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"New Jersey governor Chris Christie’s reputation as a tough talker is reportedly complicating his alleged plans for a 2016 presidential run. In a new Politico piece by Ben White and Maggie Haberman, a smattering of donors speak unfavorably—and, largely, anonymously—about how they expect Christie’s brash demeanor to fare on the campaign trail. Critics point to a recent showdown between Christie and a relentless heckler on the second anniversary of Hurricane Sandy. In a slowly escalating exchange between Christie—behind a microphone and lectern—and the man holding the sign, the governor claimed he has been “here when the cameras weren’t around and actually doing the work.' The man continues heckling, and Christie refers to him as 'buddy' before telling him to 'sit down and shut up.' One donor told Politico that such moments give off the air that Christie 'could melt down at any time.' Another said 'the ‘sit down and shut up’ stuff does not seem presidential to them.' Christie defended himself in an interview with Matt Lauer, in true Christie form: 'I’m not going to change, Matt. This is who I am.' Other donors still have concerns over fallout from Bridgegate, the scandal that erupted when it was revealed that members of Christie’s staff vindictively closed local-access lanes to the George Washington Bridge to get back at Fort Lee’s mayor for not endorsing Christie in his latest gubernatorial election. And still others are reportedly concerned that Christie’s unlikely to resign from his office while running a campaign. 'I’ve never been to Iowa and I don’t really know how [Christie’s brash demeanor] would play with voters there,' real-estate scion Richard LeFrak told Politico. Perhaps LeFrak could ask Chris Christie the next time the pair lunch at the Four Seasons, where they were recently seen eating with casino owner Steve Wynn. After all, Christie loves Iowa: he has visited the state—a breeding ground for presidential campaigns—at least four times over the past few months. VF Daily reached out to representatives for Christie regarding the governor’s alleged reputation with Wall Street donors, and they declined to comment. Christie has experienced some bumps in the road with top Republican donors before." (VF)
"Aleko Goulandris is my oldest and closest friend. We met in the summer of 1945, at the Semiramis Hotel in a northern Athenian resort. The Allied bombing and the ensuing communist uprising of 1944 had not been kind to ritzy houses, nor to glitzy hotels. The Semiramis was the only one still operating during the hot months of July and August. Aleko and his twin brother Leonidas befriended me, aged nine, and as they say, it was the start of a beautiful friendship. The boys were shipping heirs and had become heroes of sorts: during the previous winter, when the battle for Athens was raging, they had answered the call to hold the line against the reds who had come down from the mountains and tried to take over through force of arms. The Goulandris clan is a very large one, and most of them did their duty during the war. My father was down near the Acropolis, where the battle raged for days, and that is where Aleko and Leonidas went and presented themselves .... The next time I hooked up with them I was 15 and we were all in Cannes for the summer of 1952. Aleko had a beautiful red sports car, an Allard, and a beautiful American girlfriend. With Nicky lying on the hood, Aleko won first prize for elegance in the most prestigious European automobile show of its time. His twin had a glamorous Hollywood actress, his older brother a beautiful sailing boat, and his sister had bought Eros, a great black schooner that is still sailing the seven seas. I only had a Vespa scooter, but the boys got me into all the nightclubs of the time: Maxim’s, the ones in Juan-les-Pins, and Au Vieux Colombier, where Sidney Bechet played his lungs out every night. It was a magical summer and it was a nightmare having to go back to school. Covered with crabs, as it were. Last week Aleko became 100 million dollars richer when he sold 'Chariot,' a Giacometti bronze of an elongated female, one of the rarest of sculptures. The Sotheby’s salesroom burst into applause, and as I speak to Aleko every day when I’m in Europe—at 10 A.M. exactly—I made sure I got up early and rang him. He had bought the work in 1972 and it was very expensive for the time, he says. 'You could buy a 5th Avenue penthouse for much less,' was the way he put it. But unlike the philistine sharks that deal and trade in art nowadays, Aleko has always bought art for art’s sake. He once sat in my house looking for 10 minutes at a Nicolas de Staël of mine, a work he helped me buy in Paris through his connection with the artist’s daughter." (TAKI)
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| Canon John Andrew and Charlie Scheips. |
