POTUS '09 Sneak Peek

On the cusp of a new year, POTUS is taking a look back at the political events that transpired in the 2009. It feels like there was so much that happened over the past 365 days. As we remember the year that was, we present to you POTUS '09 Retrospective--a unique look back at President Obama's first year in office. But trust me, this is not your typical "Year in Review." Be sure to listen tomorrow at noon ET and catch the replay all weekend.

Obama wins Nobel Peace Prize



The August Health Care Town Halls

POTUS '09 Retrospective - The Year in Politics

Every news outlet does their own "Year in Review" features, but here at POTUS we like to put a little bit of a twist on things. Hear the POTUS '09 Retrospective starting at noon ET on New Year's Eve. In the mean time, here's a sample of what you'll hear all day New Year's Eve (produced by yours truly).







Twitter and Politics in '09


Comedy and Politics in '09



Music and Arts at the White House in '09



Hollywood and Washington in '09

Friday's Morning Briefing

Sorry I've been slacking. But there's some good stories on the web this morning.

Politico's blogging about Sarah Palin's hat-flap. While vacationing in Hawaii, she was spotted in a McCain campaign visor; with the McCain name scratched out in black ink. The Reliable Source is says Rep. Blumenauer is in a fruitcake frenzy!



Former Vice President Al Gore is going for Poet Laureate. And more climate change/climategate news.



The White House is re-planting their kitchen garden in the middle of winter? And "24" meets "The Kennedys."

The Top 10 Political Scandals of 2009

Introduction

It might not have reached the heights of the Watergate and Lewinsky years, but the political scandals of 2009 had something juicy for everybody.

Republicans went for sex, Democrats for money, and former Gov. Sarah Palin simply bailed out on Alaska. But for sheer bizarreness, the award has to be split between the state dinner gate-crashers and former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who was impeached for trying to sell Barack Obama's Senate seat--before quitting and winning his own seat on The Donald's 2010 Celebrity Apprentice.

"Sex. Greed. Greed. Sex. Wherefore does this year differ from all other years?" asks Brookings Institution political scholar Stephen Hess. Hess does have a favorite: "Scandal of the Year should be gate-crash-gate, which combines scam, security, reality TV, and two characters who are delightfully hateable."

Click here for the Washington Whispers Top 10 Political Scandals of 2009.

And Now...The Mormon Song

The Tonight Show's Max Weinberg was so touched that Sen. Orrin Hatch would make a song about Hanukkah for the Jews, that he decided he would make a song for Sen. Hatch about Mormons...including the Mormon Tapper-nacle Choir!

Monday's Morning Briefing

Good Morning Everyone! For some reason, this weekend felt like an eternity (which is never a bad thing). Tons of fun stuff to talk about today...

Former Obama campaign manager, David Plouffe lost his own bet and Sarah Palin made a surprise appearance on The Tonight Show--hilarity ensues.



Dr. Jill Biden was featured on the CBS Early Show Sunday morning. Unfortunately, you won't be getting a photo with her or anyone else from the administration (ahem, POTUS and FLOTUS) thanks to the Voldemorts.



And Tom DeLay is two-steppin' on the cover of "Texas Monthly" magazine. Also...because hookers are the new black in 2009...Ashley Dupree is back in the news talking about her new gig.

Friday's Morning Briefing

Anyone looking for something to do this weekend in Washington, DC? How about a William Shanter-inspired reading of Sarah Palin's "Going Rogue?" And death panels? There's an app for that!



Mmm...Reindeer filet, Thyme Marinated Elk, Peanut Meringue! What was on the menu for the President's Nobel banquet.



The 10 dumbest quotes of 2009 and the year of Obama--Michelle Obama that is.

The Price is Right with the Nobel Peace Prize

It is my firm belief that anything set to the theme song from "The Price is Right" is automatically funny (please see audio file below for hilariousness). President Obama accepted his Nobel Prize yesterday in Oslo, Norway and while he faced criticism from home about the award, Norwegians were none too please with the President either.

AND...Michelle Obama is the MOST fascinating person of 2009--at least according to Barbara Walters. I might just be me, but I'm getting a weird vibe between Michelle and Barack. They both have been joking with each other in a bit of a bizarre way. ("Revenge" and "Resentment" Mrs. Obama? Really?!)

