White House Correspondents Insider

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

The Starts Align at WH Correspondents' Dinner Garden Brunch

By

Georgetown was the center of the action today as Hollywood stars Lindsay Lohan, Matthew Morrison, and Chase Crawford joined political stars Valerie Jarrett, Gov. Jerry Brown and Haley Barbour and media hot shots Willie Geist, Greta van Susteren, and Arianna Huffington to support the White Ribbon Alliance and CURE Epilepsy at the 19th annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch.

Lindsay Lohan arrived with Greta van Susteren & John Coale, Kris Jenner and lawyer Shawn Chapman Holley and guests lined up to meet her and shake hands.  After listening to the speeches, Lohan wowed the young volunteers who lined up for photos.

Hosted by Tammy Haddad, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Clarke Camper, Mark Ein, Alex Castellanos, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, David Adler, Steve McMahon and Franco Nuschese, guests strolled through Ein’s home and marveled at all the star power.

Spotted in the crowd were Bob Barnett and Elle Macpherson, Kris Jenner, Kate Hudson, Kerry Washington, Tim Daly and Woody Harrelson.

Hosain Rahman from Jawbone donated super-hot Jamboxes to anyone who made a significant donation to White Ribbon Alliance or CURE.  Elle Macpherson used her supermodel moxy to quiet the crowd as she, Rosario Dawson and Willie Geist presented the Jamboxes to the lucky donors including Bret Baier, Steve Schmidt and Steve Clemons.

Also honored at the event were Steve and Jean Case for their innovation and philanthropy and Susan Axelrod for her tireless work to find a cure for epilepsy.  GOP power house Alex Castellanos moved the crowd with his speech about Lauren Axelrod’s struggle with relentless seizures.  Both Susan and David Axelrod had tears in their eyes as Alex recounted the family’s battle with their daughter’s illness.

Steve and Jean Case accepted their award from NYSE Euronext’s Clarke Camper with a beautiful reminder that everyone has the power to help people in need.

You can watch the program from the Garden Brunch tonight on C-SPAN prior to the live broadcast of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Steve Clemons is ‘Ambidextrous'!

By

While WHCI favorite Steve Clemons is gathering a reporting string in China, The Washington Diplomat give him aces in a profile. Writer Michael Coleman describes him as, “employing a mixture of non-ideological intellectual curiosity, a clear, easily digestible writing style and a tireless, roll-up-the-sleeves work ethic, Clemons has gradually emerged as one of Washington’s premier foreign policy opinion leaders.”

Read the full profile here.

Steve Clemons with writer Dustin Lance Black and Andrew Oros

WOLFENSOHN: Gordon Brown Great IMF Chief

By

James Wolfensohn, former World Bank President, tells WHC Insider that he supports Gordon Brown to be the next International Monetary Fund Chief: “Brown is a strong financial leader and I think he would be an admirable candidate.”

Eyebrows were raised in Washington as current British Prime Minister David Cameron used aggressive political tactics in the selection process for the next IMF Chief.  Cameron broke tradition and attacked his predecessor, Brown, who is a possible candidate for the position.  The New Statesman weighed in, calling Cameron “petty.”

Wolfensohn has read Cameron’s comments and told WHC Insider, “Having worked with him [Brown] for a decade, he was the most effective International Finance Minister that I worked with. He has a great understanding of the developed countries and a strong sense of the developing countries.”

Brown recently spoke at Bretton Woods and here is Steve Clemons’ take.

As WHC Insider followers know, Tammy Haddad is a friend of Gordon and Sarah Brown, the Global Patron of the White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood.