This time it's WSJ's Elizabeth Williamson who called the President out. From Friday's pool report:
Sasha came first in white top and brown shorts followed closely by flotus in grey sleeveless top and white cropped pants. After a short break came potus in white shirt and his grey jeans looked to your pooler rather mom-like. He was smiling and laughing, said "hi guys" to pool. Next was Malia, also laughing, in blue sleeveless top and shorts. All four in the family wore helmets, unlike last year when potus did not wear a helmet.
As I scour the internet for the stories flying under the radar, the web videos you should see, and the tweets making news, I frequently come across stories about, referring to, or generated by Sarah Palin. My intent is not to run a blog devoted to Palin news 24/7, however some stories are more avoidable than others. I've received some comments from readers (much appreciated by the way) asking why I devote so much time to her...so I'm turning to you....
Should the Palin/Johnston/Bristol news stop all together? Should there be some kind of weekly limit to the number of stories? Let me know what you think!
Levi's on again, off again fiance Bristol Palin will speak Sept. 8 on behalf of a home for single mothers in Louisville, Kentucky. Palin, is said to be getting paid $14,000 to speak at a benefit at the Louisville Marriott Downtown to raise funds for Lifehouse—a home for single mothers. A volunteer for the organization said Bristol is "relatively inexpensive compared to other speakers the group considered, such as Laura Ingraham." She said the goal of hosting Palin wasn’t to politicize the event, nor was it to hold her up as an ideal. “A role model to me would be that young woman who chooses to complete her high school and go directly into college and remain chaste until she's married,” Smith said. But Palin's life “is the reality.”
It's official! Levi Johnston is running for office in Wasilla....
Levi Johnston filed his official "letter of intent" to run for "state or municipal office" in Alaska. TMZ says, “In the documents, filed on Friday with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, Johnston states that he intends to run for a position in the City of Wasilla. Levi doesn't specify which position he's running for ... but he's previously stated that he wants to become the next mayor . By filing the document, Levi is permitted to officially begin his campaign and accepting campaign contributions.
Missouri GOP Senate candidate Roy Blunt's campaign has pulled down a Web video yesterday accusing his opponent Robin Carnahan of supporting “the controversial Ground Zero Mosque.” Greg Sargent says, the video displaying the smoldering remains of the 9/11 attacks was taken down yesterday afternoon. And now the Robin Carnahan, is going on the offensive over the issue, demanding that Blunt apologize to the families of 9/11 victims for exploiting the tragedy for political gain. The Carnahan campaign claims it pulled the video off of Blunt's campaign Web site late yesterday, and although the Blunt campaign removed the video, a local blogger snatched it up quickly enough to put the video on You Tube:
Patrick Gavin caught this pool report from Pres. Obama's Miami fundraiser....
The New York Times' Helene Cooper had her goof Wednesday night when she misidentified Sen. Bill Nelson in a report from President Obama's Miami fundraiser, calling him Sen. Ben Nelson. She also said that POTUS was the one with the wrong name, not her.
She quickly corrected the goof in an email featuring the subject, "Ack! Pool correx."
"Turns out potus was right and pool was wrong," wrote Cooper. "Its bill nelson not ben. Blame the mojitos. Please disregard all refs to ben."
A little drinking on the job? An earlier pool report from Cooper on Wednesday evening declared, "your pool is awaiting their mojitos at the Fountainebleu."
From the Huffington Post: Sarah Palin has used Twitter to share some advice with Dr. Laura Schlessinger, the talk radio host who apologized and decided to retire from her highly-rated program after using the N-word on the air 11 times in 5 minutes.
Palin's advice: "don't retreat...reload!"
It's a breathtakingly tone-deaf bit of provocation -- even by Palin's standards.
Dr. Laura, as she's known on her radio program, quickly came under fire for her remarks of a week ago. She immediately acknowledged the mistake and soon announced that she would end the show once her contract expires later this year. She currently commands the largest audience of any woman in syndicated talk radio and overall her ratings are among the top five hosts in the nation.
She tweeted Wednesday: Dr.Laura:don't retreat...reload! (Steps aside bc her 1st Amend.rights ceased 2exist thx 2activists trying 2silence"isn't American,not fair")
Dr.Laura=even more powerful & effective w/out the shackles, so watch out Constitutional obstructionists. And b thankful 4 her voice,America!