Last, and certainly least, Tiger Woods...Tiger minus 13 mistresses minus 1 Congressional Gold Medal (ouch).

Hanukkah the Festival of Lights!

Sen. Orrin Hatch is the only Morman in the Senate. He also is one of the only Senators known for writing and performing his original songs. This year, Sen. Hatch wrote a song in honor of Hanukkah! Because, as he told the New York Times, "“I feel sorry I’m not Jewish sometimes.”
(It's a 2-parter today)



If that's not enough fun for today. I also talked with Press Pool host, Joe Mathieu about a Republican candidate for Illinois Comptroller who is a lover of beer (to say the least).

Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!!!

Okay, so maybe it wasn't a killer tomato. But Sarah Palin was the target of a 'drive-by fruiting' on Monday in Minneapolis. Meanwhile, her faux son-in-law grandbaby's daddy, Levi Johnston was a guest on "The Joy Behar Show." They talked turkey, Playgirl, and about HIS UPCOMING BOOK!! Will this never end? (Probably not)

State Department Mad Libs!

I saw this posted on Salon.com's War Room blog and thought it was hilarious.

It's nice of the State Department to provide the public with transcripts of all the public remarks made by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. It'd be even better if the transcripts gave any idea of what Clinton actually said.

That wasn't the case with one that State released earlier this week, of comments Clinton made at the Amsterdam News Educational Fund's 100th Anniversary Gala. And the result ended up -- unintentionally, no doubt -- being pretty funny.

Since the time when an alert reader sent me the transcript a couple days ago, someone at State evidently had the good sense to pull it down from the department's Web site. But through the magic of LexisNexis and Google's cache, it lives on. Here it is, unedited and in full:

Thanks to Alex Koppelman for finding this gem! Now everyone...start playing Mad Libs! Email me with yours and I'll post the best one!

Nick, thank you so much. Thank you (inaudible) to Michelle (ph) and everyone who could be gathered at this wonderful event. (Inaudible) I’m just happy to (inaudible). (Applause.) Being with so many friends, with so many people, (inaudible) so grateful. And this is why I am so grateful. I am delighted to have you with us (inaudible) in celebrating the Amsterdam News and helping it to raise money for digitizing its records. This is one of the great archives (inaudible). (Applause.)

(Inaudible) here as well. Susan and Bill Tataum, (inaudible) all these wonderful (inaudible) and in their home, visiting Bill (inaudible) and speak with him. And like everyone here tonight who (inaudible), I was a recipient of all the (inaudible) and I feel better for it. I also know (inaudible).

(Inaudible) one of the most thoughtful, provocative, (inaudible) experiences that I ever had. (Inaudible) and I will always remember Bill’s (inaudible) and energy (inaudible). I also want to just say I think I (inaudible) with a lot of my friends (inaudible) and especially (inaudible). (Applause.)

(Inaudible) be there for you when (inaudible) that you so well deserve because (inaudible). (Applause.) (Inaudible) to raise money for a worthy cause and it’s a night of (inaudible) of American history. (Inaudible) and it’s especially exciting to be here to celebrate the 100th anniversary. Now, recently in Russia where journalists are harassed and (inaudible), in China where bloggers and internet (inaudible) face evermore (inaudible) censorship. And I’ve met with writers who’ve been (inaudible). They (inaudible) sit up and take notice and change their ways forever. (Inaudible) proud.

Thanks (inaudible). (Applause.)

Tuesday's Morning Briefing

Good Morning Everyone! Tim Farley's out this week. (Thanks to him for making my solo producing job last week a piece of cake.) Anyway, there's lots to talk about this morning and it's shaping up to be another interesting week in politics.

Senator Harry Reid made some controversial remarks yesterday on the Senate floor and Senate GOPers are using his comments in the health care debate. Also, check out this new video making it's rounds on the web..."I Guess I'm a Racist."





The 32nd Annual Kennedy Center Honors took place in Washington on Sunday. The event was all glitz and glamor, but rest assured that security was tighter than usual--thanks to the Voldemorts.



And your daily dose of Sarah Palin news. Today's edition includes a healthy serving of tomatoes and a battle of the campaigns.

