harris, Mandy Grunwald, Gwen Ifill, Laura Hand, Guy Cecil, Tammy Haddad, and Jack and Susanna Quinn.

Obama's First Post-Election Cabinet Meeting: Primary Purpose "To Say Thank You," But "A Lot of Work To Do."

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Obama on Tarmac

The overall message from President Obama about the fate of his cabinet in the new term? Thanks.

Giving a few words prior to their meeting on-air, President Obama was thankful for the service of his current  cabinet after a tough campaign.

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GQ's Least Influential Skirts The White House

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First Family

Can we really claim Michelle Obama is the seventh least influential person in the world? Does that mean she’s more or less influential than pop earworms like Gotye or the constant influence of Madonna on the world stage? If Mitt Romney is first is that because he lost the 2012 election or because he’s barely recognized while at a CVS?

These are the sorts of questions that plague us as we go through all 25 choices on GQ’s list of The Least Influential People of 2012. The list’s a mix of pop culture mainstays, but the additions of the political choices seem to sting a bit much. Especially when going after the First Lady:

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How Classified Is Zero Dark Thirty Anyway?

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Just how talkative are the secret special ops squad behind Seal Team Six? They were profiled and consulted for Medal of Honor: Warfighter, a video game released last month; “No Easy Day” wasn’t vetted by the Pentagon and the author claims it wasn’t a political book. And now the first reviews of Kathryn Bigelow, celebrating her 61st birthday today, and her upcoming film Zero Dark Thirty are hitting the trades.

When the film was put into production earlier this year and when the infamous “4 to 5 inch stack” of documents from the CIA were uncovered that could’ve possibly influenced the script and revealed classified operations according to Politico.

But what about the White House hitting back with the claim she used classified information in her latest film?  Scripted by Mark Boal, who also wrote her previous film The Hurt Locker and the story for In The Valley of Elah, the semi-accurate story follows the days leading up to the assassination of Osama Bin Laden as told through intelligence agencies and the Seal Team. Speaking last night on Nightline, via Deadline, Boal said about the attention his script received:

“I certainly did a lot of homework, but I never asked for classified materials; to my knowledge, I never received any. And I think as far as the controversy goes, you know, how can I put this — it was an election year. It was surreal and bizarre to have … I mean there were major players in the Republican Party characterizing the script and the movie before I had written a word, and I found that just really baffling.”

Criticwire collected the early reviews and they all sound promising for the film coming out later this month. But we’ll know if the film has an Argo effect on the Beltway on December 19th.

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The Great Chelsea Mystery, or Welcome Back from Thanksgiving!

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It’s the Monday after an otherwise quiet holiday week. Your in-laws are gone, your co-workers clad in formless sweaters and jumpers to hide the turkey and then there’s the question of how to shed these newfound pounds?  Why not spend your time fretting over what Chelsea Clinton and NBC News may or may not have done over this election year?

Buzzfeed has the exclusive that NBC News put the kibosh on a planned series of ads featuring Chelsea Clinton, who is a special correspondent with the bureau,  lending her voice and possibly likeness to a marriage-equality campaign during the election. The ads, focusing on legislation in Washington state, were questionable but seemed to be online only:

Three people who saw the videos confirmed their existence to BuzzFeed. They were fully prepared, with the script approved in advance, one source said. The video wasn’t intended for TV broadcast, a second source said, suggesting they were instead to be used as web-based videos. The source added that multiple efforts had been intended beneficiaries of the former First Daughter’s support.

So what exactly did these ads seem to say that caused NBC to backtrack? Well, technically Clinton is an employee of the news division and can’t be shown endorsing any specific measure up for the election. Even if she is a “special correspondent,” she’s still under the peacock’s shadow. But does this actually matter? Not especially. It’s the news equivalent of getting a yogurt with your Peppermint Mocha as a “healthy” reward after so little has happened last week.

But give it a day or two! There’ll be more important things to discuss rather than what seems like an attempt by TheFour.com to get their name on Google Trends. Instead, The National Christmas Tree was spotted on a flatbed truck near the Capitol this morning! And as the weeks lead up to the inauguration, the comings and goings of the administration are sure to be the real news instead of a web-only video that someone in corporate deemed too risque.

Ann Hand Obama Inaugural Pin Revealed

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No self-respecting Washingtonian doesn’t have an Ann Hand pin in their repertoire so it is with great excitement that we reveal her Inaugural pin which also benefits the USO. It is the 4th Inauguration pin she has made, and last year there was a real scramble in the final days to find one.  Please notice Vice President Biden is on it as well. 2016 is on everyone’s mind. Haddad Media’s current favorite Ann Hand item is the flag bracelet.  You can order both now at  http://annhand.homestead.com/new.html

Obama Pardons Cobbler and Gobbler In Historic First

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Ready Set Go!

Come tomorrow, Gobbler and Cobbler can rest easy knowing their necks aren’t on the line for Thanksgiving dinner. The two presidential birds were both pardoned minutes ago by President Obama at a ceremony outside the White House’s Rose Garden.

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SNL's Real Winner? Politics and Prose.

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We couldn’t care less about an abandoned Guy Fieri sketch from Saturday Night Live last weekend when Christmas had already come early for Beltway junkies.

Our beloved Politics and Prose, a local D.C. bookstore and required shopping destination for bibliophiles/political wonks/caffeine junkies, has finally made it to New York. Appearing as the setting for SNL’s cold open, which finds Paula Broadwell (played by Cecily Strong) reading from “All In: The Education of General David Petraeus.”
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When Ms. Knope Came to Washington

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For the third time in the history of the televised image, Vice President Joe Biden appeared on screen in a semi-fictional universe. While Leslie Knope may have the traditional reaction when it comes to being in the presence of VP Biden, we know it’s all in fun for the councilwoman from Pawnee, Indiana.
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