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A Comeback for the Clinton Scandals?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 6, 2008 Comment (11)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
With Sen. Hillary Clinton back in the headlines as Barack Obama's choice for secretary of state, look for her main ankle-biter to flash its fangs. Judicial Watch, the watchdog group that jumped on her first White House initative, the healthcare task force, is heading to Little Rock, Ark., to sift through documents at Bubba's presidential library. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton is expecting a new scandal from the list of donors being released this month. "I think the release of the donors is going to tear the scab off the scandals," says Fitton. "A lot of these names will be scandal figures," he says. "All the Clinton corruption is a stain on our history."
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Scott McClellan to Robert Gibbs: Scrap the On-Camera White House Briefings
Tweet Share on Facebook December 6, 2008 Comment (2)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
Take note, Robert Gibbs. Scott McClellan, the former Bush spokesman who turned on his boss to endorse Barack Obama, has some advice as you take up the job of White House spokesman: Scrap the daily on-camera press briefing. Instead, let the cameras roll only twice a week and do the remainder off-camera to lessen the drama in the briefing room. And bring in an expert or two to talk about developing issues. "I would make one recommendation for him to consider, which is to maybe do more of a Pentagon type of model where you are using senior officials more," says McClellan. "I would have done more of that."
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President-Elect Obama May Keep Mike Hayden as Director of the CIA
Tweet Share on Facebook December 5, 2008 Comment (8)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
As President-elect Barack Obama continues to build his national security staff, now focused on intelligence, it is possible that he might ask CIA Director Mike Hayden to stay on for a while, intelligence sources say. Much of the speculation about the CIA job has been that Obama wants a change, in part because he disagreed with the CIA's detention policies. But officials are pushing back a little on that issue, suggesting that Hayden has been carrying out the policies backed by Congress and the president before he arrived at Langley, not freelancing on his own. "It's unfair to blame Hayden for things that occurred long before he took the job. But he deserves credit for standing up for the folks over there at CIA, even though a lot of the stuff he has dealt with didn't happen on his watch," said an intelligence official. "Administration policy and American law shape what the CIA does. If the president says he doesn't want something done, that's it. These are his programs," added the official.
What's more, intelligence officials say that the program has changed and that, for example, waterboarding—officially used on three detainees—ended three years before Hayden came aboard. Does he want to stay on? Officials won't be so blunt, but they do suggest Hayden would like continue working with his people. "If he were asked to stay on at CIA, that's something he would consider at the time. Mike likes the work, he has a high regard for the people over there, and he cares passionately about the mission. Those are the factors that he would consider," said an official. Publicly, spokesman Mark Mansfield told Whispers today: "As Director Hayden has said, with every transition comes all sorts of speculation about personnel changes across government. He has tried to ignore it. He understands that he serves at the pleasure of the president, and he is focused on running the CIA."
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Call Obama's Era 'Generation Change,' Not 'Obamalot'
Tweet Share on Facebook December 5, 2008 Comment (1)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
That whole change thing Barack Obama hyped during the presidential election seems to have settled into the American psyche. Because when Washington Whispers asked you for a phrase to describe his incoming administration, the overwhelming answer was "Generation Change." With our friends at Synovate and eNation, five possibilities were offered. Generation Change won with 46 percent. Our fave, "Obamalot," was a weak fourth at just 11 percent. Here's our new poll.
The Whispers Poll
John F. Kennedy had "Camelot," and Ronald Reagan had the "Reagan Revolution." What should Barack Obama's presidency be coined?
Generation Change 46% The Obama Era 22% Yes We Can Rebellion 13% Obamalot 11% Age of Obama 8% Source: The Synovate eNation Internet poll was conducted December 2-4 among 1,000 nationally representative households by global market research firm Synovate.
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Bush Shows Off White House Gym to President-Elect Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook December 5, 2008 Comment (2)By Paul Bedard and Nikki Schwab, Washington Whispers.
It didn't make the headlines at the time—first lady Laura Bush's tour of the kids' rooms for Michelle Obama nabbed those—but when the outgoing president gave his replacement the guy's version of the White House look-see, the duo made a beeline to the gym. "They just rushed upstairs to look at the gym," says Mrs. Bush. It's the "guy thing," she adds. And why not? Unlike previous presidents, President Bush is a regular in the gym and on the mountain bike trail and has equipped his gym well. And given President-elect Barack Obama's post-election workout schedule, he looks to be every bit Bush's match. Since being elected, Obama has hit the gym at the Regents Park Apartments near his Chicago home and played some hoops nearly every day, even before his trip to Philadelphia to announce his national security team. Besides basketball, he favors the elliptical, treadmill, and free weights. "Depends on the day," says an aide. And look for the new prez to pull down the nets on the White House tennis courts. We hear he's planning to wheel in a basketball backboard. Unlikely: Leaving the White House to play at the YMCA six blocks away where he worked out during the campaign. "Three or four times ago when he was here, he went in the morning and played basketball at the YMCA across the street," says Satinder Palta, general manager of the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel, Obama's District home during the campaign. If he does sneak out, it will be easy to pick Obama out: He typically wears a White Sox or U.S. Secret Service baseball cap, a North Face jacket, Nike pants, and Nike shoes. His bow to Chicago's Nike Town is appreciated by the sportswear apparel maker. But it's not enough to give him his own line like, say, Air Obama shoes. "We focus on athletes," says Nike spokesman Derek Kent. Still, Obama's style is America's style. "On the days when he took his little girls to school and he was wearing his North Face jacket, there was a definite spike in North Face [Internet] views and some spike in sales in Illinois," says Marit Fischer, communications manager for Backcountry.com, an online retailer for outdoor gear.Illustrations by Joe Ciardiello for USN&WR
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President-Elect Obama's Oval Office Makeover: Crate and Barrel?
