That’s what Ana Marie Cox argues in the Washington Post. But Steve Benen in the Washington Monthly disagrees. What do you think? Tell us in a comment.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Attend White House Correspondents Dinner
“I’d been invited to go in the past administration but I didn’t want to schlep all the way there for them,” Louis-Dreyfus tells CelebrityGossip.com. “But now I’m going and I cannot wait!” Click here for more.
Bush Gift to Obama "Visual Messaging" Team
Behind the Scenes at the New White House Briefing Room Redesigned for the 24/7 News Cycle
The White Briefing Room Series
Part One: The Technology

Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in 2007. Courtesy of White House Photo Office.
On the surface, the revamped and spiffed-up White House Press Briefing Room looks like a clean, well-lighted and more streamlined version of its old self. But largely hidden from public view is evidence of the extensive cutting-edge technology — not to mention the intensive labor — that went into the 2006-07 renovation.
For instance, that rich, royal blue backdrop behind the podium? Not blue at all. “That’s an entirely new backdrop with lots of LEDs,” says Scott Sforza, the former White House deputy assistant communications director and director of the renovation project. “Those lights can make the backdrop any color of the spectrum.”
Complete walls were torn out. A stairwell to access cabling in the deep end of the pool below the briefing room floor was dug and installed. (Yes, the briefing room is atop the old White House swimming pool.) New wiring, new lighting, new air conditioning (finally serious air flow), and pretty much new everything went in. [Read more…]
George Clooney, Nick Clooney Not Going to WHCD

George Clooney with WHC Insider Founder Tammy Haddad
Sorry Folks: Neither George Clooney or his father and American University visiting professor Nick Clooney, will attend the White House Correspondents Dinner reports WHCinsider.com.
Washingtonians have been delighted to have Nick and Nina Clooney as neighbors for the past seven months as he taught at American and thrilled Newseum visitors and media big wigs with a series of programs on TV, movies, and his international campaign on Darfur.
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"Grey Gardens" DC Premiere Draws Washington Stars
Sally Quinn told me that she remembers reading the original newspaper stories about Big Edie, Jackie Kennedy’s aunt, and Little Edie, Jackie Kennedy’s first cousin, living in the dilapidated estate, Grey Gardens, the home Sally now owns in East Hampton. Here is Sally’s story from today’s Washington Post.
When Washington favorite, HBO Co-President Richard Plepler (who began his career as an aide to Senator Chris Dodd) comes to town, the stars some out … and the dinner and screening at The Motion Picture Association Wednesday night was no exception. George and Elizabeth Stevens, Al Hunt and Judy Woodruff, Elsa Walsh, Margaret Carlson, and the Washington Post dream team Marcus Brauchli with his wife Maggie Farley, and Raju Narisetti were all on hand.
And Obama friend and White House Social Secretary Desiree Rogers joined the party, which included of course, Ben Bradlee, Sally Quinn, and their first-time author son, Quinn Bradlee … who didn’t seem to suffer any wear-and-tear from his grueling book tour schedule.
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Actors Tim Daly, Justin Long, Richard Belzer Among USA Today's Guests for White House Correspondents Dinner
Paper Also Nets Some Obama Administration Players
Tim Daly (“Private Practice”), Justin Long (“He’s Just Not That Into You”) and Richard Belzer (“Law & Order”) will be lighting up USA Today’s tables at the WHCD, along with Deputy White House Chief of Staff Mona Sutphen, Dept. of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and Michelle Obama staffer Jocelyn Frye, according to FishbowlDC.
Are You Part of the Lucky 200?
White House Correspondents Dinner Vanity Fair-Bloomberg After Party
The Vanity Fair after party, normally at writer Christopher Hitchens’s apartment, is joining forces with the Bloomberg after party, according to the New York Observer. While Bloomberg is limiting its guest list to a mere 200, the combined merriment will be hosted by the French ambassador, whose (larger) home is just a short walk from Hitch’s place.
NBC's Chief White House Correspondent Gets His Own Show?
Chuck Todd Said to be in Line for New MSNBC Weekend Political Program
That’s what the New York Observer is reporting on its Web site, citing “multiple network sources.” Todd, once a contender to succeed the late Tim Russert on “Meet the Press,” will start hosting a new show the cable channel will debut later this spring. The idea is to give Todd “more experience as a political moderator,” according to the story.
Who's In, Who's Out for This Year's White House Correspondents Dinner?
Democrats, Celebs, Media-types In; Republicans, Lobbyists, “Little People” Out
Who will be in and who will be left out of this year’s dinner? A few general categories to keep an eye on. For Obamites stuck in Chicago for two years, this will be the first night that many of them mix and mingle with the press at a big event. [Read more…]
Veteran Photog and White House News Photographers Association Prexy Dennis Brack Keeps the WH Honest
Rails Against WH Use of Stock Photography and More…..
Dennis Brack is one of those people whose work you’ve seen maybe more times than you can count, even though you’ve probably never heard of him. Ditto his more than 400 colleagues.
Brack is president of the White House News Photographers Association, the camera-bug counterpart to the White House Correspondents Association. Ever since Lyndon B. Johnson laid claim to the Oval Office back in the 1960s, Brack has been snapping pics of presidents and pretty much anyone else of importance at the White House — with notable success.

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