UPDATE: Clearly Palin wanted to explain her position in more than 140 characters becuase Thursday evening she took to her Facebook wall to expand on those tweets.
A British Internet entrepreneur is upping the ante in an effort to get someone to flash President Obama. Originally offering, $100,000 to the person willing to bare it all, Alki David is prepared to shell out a cool million on one condition: the word "Battlecam" must be written across the naked thrill-seeker's chest, to promote David's video-sharing website of the same name. "Most people in the community thought the 100,000 wasn't enough for the audacity of the dare,” he said. Gawker says David's already been contacted by close to 200 potential flashers, and it's probably dozens more by the hour. No words on whether that David will also cover the legal fees for this person who is sure to be arrested.
When White House-crashers Michaele and Tareq Salahi ditched the other "Real Housewives of DC" for their own premiere party, Michaele said, "This is for the troops. My dad was a part of the US Army. We wouldn't be here without the troops." According to Page Six, “Guests were told proceeds from the Salahis' party would go to the charity Honor & Remember, but a charity organizer tells us they're not getting squat. Tickets for the bash held at a DC bar ranged from $25 for general admission to $500 for access to the VIP room. The organization said it was promised 40 percent of the profit but was told recently the packed, cash-bar event didn't make any money. A rep for the Salahis claims they were merely guests of honor.”
As we learned last week, Sarah Palin’s on-again-off-again son in law is shopping a reality television show to several cable channels chronicling his run for public office. He and his producers are calling the show ‘Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor’s Office.’ On Tuesday, The Anchorage Daily News reported that Slate has released a mock ad laying out Mr. Johnston’s qualifications. Variety’s Michael Schneider says, the idea for the campaign actually came from a television producer at Stone and Co., a production company working with Levi on reality show concepts. He writes, “Johnston admitted that he wasn’t thrilled at first about the mayoral campaign concept, “But the more I think about it and look into it, I think there’s a possibility we can make it happen,” Johnston said of his political prospects. “It’s something that I want to do.”
Advocacy group Emily's List has released a video showcasing women dressed in grizzly bear costumes speaking out against Sarah Palin. The Washington Post’s blogging, “The Emily's List video is part of a wider campaign to mobilize sympathetic voters. The associated Web site, sarahdoesntspeakforme.com, calls on visitors to sign a petition and donate to the group. The Post continues, “The Emily's List campaign page is scheduled to expand to "feature a new multi-media interactive website, a page for users to share personal stories, and information about the radical agenda of Palin's candidates and where they stand on critical issues."”
LA commuters must really be frustrated with the Obama administration, because it seems whenever the POTUS or VPOTUS make a quick trip to the City of Angels, it becomes a traffic situation. Variety’s Ted Johnson’s writing, “In a city that practically invented road rage, there are few better ways to trigger ire than an unexpected rush hour road closure, and it certainly didn't help that Obama was going to and from not a public event, but a private fund-raiser with well-heeled donors Monday night. Olympic Boulevard was sealed off for hours as Obama trekked to the home of John Wells, creating a chokehold on parallel streets, including Wilshire Boulevard through the Miracle Mile district." Vice President Biden held up traffic at LAX last month when he flew in to tape an episode of the Jay Leno show.
And speaking of the President’s trip to LA earlier this week, his departure from LAX on Tuesday morning demanded heightened security measures at the airport, and one rock star missed his usual VIP treatment. Motley Crue bassist Nikki Six joked in a tweet: Obama is at LAX and security is taking priority over Motley Crüe. What is our country coming to? ;). Nikki was en route to Chicago where the band was scheduled to play as part of the Ozzfest tour on Tuesday.
More from the Huffington Post: As the White House tweeted about Potus meeting the Hollywood West Wingers, LA's usually-snarled Westside traffic stood still. Moms and dads couldn't get home. Child care providers raked in the after-hour penalties. The liberals once flooded with hope had nothing but road rage for their inconsiderate president, as they tuned in their car radio to find he was keeping them from their families to raise big bucks for a Congress, which has an approval rating only slightly north of Al Qaeda
The Los Angeles Times headline says it all: "Obama raises a quick million -- and some LA commuters ire."