Tweet Share on Facebook December 5, 2008 Comment (10)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
We've just seen the White House makeover ideas proposed to the AP by nine designersand the Obamas could really put their stamp on the executive mansion if they follow the advice. Among the changes: A softer looking Oval Office made cozy with Crate and Barrel sofas. Really. And how about this change in the Rose Garden: Rip out the famous boxwoods that frame it and plant hibiscus to create a "prairie" style. See for yourself.
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Drinking With the Stars: Tony Blair, Chris Hitchens, and Tony Blankley
Tweet Share on Facebook December 4, 2008 CommentBy Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
The whisky (in Scotland they spell it without an "e") was single malt scotch on Wednesday night at U.K. Ambassador Sir Nigel Sheinwald's residence, but the miniature copper stills were really not edible.
The guests at the Distilled Spirits Council's Scotch tasting included former Prime Minister Tony Blair, Christopher Hitchens, and Tony Blankley. The Scotch selection was extensive, reports our Opinion Editor Robert Schlesinger, including Johnny Walker's Blue Label Anniversary cask strength, which runs $3,500 per bottle (it comes in a baccarat decanter). Macallan had several offerings as well as a bowl full of small pins [pictured above] in the shape of the brand's signature copper stills. Some guests at these tastings, perhaps after several samplings, occasionally mistake the pins for snacks, popping them into their mouths, a Macallan purveyor says. Seriously, Whispers asked?
Spend two hours at one of these things and then you'll understand, was the response. And what happens when people realize they didn't just swallow candy? They ask for another one to wear. They don't call whisky "the water of life" for nothing.
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Take a Ride in Detroit's Best: Shameless Senate Auto Bailout PR
Tweet Share on Facebook December 4, 2008 Comment (8)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Check out this letter, obtained by Whispers this morning, from the cochairs of the Senate Auto Caucus. It's a press release kind of thing to the schedulers of senators, urging them to ask their bosses to take a ride in one of Detroit's best. Says the accompanying note: "Please come! Send your boss and staff. Many thanks!"
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Bush 41 Library Renovation Gets a Prize
Tweet Share on Facebook December 3, 2008 Comment (1)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Photos courtesy of the George Bush Library and Museum
We've got the scoop on a big award for the folks who just renovated the George Bush Library and Museum at Texas A&M.
Our Suzi Parker reports that on Thursday, Allen Weinstein, archivist of the United States, will present staff members from the facility with the prestigious Archivist Award for their work on the redesign of the museum during the annual State of the Archives ceremony. The library had a grand reopening last November.
According to a release going out tomorrow: The library's redesign project took over two years and cost $8.5 million. Museum staffers worked with a team of designers, writers, and technology experts from Universal Exhibits in California to make the new designs a reality.
Fabrication was done in California, and the exhibits were then disassembled, transported by truck, and reassembled in the museum.
"I am very proud of the George Bush Library and Museum team who will be honored this week in Washington. Barbara and I were thrilled with the re-design, and it's nice to know that their hard work and creativity are being recognized by Allen Weinstein, archivist of the United States. The new interactive exhibits allow the visitors to explore some of the most tumultuous, life-changing, and historic events that took place during my career. The museum incorporates the latest technology that makes the museum experience entertaining, educational, and engaging. It literally helps history come alive. This award is richly deserved," says former President George Bush.
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Last Bush Christmas in the White House Before Move to Dallas
Tweet Share on Facebook December 3, 2008 Comment (28)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers.
Starting her final turn as the White House Christmas host, a charming Laura Bush today revealed that the first family will be moving to Dallas, home to the president's new library and museum, after leaving the executive mansion. "We will be moving to Dallas," said Mrs. Bush, handsome in a red suit. The move has the first family thinking frugally about Christmas, she added. "We are going to be very, very careful at Christmas," she told a gaggle of reporters there to get a peek at the White House's red, white, and blue decorations. "That's where we will be spending our money," she said, referring to the new house. That they are moving to Dallas is no surprise. But some locals had thought they would buy land and build a house. Mrs. Bush's announcement seemed to suggest that they will be buying an existing home.
It being her last decoration press preview, Mrs. Bush seemed to linger longer to take every question and express her sadness at leaving the house and its staff. "It will be the people we will miss the most," she said.
For Christmas, the Bushes will make the traditional trek to Camp David, Md., where she and her husband have spent a record 12 Christmases—eight as the first couple and four as relatives of former President George H. W. Bush. "I'm sure we've got the record," she crowed.
And of her recent White House tour for incoming first lady Michelle Obama, Mrs. Bush revealed that she passed on a little tip first given to former first lady Hillary Clinton by former first lady Barbara Bush. It was that she can look for her husband at any time by gazing out a window in the first lady's dressing room that overlooks the Rose Garden and into the Oval Office.
Finally, Mrs. Bush took the opportunity to answer the perception question: Is there a gap between how Americans view the president and what he's really like? "I think there is a great gap," she said. But that's politics, she added.
