White House Correspondents Insider

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

Greta and John bring LiLo to WHCD

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Another Van Susteren WHCD first: Kim Kardashian in 2010

Greta Van Susteren and her husband, attorney John Coale have won the booking sweepstakes this year by scoring Lindsay Lohan as their guest for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.   Since her move to Fox 10 years ago, Greta has been wowing Washington insiders and making headlines by snagging the hottest guests.

It was a scene like none other when President George W. Bush, at his first dinner mentioned Greta and John’s guest, Ozzy Osbourne, who was at the height of his reality show fame.  Last year, Van Susteren surprised everyone by bringing Sarah Palin to the WH Correspondents’ Dinner to mingle with the “gang of 600”, the top politicos and policymakers, something no one ever thought would happen.

Van Susteren has had the number 1  show on Fox for 10 years, and  never shies away from a controversy or a question.

Here is how FishbowlDC broke the big story.

Clooney returns to White House Correspondents Dinner

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Time magazine has snagged George Clooney and his girlfriend Stacy Keibler; and Hollywood bigwig Steven Spielberg and his wife, actress Kate Capshaw.  This makes Richard Stengel the top booker of the weekend.

Greta Van Sustern and John Coale finally have some competition.

Newsweek’s Daily Beast is right up there with  Academy award winning actresses Reese Witherspoon and Viola Davis, and former soldier, actor and “Dancing with the Stars” winner J.R. Martinez.   Actress Rashida Jones will be the guest of Fortune.

Politico is reporting that ABC is bringing actor Paul Rudd and Elizabeth Banks from the super hot movie “Hunger Games” and “Modern Family” stars including Sofia Vergara, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Julie Bowen and Eric Stonestreet, as well as  “Cougar Town” actors Christa Miller and Bill Lawrence.

Follow all the news about the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend right here, and take a look at this great moment from the Bloomberg Vanity Fair party when Sarah Palin and Seth Meyers meet.

Game Change Premieres in DC

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John Heilemann, Sarah Paulson, Julianne Moore, Mark Halperin

Mike Allen reported in today’s Politico Playbook, that while New Yorkers (who had their premiere two nights ago) thought the new HBO Film Game Change “was a sit-com,” Washington watched it as a documentary.  The Newseum was packed with reporters and 2008 campaign staff eager to see the much buzzed about Game Change film based on the book by the same name by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin.  Walking the red, or blue rather, carpet were the authors, screen writer Danny Strong, director Jay Roach, and the star of the film, Julianne Moore, who plays Sarah Palin and Sarah Paulson who plays staffer Nicolle Wallace. Also in attendance were veteran producers Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks, as well as McCain senior campaign strategist, Steve Schmidt who was portrayed by Woody Harrelson in the film.

The film takes place five years ago starting in 2007, following the John McCain campaign through selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate and the struggles and victories within the race.  Viewers such as Wolf Blizter praised Moore’s performance – “She did an amazing Sarah Palin. She looked like her, she sounded like her — she was Sarah Palin,” as reported by Politico. Ed Harris as John McCain and Harrelson as Schmidt were also highlights of the film as they played characters carrying the emotional weight of a presidential campaign having to make difficult decisions.  The film mixed real news footage of reporters and then candidate Obama with film footage which gave Blitzer, Gwen Ifill and Katie Couric cameos.

Check out more photos from the premiere below:

White House Corespondents Brunch: CURE and White Ribbon Alliance Summer Hits

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The 2011 WHC Garden Brunch featured two great organizations, CURE Epilepsy and the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood. Our honorary co-chairs Susan Axelrod and Wendi Murdoch led the push for advocacy and results.

2011 White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch from whcinsider on Vimeo.

Thanks to your generous donations, CURE Epilepsy is having a record-breaking year in raising funds to find a cure. Your dollars are making a difference. Recently, a CURE-Funded Project had a major breakthrough. UC Irvine and French researchers identified a central switch responsible for the transformation of healthy brain cells into epileptic ones, opening the way to both treat and prevent temporal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsy affects 1 to 2 percent of the world’s population, and TLE is the most common form of the disorder in adults. Among adult neurologic conditions, only migraine headaches are more prevalent. TLE is resistant to treatment in 30 percent of cases.

“We’re quite excited about this discovery,” UCI neurologist and neuroscientist Dr. Tallie Z. Baram said. “Understanding how previous brain infections, seizures or injuries can interact with the cellular machinery to cause epilepsy is a crucial step toward designing drugs to prevent the process. We don’t want to just treat people with epilepsy. We hope to develop medicines that will prevent epilepsy from occurring – and influence the lives of millions of people around the globe.”

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood is using the month of July to encourage leaders to recognize the importance of health workers. There is a shortage of more than 3.5 million health workers across the globe and millions of existing health workers lack the support, equipment, and training they need to provide quality care. These nurses, doctors, midwives and community health workers are vital for progress on global health and development and for ensuring the millennium development goals are met.