The Media Research Center is promoting a new, heavily-edited video that claims to show Congresswoman Melissa Bean “intimidat(ing) constituents” at a town hall meeting, with her own hired “thug.” The American Spectator says, “The meeting was held Thursday at the public library in Round Lake, Illl. While captions in the video label the security guard "Bean's thug," one Illinois source said Monday that the man is actually employed by the library. Mediaite notes that the heavily edited video really misrepresents what actually happened at Rep. Bean’s event. They write, “That event wasn’t a political town hall, either, but rather, an educational forum about credit card debt. According to one source, the video doesn’t show instances of constituents asking the guy with the video to pipe down so they can hear the presentation they came to see.”
So there's actually a Western-themed rap song and video about nominating professor and tough TARP overseer Elizabeth Warren to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The Wall Street Journal’s blogging, “If nothing else, the video shows how Warren, a Harvard law professor and long-time advocate for a consumer agency, has gained cult status among some activists as the White House decides whether to nominate her.” Courtesy of the Main Street Brigade, the video called Sheriff Warren rap features Los Angeles comedian Ryan Anthony Lumas rapping about how the country needs Warren to protect people from banks.
It was just last week that Democratic pollster Peter Hart called the 2010 midterms the “Jet Blue Election.” It didn’t take the Republican National Committee to turn that idea into a web ad. The Hill’s blogging, “Republicans compared on Monday the incensed flight attendant who recently bailed on a Jet Blue flight to Democrats who are growing increasingly reluctant to appear with President Obama. The video depicts cartoons of prominent Democrats bailing out on an emergency slide off Air Force One—sound familiar?
Sen. Carl Levin was in the middle of taking questions during a visit ata Michigan cafe on Monday when a Michigan State University senior threw a pie at him. “Someone who "throws something at somebody or hits somebody with something doesn't understand the blessings of America," the Senator said, as he wiped the pie from his face. According to the Big Rapids Pioneer, Levin also said that we are blessed to li e in a country where one has the right to free speech, but that kind of violence wasn't acceptable. The pie-throwing incident came moments after another student delivered a mini-speech blaming Levin for his stance on foreign policy issues, including "Israel war crimes against the Palestinian people. " The student was later arrested.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) says that Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi -- the 4'9" super-tan star of MTV hit reality show "Jersey Shore" -- is too attractive to be locked up in prison.
Mike O'Brien at The Hill tweeted what the Republican Senator had to say on the matter on Wednesday morning.
"I kind of thing she might be too good looking to go to jail," explained McCain on Phoenix-based radio station KMLE.
The woman who has caused much conversation about Senate candidate Rand Paul’s college days is speaking out again. This time to clarify her account of a prank pulled at Baylor University 27 years ago. Greg Sargent scored an exclusive interview with said woman, who is now backpedaling on her original story:
The woman who sparked a national firestorm by recounting Rand Paul's youthful indiscretions to GQ magazine is now clarifying her account: She says she was not kidnapped nor forced to do drugs by Paul.
But she reiterated other odd aspects of her earlier story, including her claim that Paul and another college friend blindfolded her, tied her up, and told her to smoke pot and worship the "Aqua Buddha," even if they didn't physically force her to do these things.
Ben Quayle, son of former VP Dan Quayle, is a Republican lawyer running for Congress in Arizona. He's up this week with a new campaign spot today in which he says he was "raised right" and President Obama is "the worst president in history."
He's also defending posts he wrote for local gossip web site The Dirty. RightPundit's writing:
Ben Quayle’s ‘Dirty Scottsdale’ website connection could threaten his bid for a recently vacated Congressional seat. The Arizona Republican and son of former U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle is being accused of writing for the salacious site before getting into politics. Check out the full story and video below!
Site founder Nik Richie, whose real name is Hooman Karamian, founded the site, told the press that he worked in cahoots with the former VP’s son to create the hugely successful site, which eventually became TheDirty.com. When first questioned about his involvement, the lawyer denied any participation.
At the Fancy Farm picnic this past weekend-— the unofficial start to the fall campaign season in Kentucky-- a crowd cheered and jeered as Senate candidates Ron Paul and Jack Conway offered their campaign goals in just a few short minutes. But among the jeering tea partiers at the event was an alleged plant. Dave Wiegel’s writing, “a videographer at this weekend's Fancy Farm hounded a man wearing Rand Paul swag and holding up a racist anti-immigrant sign, badgering him to reveal who he was. The cameraman caught back up with him when, later, the man walked with supporters Paul's opponent, Jack Conway.” Conway's campaign said the man had nothing to do with the campaign, and that staffers don't know who he is.”
