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Napolitano Goes from Oil Spills to the Opera
Tweet Share on Facebook May 28, 2010 Comment (105)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
She's got one of the toughest—and so far most thankless—jobs in President Obama's cabinet. So after hunting down squirrelly home-grown terrorists, figuring out ways to sop up the disastrous Gulf oil spill, and shrugging off harsh political and media criticism, how does Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano relax? With a night at the opera in the president's seats, of course. A well-known fan of the stage, she hasn't let her rigorous day job stop her from enjoying her passion for music and song when she gets a break. [See the members of Obama's inner circle.]
Napolitano was a VIP guest at the Washington National Opera Ball at the Russian Federation Embassy last Friday, a luxurious event that featured Fabergé egg cakes, 30,000 pounds worth of ice sculptures, and Russian ballerinas and singers—bringing in some $1.5 million for the opera. The Homeland boss says she's been to all the company's performances this season, including last Saturday's Hamlet at the Kennedy Center. It's one of the best insider perks of a top-level Washingtonian. Top Obama aides have dibs on the center's Presidential Box tickets that the first family doesn't use, which is pretty often.
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Gulf Zogby: Oil Spill Hurts Obama
Tweet Share on Facebook May 28, 2010 Comment (8)Pollster John Zogby updates our weekly Obama Report Card with a grade on the president's performance. Zogby uses his polling, expert analysis, and interaction with major players to come up with a grade and some comments that capture how he see's the president's week ending.
John Zogby on Week 71:
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Autographs: George H.W. Bush 'Worthless,' Obama Priceless
Tweet Share on Facebook May 28, 2010 Comment (10)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Presidential autograph collectors have a sure-fire solution President Obama could employ to cut the deficit: Start selling some of his John Hancocks. "A hand-written letter by Obama would be worth a fortune, like $20,000," says Bill Panagopulos, president of Alexander Autographs.
He's got proof: Several presidential autographs he has up for sale in an online auction June 3-4 show just how valuable and rare certain signatures from presidents are.
On the top end is Obama. For a simple autograph, something the prez handed out during the 2008 campaign, expect to pay up to $300. In the sale, he's got two: One on a June 2008 Esquire cover and the other on a Democratic National Convention guest pass.
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GOP: Angry Tea Party Voters Will Kick Out Democrats
Tweet Share on Facebook May 27, 2010 Comment (13)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
The drop in crowds of angry Americans at town halls from their heyday last summer and fall has prompted some Democrats to suggest that the anti-incumbent intensity is starting settle down.
But Republicans are offering a different spin: Americans have had it with disinterested lawmakers and will show that anger at the polls in November. "People have moved from anger to resolve," says Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House GOP candidate recruiter who is also in charge of the Republican's new Contract with America campaign called America Speaking Out. Democrats today countered that with www.gopcontractwithamerica.com.
McCarthy, of California, reasons that angry voters felt that they were being ignored by their congressmen and senators, especially when it came to their demands to junk healthcare reform, so now they don't find it useful to attend town halls. "Let the Democrats believe that they've bottomed out," says McCarthy, also referring to Democratic claims that support for their House members is on the upswing.
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Is Obama Wrong to Skip Arlington on Memorial Day?
Tweet Share on Facebook May 27, 2010 Comment (105)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Anger over President Obama's decision to skip tradition and not pay his Memorial Day respects at Arlington National Cemetery or the Tomb of the Unknown is not going away now that the White House has announced he will visit the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery for veterans an hour from Chicago. [See photos of the Obamas behind the scenes.]
Conservative bloggers like Rory Cooper of the Heritage Foundation writes that the event was added because it's close to where the Obama family will be vacationing, back home in Chicago. "It is true that the heroes laid to rest in this cemetery are equally deserving of presidential attention. However, is President Obama attending services here because of the honor of this particular location, or the geographical proximity to his other plans? The memorial at Arlington serves as a national celebration, which is why past presidents have made special efforts to attend, when possible."
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Jill Biden's Not-So-Secret Service
Tweet Share on Facebook May 27, 2010 Comment (1)By Kirk Shinkle, Washington Whispers
Jill Biden fit right in with the teachers as she offered commencement remarks at Columbia University's Teachers College last week. No wonder, as she's spent the last 29 years as an educator. But the Secret Service agents guarding the second lady stood out a little more, despite being dressed in academic robes. "Doctoral candidates rarely wear those curling earpiece things," notes one amused onlooker. The Secret Service declined to comment on its "tactics and procedures."
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Rep. Marsha Blackburn Says No to ‘Congresswoman’
Tweet Share on Facebook May 26, 2010 Comment (8)By Jessica Rettig, Washington Whispers
The first woman to be elected to Congress from Tennessee's 7th District, Rep. Marsha Blackburn, says she prefers "congressman" to the more PC "congresswoman" or "congress member." At a recent benefit for women in politics, she recalled her first run for Congress in the late 1990s, when she told a constituent that if she could handle being both a mother and scout leader, she could handle Congress. The man asked, "Little lady, what should we call you then?" "Sir," she replied, "Congressman will be just fine." Organizers at the benefit were careful to note her preference in her introduction.
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Tim Geithner's Priorities in China
Tweet Share on Facebook May 26, 2010 CommentBy Alex Kingsbury, Washington Whispers
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led a delegation to China this week for a series of economic and diplomatic meetings in Beijing. For Clinton, the agenda includes trying to forge consensus on issues from North Korea and Iran to the improvement of intellectual property rights. Boosting U.S. exports to China, meanwhile, tops Geithner's priority list, but there are a host of other vexing issues in his portfolio, including China's reluctance to revalue its currency and the yawning trade imbalance between the two nations. Fitting then, that employees at the Treasury have adopted a new moniker for their boss: Safecracker. "The name stuck because he's meticulous and intensely focused when he works on these complicated problems; it's like he's trying to crack a secret code or something," says one staffer.
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John Kerry Says Voter Anger at Washington Is Hypocritical
Tweet Share on Facebook May 26, 2010 Comment (875)By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers
Times are tough, especially among those still looking for good jobs, but Sen. John Kerry doesn't think Washington's to blame. In fact the former Democratic presidential candidate, concerned with the anger voters are aiming at Washington, says that his party and President Obama are doing a ship-shape job. [See which industries contribute to Kerry's campaign.]
"We've come back," he says of the nation, Wall Street, and the economy. "This is an amazing resurgence."
Kerry talked about the voter anger during a breakfast sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor called to give him time to pitch his expansive climate and energy bill. He was asked if he's ever seen such anger with Washington, in part inspired by the Tea Party movement named after the Boston Tea Party in his home state. [Uncover the secrets of Congress by searching for your member.]
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Shaun Donovan's New Washington Home
Tweet Share on Facebook May 25, 2010 CommentBy Jessica Rettig, Washington Whispers
Shaun Donovan says he has the utmost confidence in the strength of the nation's housing market. But that's to be expected from the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Now Donovan is putting his money where his mouth is with his own real estate transaction. The Big Apple native and former New York City housing czar put his Boerum Hill, Brooklyn, property—a house that the former architect and his landscape-architect wife, Liza, redesigned themselves—up for sale. The couple and their two sons are headed to a new house in the nation's capital, though the exact location is a closely guarded secret because of his cabinet-level status. Donovan had previously lived in an apartment in Washington while his family stayed in New York, but it's time to bring everyone under one roof. And he's walking the walk on promoting livable communities. His new home meets HUD's Sustainable Communities Initiative criteria, meaning it's close to retail stores, public transportation, and a school.