"This past week, Michael Thomas sent me an obit from the Telegraph of London that I had missed, of John Andrew the former rector of St. Thomas Church on Fifth Avenue. Michael described the subject thusly: 'He was one of the great New York City churchmen of our time: social, sociable, devout, brilliant. What the Telegraph obit doesn't include is that after John retired from St Thomas Fifth Avenue, he was summoned back from England in 1998 or thereabouts to temporarily take over as priest-in-charge at Grace Church. That venerable parish was in administrative chaos. He sorted that out, and in the process discovered how much he loved New York and remained here for the rest of his days. While at St. Thomas he did a series of radio commercials at WQXR that were wonderful. Incidentally, the job of rector at St Thomas includes a rather grand apartment at 550 Park; John's dinner parties were notable. I last saw him lunching with friends at the Veau d'Or about ten days before he died.I never knew him and met him only once. But my friend and neighbor Charlie Scheips who still goes to church regularly, worships at St. Thomas on Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street, had befriended John Andrew -- which is how I’d heard about him. What he apparently was, in his own manner, was a cool guy, and highly respected by his parishioners. 550 Park Avenue, for those who are not aware, is considered one of the top co-op buildings in the city, and has been (and in many cases still is) home to well known or distinguished New Yorkers. The late Katherine Bache (Kitty) Miller lived there and gave her famous dinners and New Year’s parties in that building. Diana Vreeland also lived there from the early 19590s to the end of her life. Built in 1917, designed by James E. R. Carpenter, and considered one of the very top architects of luxury residential buildings, two words associated with it are 'elegance' and 'grandeur.' A building description: 'Generously scaled rooms, high ceilings, and well designed division of public from private space are hallmarks of this grand building.' I mention these details because this obviously was St. Thomas Church’s 'rectory,' and de rigueur for the head of the parish.” (NYSD)
"John Podesta, who just negotiated a successful climate deal with China, may be headed for another tough challenge: leading Hillary Clinton's likely presidential campaign. When I asked him about this possibility in an interview for the "Charlie Rose" show he replied: 'If she runs, as I hope she will, I will do whatever she asks me to do.' Sources have said the former secretary of state has discussed bringing Podesta in as chairman of any campaign (which is not likely to be officially started for months). Podesta, who has served as counselor to President Barack Obama this year, mentioned that he always has said he'll stay at the White House for about a year and likely will depart after the State of the Union speech in January. Asked if he has spoken with Clinton about his role in a campaign, he replied, 'I talk to her from time to time.' There may be no one in Democratic circles who commands more respect than Podesta. His standing is similar that of James Baker, the former secretary of state, in Republican circles three decades ago. Podesta was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and then started the most successful Democratic think tank, the Center for American Progress. He was the major player in the negotiations with China, which culminated in this week's joint agreement to cut greenhouse emissions. The unsuccessful Hillary Clinton 2008 campaign was marked by chaotic infighting and, at least initially, a lack of direction. Prominent Democrats believe it'll take someone of Podesta's stature to bring order to her expected 2016 quest." (Al Hunt/Bloomberg)
"Gwyneth Paltrow, the 42-year-old Oscar-winner, conscious-uncoupler and Tracy Anderson devotee, is changing. Ms. Paltrow is in a back room of a glass-walled apartment (not her own) high over East End Avenue, with striking views of Gracie Mansion and the East River, shedding one outfit — black leather trousers, black cashmere shell, a black biker jacket — and donning another. She is not alone; with her is Lisa Gersh, the 55-year-old owner of said apartment, a founder of Oxygen Media, the former chief executive of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Tracy Anderson devotee and, as of last month, C.E.O. of Goop, the aspirational — and controversial — lifestyle wellness-blog-cum-travel-and-cooking-tip-sheet-cum-shopping website Ms. Paltrow founded in 2008, and which Ms. Paltrow says she likes to think of as 'contextual commerce.' Both women are getting Gooped-up. When they emerge, Ms. Paltrow is wearing a gray boy-cut jacket with gold buttons (Goop collaboration with Band of Outsiders, 2013) and cropped gray trousers (ditto); Ms. Gersh, a black tailored jacket (Goop collaboration with Stella McCartney, 2013) and leather trousers (Goop collaboration with Mackage, 2014). They are ready for their close-up. After all, though for years Goop was a lightning rod for derisive attacks on privileged and tone-deaf celebrities or a 'pleasingly wiggy' (in the words of The London Times) guilty pleasure, depending on your point of view, it has also emerged as an unlikely model for career development among a certain swathe of Hollywood. 'The other day Drew Barrymore and I were talking, and she said, ‘Thank you for going first and getting all the scratches,’ ' Ms. Paltrow said, noting that Ms. Barrymore had started a cosmetic line, Flower, in 2012." (NYT)
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