White House Correspondents Insider

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

Hillary Clinton Returns to "Rodham" and Helmets

By

A new year means a new beginning for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, even if she is on the way out and into a much needed vacation. The New York Times looks at secretary Clinton’s return today as an overall description of her non-stop work schedule:

“Over the past four years, she was on the road for 401 days and spent the equivalent of 87 full days on a plane, according to the State Department’s Web site.In one 48-hour marathon in 2009 that her aides still talk about, she traveled from talks with Palestinian leaders in Abu Dhabi to a midnight meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, then boarded a plane for Morocco, staying up all night to work on other issues, before going straight to a meeting of Arab leaders the next morning.“

[Read more…]

Biden Breaks Out at the 113th Congress

By

The 113th United States Congress was sworn into office Thursday with the traditional smooth moves of Vice President Biden.

CNN frames the 113th by the numbers while Buzzfeed keeps running with them into the 11 Surprisingly Endearing Pictures of Congressmen Getting Sworn In. MSNBC breaks down the race and sexuality of the new congress–also by the numbers–while the National Journal completes its own link dump.

Which is why we come back to the Veep video. You can break down Congress all you want with your lists of numbers, numbered lists and numerals followed by links. At the end of the work day all hardworking people care about is how smooth is that man that made it cool to commute from Delaware to D.C. While the actual staffers are fretting about upcoming legislation or freaking out about jobs numbers. Stop. Relax.

And then sign this petition to have an official reality show about Biden:

Vice President Joe Biden has a demonstrated ability to bring people together, whether at the negotiating table or at the neighborhood diner. We, therefore, urge the Obama Administration to authorize the production of a recurring C-SPAN television program featuring the daily activities and interactions of the Vice President with elected officials, foreign dignitaries and everyday American families. Such a program would educate the American public about the duties and responsibilities of their Vice President, while providing a glimpse of the lighthearted side of politics even in the midst of contentious and divisive national debates.

We’ve got until February 3rd.

Pledging a Day of Service AND an Inauguration

By

The presidential inauguration is both a day off for everyone in DC and a day on for service. While that’s normally the case every four years, the 2013 inaugural falls on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Only the third time the days have overlapped since MLK was recognized by the federal government in 1983. The administration wants to remind you that it’s not just a day off but a day of service–no, really.

So how can you serve? Glad you asked!
[Read more…]

Looking Back at 2012 From The 'Cliff'

By

IMG_0493

Welcome to the end of 2012 and the start of 2013 just beyond the (fiscal) cliff!

After a particularly rough election year, it almost seems unfair that we’re ending on the threat of the fiscal cliff. While the president is due to speak at 5:45 p.m. today, sources have already been spilling out as fast as they can to say there isn’t a deal. The National Journal already consultated their crystal ball to see what this means for Obama’s second term:

“After the debacle that resulted from Boehner’s pre-Christmas effort to pass a GOP fallback plan for resolving the cliff, Republicans seem poised to shoulder a bigger share of the blame if Washington misses the Jan. 1 deadline. Going over the cliff would also bring some tactical advantages to Obama and the Democrats. Once the Bush tax cuts lapse, the conversation will shift away from tax increases to enacting tax cuts, putting pressure on Republicans to drop their opposition to legislation that would renew the tax cuts only for the middle class.”

Still there’s more to 2012 than cliff crisises and elections–Think Progress goes over the year that was for bills blocked by the GOP. Even if there is “no White House bill” there was still so much that the last year gave us.

We found out Joe Biden could crash a party AND give a moving speech to a gathered crowd in Georgetown. That films shown at 48 frames per second need to be about hobbits, dragons and giant eagles. That Daniel Day-Lewis is a very convincing Abraham Lincoln. That anthropomorphic eggs are more fun at the White House than anywhere else. But more importantly, we learned in 2012 that no matter what cold or dark thing that happens that there’s always a silver lining.

Whether it’s a lifelong Star Trek fan getting his last wish or the WMATA not completely ruining the trains for one weekend. Also, that tickets for the Redskins/Dallas game this weekend are crazier than some of the things being said around the House and Senate aside from “cliff” talk. We even beat the apocalypse! So on that note, as the rest of Washington nervously watches the cliff talks now, be as calm as an Egg-man at the White House Easter Egg hunt.

We’ll be back in the new year with more insider intrigue and finding ways to help explain why the Beltway is so addictive despite it just being two loops inside of a larger loop. So why not leave a comment about what you’re thankful for in 2012 while we say Happy New Year.

John Kerry Nominated for Secretary of State

By

Sen. John Kerry meeting the President of Liberia (via Press Office for Senator Kerry)


Christmas comes early for Senator Kerry with this nomination for secretary of state. Let’s run down what we’re all saying about the expected nomination from President Obama at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon:

WaPo: “Kerry has long sought the post as America’s top diplomat, but appeared to be Obama’s second choice after U.N. Ambassador Susan E. Rice. Rice withdrew her name from consideration earlier this month because of Republican opposition based on her role as administration spokeswoman in the fatal Sept. 11 attack on U.S. compounds in Benghazi, Libya.”

CNN: “It’s ironic that several prominent Republicans are rallying behind Kerry, just eight years after their party demonized him during his failed 2004 presidential campaign against President George W. Bush.”

Los Angeles Times:”Kerry, 69, has chaired the Senate Foreign Relatons Committee since 2009. His selection gives the White House a veteran foreign policy hand who has demonstrated his willingness to work with Obama’s inner circle of advisors over the last four years.”

Politico: “Kerry’s Republican colleagues have indicated that the confirmation process will be a smooth one — far easier than the one United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice would have faced had Obama nominated her. Rice withdrew her name from contention last week.”

Politico also reports that current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not attend while still recovering from a slight concussion. But that hasn’t stopped the rumor will for who’ll be gunning for his seat. The Atlantic Wire toplines a scruffy Ben Affleck, Scott Brown, Ed “Ted” Kennedy, Jr. while The Hill likes Rep. Ed Markey.

Slate wishes there was a special election because why not make 2013 more than just a regular ol’ “election year.” But maybe being will help?

We All Like Hillary Clinton (For Now)

By

Tina Brown, Meryl Streep and Hillary Clinton Stage

If you thought you liked Hillary Clinton before, you may not in 2016. So claims data guru Nate Silver today at FiveThiryEight where he examines the curious case of how everyone loves the soon-to-be-former secretary of state.
[Read more…]

The Running Of The Who's Who for 2013

By

cure_224
The end of the year is for making lists and conjecture about who’ll be in charge come next term. Politico’s already started their weekly half-video/half column Behind the Curtain featuring Mike Allen and Jim Vandehei as they tackle the weeks that were–so far that means immigration and the rebranding of Marco Rubio and Paul Ryan.

Buzzfeed, however, seems to be focused entirely on 2013 with today’s list of the 23 People Who Will Be Running Washington Next Year. This service comes complete with headshots that tell us whether we’re looking at a daytime regular on MSNBC, Fox or CNN–or to provide photographic evidence of Paul Ryan’s Michael Steel, pictured above.
[Read more…]

Karen Avrich: A Different Kind of Game Change

By

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.

[tylr-slidr userID=” 35544829@N07″ groupID=”72157617172849739″]http://www.flickr.com/photos/haddadmedia/sets/72157632116634593/[/tylr-slidr]
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."

By

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.

[Read more…]