In September, decision-makers will convene at the United Nations General Assembly to review progress on the Millennium Development Goals. It will be an opportunity for governments to announce substantial and specific commitments to support and invest in health workers. By sharing your voice on these issues, together change can be made.

Here is our photo gallery including David and Susan Axelrod, Rupert and Wendi Murdoch, Sarah and Todd Palin, Matthew Morrison, Jeremy Piven, Bill and Bernie Daley, Tina Tchen, Eric Podwall, Chelsea Handler, T. Boone Pickens and many other notables.

We are proud to support the work of CURE Epilepsy and the White Ribbon Alliance, and encourage you to do the same by clicking on the links below.

Ailes: Clinton to Fox?

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In a recent interview, Fox News President Roger Ailes seemed to shift from his traditionally conservative stance and may have developed a bit of a soft spot for some top Democrats. In an interview with Howard Kurtz, Ailes – the man who put Sarah Palin back on television – even said he’d hire Hillary Clinton: “She looks unhappy at the State Department. She’d get ratings.” See the full story on The Daily Beast here.

Palin makes Politico with Brunch Visit

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Politco’s Patrick Gavin scored an interview with Sarah Palin at this year’s White House Correspondent’s Brunch.

When asked about running into Donald Trump she says “He’s our buddy, we appreciate and respect Donald Trump.”

Watch the video below and see the full Politico Click here.

Ben Smith of Politico also wrote a piece on her visit which you can check out here.

Tina Fey Thanks Sarah Palin

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From Second City to the Kennedy Center, Tina Fey still leaves them laughing.

The Emmy – Golden Globe – Screen Actors Guild – People’s Choice award-winning writer, producer, actress, and comedienne took home another statue Tuesday night: the 13th Annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. As only the third woman to receive this award (Whoopi Goldberg and Lily Tomlin round out the trio), Fey is also the youngest (she’s 40, for those keeping track).

She is the creator, star and Executive Producer of NBC’s 30 Rock, now in its fourth season and spent nine years as head writer and cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. But perhaps it is her eerily good impression of Sarah Palin that most folks are familiar with (even doing a little bit during a recent appearance on Late Night with David Letterman).

While accepting the award at a star-studded event at the Kennedy Center, Fey thanked Sarah Palin, the former Alaskan Governor, for her success. Palin wasn’t in the crowd, but spotted in the President’s box were David Axelrod, Stephanie Cutter and Susan Sher.

Fey’s husband, producer/composer Jeff Richmond was by her side while co-stars, colleagues and friends were on hand to pay tribute to Fey including former Mark Twain winners Steve Martin and Lorne Michaels; Date Night co-star Steve Carell; former Weekend Update co-anchor and now host of his own show, Jimmy Fallon; Mad Men and 30 Rock guest star Jon Hamm; Baby Mama co-star Amy Poehler; 30 Rock co-stars Jane Krakowski and Tracy Morgan; and the indefatigable Betty White.

Alec Baldwin who plays Fey’s “mentor” on 30 Rock appeared in a video as Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain. He wasn’t the only one people couldn’t stop talking about: people were commenting on the remarkable resemblance between Steve Martin and David Rubenstein, President of the Kennedy Center. Also spotted at the gala were National Symphony Orchestra Board Member Connie Milstein and guests Austan and Robin Goolsbee.

The event raised $1.3 million in ticket sales which will go to the Center, the largest total in the prize’s history. PBS will air the program on November 14, 2010.

Todd Palin to Attend Dinner as Greta Van Susteren's Guest

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First Dude Todd Palin

First Dude Todd Palin

WHCInsider has confirmed that Todd Palin, a.k.a. the First Dude, is coming as Greta Van Susteren’s guest for the White House Correspondents dinner. He will be attending in his wife Sarah Palin’s stead.

It is another big score for Fox News’ Van Susteren, who brought the showstopping Ozzie Osbourne to a previous WHCD. Even President Bush got in on the Ozzie action that night by mentioning him in his dinner address. Click on dinner history for video of that speech.

Is Sarah Palin Coming to WHCD or Not?

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Alaskan Governor’s Spokeswoman Won’t Confirm

Governor Sarah Palin struts her stuff in Washington DC

Us magazine reported the former GOP vice presidential nominee will be attending this year’s dinner, but when asked by the Anchorage Daily News to confirm, Palin spokeswoman Meg Stapleton would only say:

“The governor may be on the East Coast this weekend to attend state events and meetings. If she is there, the governor may accept one of the standing invitations for dinner.”

What do you think? Should she attend? Let us know in a comment.

Who's In, Who's Out for This Year's White House Correspondents Dinner?

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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…]