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4/28/06
What's bigger than the press dinner?
Can't snare a ticket to Washington's annual main event: Saturday night's White House Correspondents' Association dinner? Then here's the next best thing: Tammy Haddad's annual pre-WHCA dinner brunch on the edge of Georgetown. For over 10 years, the Most Important TV Booker in Washington has hosted these events with her hubby, the World Bank's Ted Greenberg, and friends, and this year it's looking like it could rival the dinner when it comes to big-shot guests. OK, the president and veep won't be there, but the man who played the president in last year's movie Last Best Chance, former Sen. Fred Thompson, now of Law and Order fame and ABC Radio, and his wife, Jeri, will be there. Haddad, who books guests for Hardball, has teamed with several pals to pull off this tented affair. They include Bush-Cheney TV-ad guy Alex Castellanos; former Justice adviser Barbara Comstock of Blank Rome; power couple Hilary Rosen, formerly head of the Recording Industry Association of America, with Elizabeth Birch, former executive director of the Human Rights Campaign; David Alder, Internet guru of the NYC party site BizBash.com; and Russ Hodges, the first producer to put new White House spokesman Tony Snow on the air.
So who's expected? Let's dish. The confirmed list includes Thank You for Smoking writer Christopher Buckley; former Solicitor General Ted Olson; NBC's Andrea Mitchell; ABC's Claire Shipman; MSNBC's dirt-digger Rita Cosby; the delicious actress Morgan Fairchild; White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend; Hardball's Chris Matthews; Washington's most expensive lawyer, Bob Bennett; Fox's Greta van Susteren, gobs more media, and armloads of political types. In fact, it could be the best off-the-record forum for the new press-friendly Bush administration to schmooze with the media.
Insiders say this is more than just a nice party: It's proof that Haddad, a longtime exec known most for bringing CNN's Larry King to live TV, is the Washington power player.
See Haddad's Miss America blog
4/27/06
All about Tony Snow
Sorry Chris Wallace, but the celebrity-filled party for your 10th anniversary of the Fox News Sunday show you host was all about Tony Snow, the ousted original host who Wednesday was picked as the new White House press secretary. Even Fox boss Roger Ailes opened his remarks at the Georgetown party with this little remark: "We've really grown. Ten years ago, we could never have gotten the White House press secretary here." I walked in with Snow, and judging by his buzzing phone and well-wishers in the crowd of politicians and media, he was clearly the man of the hour. "It will be great to have him up there. We like him," Speaker Dennis Hastert said.
Still, for Wallace, Ailes, and Fox owner Rupert Murdoch, the fete Wednesday night at trendy Café Milano was a huge success. Several political bigs showed up, including Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, White House political adviser Karl Rove–fresh from new grand jury testimony. Even a few Democrats came, notably Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the top liberal in the sea of conservatives and clearly a sign that she's willing to play ball with anybody in the media. The New York senator and front-runner for the Democratic Party's 2008 presidential nomination spent time with several Fox notables. Upon arriving, she was squired around by Wallace and then chatted with both Murdoch and Ailes. She also talked with talk show host Bill O'Reilly and congratulated Snow on his new job in the White House. And she sought out the Fox Washington team of Brit Hume, Bill Kristol, and Major Garrett.
Others including Democratic Party spokesperson Karen Finney and former DNC boss Terry McAuliffe also attended. At one point, McAuliffe was surrounded by his fellow Dems at the Italian restaurant's entrance when he jokingly pointed to the larger party inside and cheered, "Let's go kick some ass!"
4/25/06
As spokesman, Snow would have a stronger voice
Tony Snow, the Fox News Channel personality and radio host many expect to replace White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, is said to be pushing for greater access and an early voice in presidential decisions, according to those knowledgeable about the job search.
However, insiders say that it is not a point of contention – Snow is being wooed because Chief of Staff Josh Bolten wants Snow to have an elevated role that some compare to that of former Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry.
"He'll have a bigger role and an earlier role in decision making," says one source. Up to now, former insiders say, the press office has been included later in decisions, where its role has been to sell the president's agenda. Snow, however, would play a larger role in helping form the decisions should he take the post.
"He is a fantastic choice for the president. In Tony, you have credibility; he's held in reasonably high regard by the media and he has fantastic TV skills," says an administration adviser. Others say that he is close in style and politics to Bolten. They note that both were allies and co-workers in the former Bush administration. And insiders say they share a passion for music and performing rock-and-roll, Bolten with his bass guitar and Snow with his flute, guitar, and sax.
"They are more alike than any of the other candidates," says one Bush adviser, adding that despite the list of names in the media that Bolten was considering for McClellan's job, "it was all about Tony from the start."
4/19/06
The new Democrats: Tough and smart
We hear that Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean has a new slogan to fight the Republicans in the upcoming midterm elections: tough and smart. Dean says it's a little different from how he views the GOP: tough and unsmart. "Smart makes a difference," he grins over a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Dean says that the new slogan fits nicely with the larger election theme the party is pushing focused on trustworthiness and competence. While issues like the war and healthcare dominate the policy agenda, he wants to highlight the larger claims that the White House isn't truthful about the war and isn't prosecuting it or other issues well. "The biggest issues in the election are character issues: trustworthiness and competence. After that, we get to Iraq, healthcare, and the economy," says the former Vermont governor and 2004 Democratic presidential primary candidate.
The DNC trotted the Smart and Tough theme out today with an ad, in Spanish, focused on the immigration debate. The point: Help immigrants with a real worker program.
Dean also dropped this hint: While he's not planning to run for president again in 2008, he is open to another race at another time.
Meet Howard Dean
4/4/06
The Supremes vote: no TV
The men and women in black have been polled, and it's official: The Supreme Court doesn't want TV cameras in its chambers. And not just because the justices think it will turn mild-mannered lawyers into publicity hounds. Two justices today warned Congress that it would also mean a jump in death threats at a time when the judges say they are already receiving nasty E-mails and phone calls at home. Justice Clarence Thomas warned that cameras would further erode the anonymity judges and court officials have. "That loss of anonymity raises your concerns of security considerably," he told a House appropriations subcommittee mulling over the court's annual budget. "We have people watching us all the time, and that is a particular concern," added Justice Anthony Kennedy, who revealed that he's received calls at home from crooks about his decisions in cases.
Camera advocates have been pushing the court for a change for years, ever since the House and Senate turned on the cameras. The court has compromised by making audio takes of court hearings public. Now, noted Kennedy, there is a bill in the Senate that would more forcefully urge the court to be televised. Kennedy, promising to keep an open mind on the issue, said, however, that Congress should just butt out. He said that the court doesn't try to tell the Hill how to run its business and Congress should return the favor. Any congressional mandate for court TV cameras, he said, would be "inconsistent with the deference, that etiquette."
The committee members agreed. "It's got to be your decision," said Rep. John Olver, a Massachusetts Democrat. Another Democrat, Rep. Ed Pastor of Arizona, added that he also concurred with the worries about making new security problems. "If you get TV in the court, you will probably need more security," he said.
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