Gibbs Grades Press Corp With an "A"
White House Press Briefing Room: For the Birds
Nest of Robins in Bushes Outside Briefing Room Entrance
A momma robin is oblivious to the noisy comings and goings of the press corps as she hatches and nurses her babies in nest near busy doorway. See AP story and pics here.
WHCInsider Exclusive: ABC News' Guest List for White House Correspondents Dinner
Bon Jovi, Kate Walsh, Taye Diggs, Rahm Emanuel, David Axelrod, Meghan McCain, Antonin Scalia and More
ABC News will have its share of political and entertainment stars at its tables:
David Axelrod, White House senior advisor, and his wife Susan Axelrod
Rahm Emanuel, White House Chief of Staff
Peter Orszag, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Valerie Jarrett, senior presidential advisor
Jackie Norris, First Lady’s Chief of Staff
Leon Panetta, CIA Director
Susan Rice, UN Ambassador
Justice Antonin Scalia
Meghan McCain
Jon and Dorothea Bon Jovi
Kate Walsh
Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel
People and Time Magazines to Launch Dinner Weekend with Friday Night Cocktail Bash
As they have before, People and Time will get the White House Correspondents Dinner weekend off to a glass-clinking start with a Friday night cocktail party in downtown D.C. Last year their WHCD-eve party drew a mix of insiders and stars. This year’s is not likely to be much different.
Sully to Attend White House Correspondents Dinner
Hero of USAirways Flight 1549 to be Guest of NY Daily News
Chesley Burnett Sullenberger III — better known as “Sully,” the pilot who safely landed his crippled airliner on the Hudson River last January — will be attending the WHCD as a guest of the New York Daily News, Politico is reporting. The last time he was in D.C. was to receive personal thanks and congratulations from President Obama for his heroism. Click here for more.
WHC Insider Exclusive: President Bush Goosed Jay Leno at 2004 WHCD
The WH Correspondents Dinner is known for outrageous moments, when a headline comedian roasts the President, who must sit and smile through the jokes. But in 2004, President Bush turned the tables on Jay Leno, giving him a little assist in standing.
John Fox Sullivan by Liz Lynch of National Journal
It was 2004 and Carl Cannon of National Journal was president of the White House Correspondents Association. National Journal Group Publisher John Fox Sullivan was seated on the dais, with a clear view of President and Laura Bush, and late night talk show host Jay Leno.
Sullivan said, “When it comes time for the president and the first lady to be seated, we all stand up, but Jay Leno was a little slow to rise from his seat. President Bush secretly reached over and goosed Leno, while making a funny sound to startle the comic.”
In a ballroom packed with 2000 reporters, a sitting president grabs an American icon — who is about to tell jokes at the president’s expense! This is what makes the White House Correspondents’ Dinner a must-attend event every year.
“The president looked at Leno with a wonderful jocular smile,” said Sullivan. “Leno burst into laughter. After the speeches people asked what happened. Some thought it looked like Leno tripped.” Sullivan told WHC Insider it was one of the most memorable moments in his 33 years of working in Washington.
Go to the Back Story to watch Leno’s 2004 roast of President Bush, after the president got closer than Leno ever expected.
Capitol File Expands WHCD Party Lineup With Friday Night Movie Premiere
So far, the news coming out of the White House Correspondent’s Association Dinner party-circuit has all been bleak: People has traded in its after-party in favor of a joint cocktail party with Time magazine the night before the event, and Bloomberg and Vanity Fair — traditionally two of the big power players on Saturday night — announced that they are merging their parties.
But Niche Media’s Capitol File magazine is about to buck that trend with the announcement of an entire weekend slate of events. In addition to their annual Saturday night after-party on May 9, the magazine is teaming up with the Creative Coalition on Friday night for a screening of the Creative Coalition’s “PoliWood” documentary (directed by Barry Levinson).
Sting and Anne Hathaway are among the stars expected to join the movie’s co-producers (and co-founders of the Creative Coalition) Tim Daly and Robin Bronk.
The next night, the magazine will host an after-party at the Corcoran Gallery of Art with a power guest list that includes President Obama’s Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett and White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers. Jarrett and Rogers appear on the cover of Capitol File’s summer issue, which comes out the same day as the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Other guests expected at that after-party include Hathaway and the Dinner’s official emcee, Wanda Sykes. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/21/emcapitol-fileem-expands_n_189656.html
White House Correspondents Challenge Press Secretary on what Obama Meant on CIA Interrogations
Remarks Suggest President is Open to an Investigation
April 21 — Press secretary Robert Gibbs faced persistent questioning from the White House press corps, which focused primarily on whether President Obama is now open to possibly holding former Bush administration officials — including the former president — accountable for CIA interrogation methods of suspected terrorists.
In response to reporters after his meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah earlier in the day, Obama said, “If and when there needs to be a further accounting of what took place during this period, I think for Congress to examine ways that it can be done in a bipartisan fashion, outside of the typical hearing process that can sometimes break down and break it entirely along party lines, to the extent that there are independent participants who are above reproach and have credibility, that would probably be a more sensible approach to take.” [Read more…]
Obama is Reaching Beyond the White House Press Corps to Build an Image
Cultivating Relations with Celebrity Press/Paparazzi
This White House photo was released as part of a strategy to discourage unauthorized photos, the L.A. Times reports.
Don’t think those pictures you see of the Obamas as an ordinary family leading an ordinary life just happen naturally, reports the Los Angeles Times. “The White House, eager to cultivate an image-making media machinery that thrives on personality, has invited coverage from such outlets as television’s ‘Access Hollywood’ and ‘Extra.’ Aides dole out exclusives accordingly, acutely aware of the shelf life for cover stories in glamour and celebrity magazines,” the paper says.
“Administration officials have even weighed the economics of paparazzi photography, strategically releasing images of the family to diminish the monetary value of unauthorized pictures and give the White House control over how the family is portrayed. In return for access, celebrity news outlets must refuse to publish unauthorized pictures — or risk being cut off by the White House.” Full story here.
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