Rep. Keith Ellison slams WH Press Secretary Gibbs

Today on the Morning Briefing, Tim Farley spoke with Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison about the jobs summit happening at the White House. Rep. Ellison was clearly annoyed with an answer Press Secretary Gibbs gave at the White House press briefing the day before--asking about minority joblessness as its own unique issue:



Essence White House Correspondent, Cynthia Gordy originally posed the question to Gibbs and blogged about Tim's interview on The Huffington Post and Essence.com earlier:

The White House is kicking off its Jobs Summit today, bringing together business executives, finance experts, economists, small business owners and labor leaders to discuss ways to spark job creation. President Obama announced the summit last month, after the latest jobs report showed that unemployment shot up to 10.2 percent in October.

Even more daunting are the Depression-proportioned unemployment rates for African-Americans, particularly for young black men between the ages of 16 and 24 who are facing joblessness at 34.5 percent. It's an emergency state of affairs that has triggered groups such as the NAACP, National Council of La Raza and the Congressional Black Caucus to push for the White House to take more action. Health care reform for the future is well and good, but with so many people out of work today, something's got to be done.

I asked White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, at the briefing yesterday, whether any sessions at today's Jobs Summit would specifically address the higher unemployment rate among minorities. The question seemed to catch him off guard, given his vague answer.

"Well, I think that obviously that will be part of -- I believe that will be part of the discussion. There are going to be folks representing a lot of different groups. There will be mayors be here that obviously have a keen interest and awareness in this, and I anticipate that that will be something that's discussed."

It didn't strike me that the issue ranks particularly high on the White House radar. Minnesota Representative Keith Ellison, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, had a similar impression about Gibbs' response to my question, when asked about it today on the Sirius XM radio show, The Morning Briefing, hosted by Tim Farley.

"His response leaves me feeling that he does not understand what we're talking about, or doesn't care or appreciate what we're saying," said Ellison. "With an answer like, 'Oh, we're doing something for everybody and they're in there too and that's just fine,' it just strikes me as slightly dismissive and not focused. And I think he needs to get focused because when you're talking about 34 percent unemployment among minority youth, while the rest of the country is facing 10.2 percent unemployment--it's bad for everybody, but it's not the same for everybody, and we've got to have the press secretary for the President get that. He needs to say, 'We're doing specific things for this group of Americans who are specifically damaged in this economic recession. Extra help for extra hurt."

I'll be interested to see what kind of ideas -- and more importantly, what kind of follow-up -- come out of the summit. Here's hoping that it's more than just talk.

Not Such a Charlie Brown Christmas

Last night, I thought it would be funny to comapre the ratings from President Obama's address at West Point Military Academy to the Victoria's Secret Fashion show. I'm not trying to be inapprirate; the President's ratings on primetime television have plunged since he took office in January. It's a question of what makes sexier television--war or lingerie.

But I digress...President Obama delivered his address last night at 8pm and all the networks pushed back their programming to accomodate him. Tuesday night isn't a huge television night, but the President did manage to bump a classic television delight--"A Charlie Brown Christmas." MCall.com reports.

But the administration may also face an unforeseen enemy as it lays out its
long-awaited plans. And they are loud and they are legion: We're talking
about
preschoolers and their parents.
That's because ABC-TV was
scheduled to
present its annual screening of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" at 8 p.m.
tomorrow
night. And we don't know about you, but that show is pretty
sacrosanct
around our house and not to be trifled with lightly.
A call
to the White
House may be in order here. We hear it's pretty easy to get
through these days
...
UPDATE: We've since learned that the 'Charlie
Brown' broadcast has been moved to next week.

White House Party Crashers

After the White House state dinner last week, it seemed like the only news story anyone was talking about was the story of the Virginia couple who crashed the party. It's unfortunate that these people who are just out to get their name in the papers have succeeded at doing just that. We at POTUS do not support fame***** and hence, we've decided not to say their names on the air. You might hear us call them the "Voldemorts" or the "Bikelbaums" instead, but they've become "The couple who must not be named."



An update on the "Voldemorts"...

Tea Party: The Documentary Film

Sorry I've been away from my blog lately. After Thanksgiving break it's always hard to get back in the swing of things. About two weeks ago, I mentioned a movie coming to DVD that chronicled the Tea Party movement. I had a chance to speak with the director of the film, Pritchett Cotton on Monday. I'll post the interview in it's entirety later today, but here's a preview: