Media-Whore D'Oeuvres



(image via conorsg)

"The town is full of anxious and curious people. Some are wondering what posts they may end up with in the new Obama administration. Others are merely engaged in the rampant speculation that began about 17 seconds after CNN called the election for Barack Obama. At brunches and dinner parties, on the Metro and street corners--folks are talking about jobs. And I don't mean jobs for the middle class. It's an interesting phenomenon to observe. I've talked to several Washingtonians who profess not to want a position, but if it should happen that they are asked to take one, well then....After all, it's not considered good form to lobby for yourself. It's much better if someone else champions you. (See Joe Klein making the case that his friend Richard Holbrooke ought to be named secretary of state.) Plus, no one wants to be publicly humiliated by being explicitly rejected. If Holbrooke is passed over at State--for Senators John Kerry, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar, or Chris Dodd, or retired General James Jones, or career diplomats Nicholas Burns or Chris Hill -- it won't enhance his standing." (David Corn/CQPolitics)



(image via JH/NYSocialDiary)

"I started out last night at the Rainbow Room where The Week magazine was hosting a dinner and panel discussion 'The Media & The Presidency' with Dan Rather, Ed Rollins, Joe Scarborough, Bob Shrum, Lesley Stahl, Jacob Weisberg and moderated by Harry (Sir Harold) Evans .. And there was a big group, a good group of guests, such as: Amanda Burden, Chuck Scarborough .. Paula Zahn, Faye Wattleton .. former Governor Bill Weld, Patricia Duff .. Richard Johnson .. Tom Freston .. Ana Marie Cox, Norah Ephron .. and lots more just like em." (NYSocialDiary)

"Michelle Obama wasn’t always an admirer of Hillary Clinton, but last Wednesday the soon-to-be first lady dialed up the former first lady for pointers on protecting her two young daughters from the media maelstrom of the White House. 'Michelle may not have loved the senator, but she always respected how the Clintons raised Chelsea,' said a person familiar with Clinton’s end of the call. 'They need to talk. There just aren’t too many people who have shared that kind of experience.' An aide briefed on Obama’s side of the chat said she was 'grateful' for Clinton’s 'pointers' on 'raising children in the public eye.' It’s the latest phase in the ruling-class soap opera that is the Obama-Clinton alliance, where the two first families negotiate new personal relationships as Hillary Clinton wrestles with her own ambivalence about Michelle Obama’s husband, a man she once ridiculed as too callow to govern, and then worked tirelessly to elect." (Politico)

"Things are getting really ugly in Cali. Today we spoke with blogger Jasmyne Cannick, who is black and lesbian, about the passage of Proposition 8, banning gay marriage. Unlike other states that had anti-gay marriage ballot initiatives, California actually allowed (after many legal battles) gays and lesbians to marry. And many of them did, up until the day of the election. The ballot initiative has passed, halting new marriages and raising the question of how the gay couples who got married will be treated. Here's the thing: Seventy percent of black Californians voted for the ban ... compared to 49 percent of white voters and 53 percent of Latino voters? Experts say black and Latino voters also overwhelmingly voted to pass similar measures in Florida and Arizona. Now there seems to be a "blame the blacks" backlash by gay and lesbian protesters." (NewsnViews)


"There are two words guaranteed to make MSNBC's Keith Olbermann break his longstanding personal policy against voting - Chris Matthews. If, as expected, the 'Hardball' host runs against Sen. Arlen Specter in Pennsylvania in 2010, Olbermann says: 'I would definitely suspend my symbolism and vote for him' ..Olbermann can afford to feel generous. He just signed a four-year contract extension through the next presidential election cycle, MSNBC announced Monday. Estimated value: $30 million. His previous deal was to have run through 2011." (TVNewser)

"We were having lunch on the Upper East Side, and Mr. Boies, between bites of salmon and asparagus, was working his cellphone for yet another high-profile deal: He’s representing Maurice R. Greenberg, known as Hank, in his fight against the American International Group, the troubled insurance giant Mr. Greenberg used to run .. He suggested that while the firms would be heavily regulated, that was no replacement for antitrust enforcement. 'The regulators end up being, with a few notable exceptions, co-opted by the industries they regulate,' he said, ticking off airlines and railroads as examples. 'You do not get a pro-consumer effect that you get in a free market,' Mr. Boies said. The biggest regulatory challenge the nation will face in the Obama administration is not antitrust enforcement, he said, but our protectionist views to outside capital, especially when we may need it most." (NYTimes)



"What kind of dog should Barack Obama get? All of America seems to have an opinion – and Kerry Washington is no exception! The actress – who is good friends with the Illinois Senator, and even celebrated his victory with him in Chicago – has been campaigning for the First Family to adopt a Shorkie (a mix between a Shih Tzu and a Yorkie). 'My dog is hypoallergenic, and I've told them all about her,' Washington – the proud owner of a Shorkie named Josephine Baker – tells PEOPLE. 'They are loving dogs and great for the girls. So we'll see what they will choose' .. Washington, 31, is close with the entire Obama family, and she even spent Election Night celebrating with them behind the scenes. 'I was in Chicago last week and I couldn't stop giggling backstage with Michelle,' she said at the L'Oreal Legends Gala in New York Monday, an event to raise funds for ovarian cancer research. 'After the big speech, they had tents backstage and we were all toasting and celebrating.'" (People)

"As the U.S. economy goes ever more deeply down the rabbit hole, the attendees at Monday evening's benefit at Chelsea Piers for The New Group theater company were in the mood to share their stories of past financial woe ... When Ethan Hawke, who was being honored with a Michael Mendelson Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Theater, arrived with his mother Leslie, he was immediately surrounded and congratulated by fellow actors like Andrew Polk and Lili Taylor. 'I don’t know why they’re honoring me!' Mr. Hawke said, in a jaded sort of way." (Observer)

"Sen. Joe Lieberman (Conn.) should caucus with Democrats despite his campaign attacks against President-elect Barack Obama, one of the chamber’s most conservative Democrats said this week. Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) is the latest Democrat to suggest Lieberman, who was the party’s vice presidential nominee in 2000, not be banned from the party, and he offered another sign that the party seems willing to mend relations with the independent senator. Obama and President Bill Clinton also expressed that sentiment, according to reports." (TheHill)