Levi Johnston’s finally getting his reality show and you’ll never guess what he’ll be doing in it—he’s running for office. Johnston's manager, Tank Jones, on Monday confirmed a report that Johnston is planning to run for city office in his hometown of Wasilla, Alaska, as part of a reality TV show. Jones said Johnston is serious about a run, either for mayor or City Council. According to the Wasilla city clerk, the next mayoral election is in 2011. The candidate filing period for council elections this October closed July 30. Johnston isn't listed among those candidates. But Tank Jones insists this isn’t a stunt. "This is not a spoof. This is not a joke," Jones said.
Cameras will chronicle his campaign as part of "Loving Levi: The Road to the Mayor's Office," a reality show about the 20-year-old single dad's search for love and political legitimacy.
Sarah Palin is criticizing the "lamestream media" for reporting that she rolled her eyes during a spirited videotaped conversation with an Alaska woman. In the video that I posted yesterday, Palin asks a woman standing next to a large “Worst Governor Ever” banner what she does for a living. The woman — Kathleen Gustafson– responds that she’s a teacher. That leads to a response that prompted several outlets to comment that Ms. Palin rolled her eyes — or at least looked like she was rolling them. What do you think?
Sarah Palin & company spent several days in Homer filming her "Sarah Palin's Uh-laska" show. (Eyes rolled).
On the public dock, private security patted down private citizens. The Fourth Amendment protects citizens from unreasonable search and seizure from their government. Private security searching private citizens in a public place, doesn't fall under that category. It's a bit more hinky.
Whether it was TLC or the Palins who contracted security, under what authority did they operate in a public location? Were they looking for weapons? Well, now there's a Second Amendment issue.
This is Alaska, we carry guns. You can open-carry or acquire a concealed weapons permit from the state. If you are a law abiding citizen, you don't even need a permit. Sarah Palin recently endorsed Alaska Tea Party Candidate Joe Miller for US Senate. His supporters carried assault rifles in last month's Golden Days Parade in Fairbanks. If weapons are good enough for a public parade, weapons should be fine at a public dock.
Maybe it wasn't about guns. Maybe it was about cameras. In that case, it's a First Amendment issue. Whether Palin had a problem with the First Amendment, the Second Amendment or the Fourth Amendment, she contradicted her entourage's actions at the Homer dock.
Risking accusations of being all "Wee-Wee'd Up", one Homer woman made a sign in her shed. She then took the 30-foot-by-3-foot banner out to the boat harbor. It said "WORST GOVERNOR EVER". Kathleen Gustafson is a teacher married to a local commercial fisherman. She felt like Sarah Palin had let the state down by becoming a dollar-chasing celebrity and ignoring the oath of office she'd sworn on a Bible.
Kathleen was motivated by the fact Palin was using the very place where her family makes a living to fortify the Palin personality cult -- pretending to do the very thing they worked so hard to sustain. Initially, Kathleen just wanted to waste a little of the camera crew's time, since Palin wasted so much of her time purporting to represent Alaska's interests.
She didn't imagine Palin would be so easy to draw out.
Climbing into the political ring, wrestling honcho Vince McMahon blasted his wife's political opponents for taking "snippets" of footage -- like when a wrestler pretended to have sex with a dead person -- and using them to discredit her US Senate bid in Connecticut.
Vince, the chairman and CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, has mostly sat on the sidelines during the Republican campaign of Linda McMahon, who has also served as CEO.
But in an interview, Vince said Linda's detractors are ignoring the fact that wrestling is all fiction and no fact.
"Most of the people have not even seen our show. They don't even know what this business is about," Vince told the AP on Thursday in his corporate boardroom.
"They haven't been to a live event. They really haven't watched on television at all. All they've seen is like one little snippet and try to make up their minds as to whether or not it's acceptable programming."
Vince McMahon, who said he didn't want to talk about politics other than to say he's voting for his wife, added that he understood the WWE would be criticized in the campaign but that he didn't realize the extent.
The attacks have become so distorted, he said, that he feels compelled to break his silence and defend the company.
The latest polls show Linda McMahon -- who has poured her own millions into the campaign -- trailing her likely Democratic opponent, Richard Blumenthal, by 10 points.
Blumenthal's campaign was hit hard after allegations that he lied by saying he had served in Vietnam War when he'd actually been stateside in the Marines throughout the conflict.
Linda's opponents have had a field day with one of the WWE's most notorious skits, which features a fuming Vince McMahon on stage ordering a female wrestler to get on her knees and bark like a dog.
He acknowledges WWE received complaints from viewers after a now infamous skit featuring a wrestler simulating sex with a corpse in a casket in 2002.
It's another favorite for Linda McMahon's critics.
"If you knew the story line behind it, what have you, you might even consider that black humor, you know, dark humor, which is what it was designed to be," Vince McMahon said. "The question is is taste -- whether or not things like that are in good taste."
"Guess what? We never did it again," he added.
Sexist treatment of wrestlers and steroid usage have been common criticisms throughout Linda McMahon's campaign for retiring US Sen. Christopher Dodd's Senate seat,
As with the WWE programming, Vince McMahon said policies toward drugs and wrestlers' health have also been improved.
Linda McMahon's detractors argue it is fair game to criticize the WWE, past and present, given that she is selling herself to voters as a successful businesswoman who tamed the wrestling industry
And a lot of those invited to attend Charlie Rangel's birthday gala are going to be no-shows.
It looks like Congressman Charlie Rangel’s birthday gala later this week will be a scaled down version from years past. Vanity Fair and the New York Times say, “High-profile guests have either bailed out or are publicly agonizing about whether to show up at all. Those who will pass on the event include Representative Michael McMahon (D-NY), Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and even former president Bill Clinton, despite his starring role in the video invitation to the soiree. New York’s attorney general Andrew Cuomo “had not finalized his schedule,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is scheduled to attend; Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has no comment. Even the entertainment’s canceled. However that was due to an injury.
Aretha Franklin was originally scheduled to perform at the event, which is set for Aug. 11 at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. But she canceled after falling and breaking a couple of ribs last week. Singers Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson are stepping up to headline this week's birthday fundraiser.
The latest news out of TCA (Television Critics Association) proves that worlds will be colliding this fall: TLC president Eileen O’Neill confirmed that Kate Gosselin and her brood will make a guest appearance on Sarah Palin’s reality series Sarah Palin’s Alaska that’s set to premiere on Nov. 14. The Gosselins will visit the Palins in Alaska, and, apparently, camping will be involved. (Will they see wildlife I wonder? Maybe…a mama grizzly?) How are you feeling about this mingling of politics and reality TV? And even if you don’t care for either woman, are you still going to find tuning in irresistible?
AP: Singers Dionne Warwick and Chuck Jackson will headline next week's birthday fundraising bash for embattled Democratic New York Rep. Charles Rangel.
First lady of soul Aretha Franklin was originally scheduled to perform at the event, which is set for Aug. 11 at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan. But Franklin canceled after being sidelined with an injury.
With some much time on his hands since he doesn't have to plan his wedding, Levi's decided to dabble in the music industry. Perez is blogging, "Levi is focusing his attention on plugging his spotlight moment in the new music video for the not-so-famous singer/songwriter Brittani Senser. Above is the poster promoting the video, which ironically is titled After Love!
Clever! Your publicist really knows how to finagle your life around things, huh Levi!"
Aretha Franklin is recovering from a fall she suffered Sunday—fracturing some ribs—and has been forced to cancel two upcoming concerts in New York City. Aside from the Brooklyn events she’s already canceled, her injury has also forced her to cancel her appearance at an August 11th birthday gala and fundraiser for Congressman Charlie Rangel. Maggie Haberman says, “A Rangel spokesman confirms the injury is sidelining the headliner for the event, and says the congressman has reached out to her on a personal level to see how she is.”
A Colorado fife-and-drum duo that became a fixture at tea party gatherings has split up over political differences. According to the Coloradoan in Fort Collins, “the duo in question were the members of the Liberty Leaders, who wore garb in the style of the Revolutionary War era (tri-cornered hats included) and played at numerous tea party events. But politics intervened. John Weins, the fifer, backed one candidate for sheriff. Drummer Mel Hilgenberg supported another.” MSNBC’s Racherl Maddow featured the instrumentalists on her show last night in an effort to play peacemaker—offering to fund a reconciliation beer summit after the show. No word on whether a long term reunion was reached.
The Washington Post is blogging about a book battle coming up later this year—when it will be Bush vs. Bieber. They write, “One is a former president of the United States, saw the country through a devastating terrorist attack, and launched wars that are still with us. The other is a teen idol, a singing superstar whose debut album has gone platinum and who at age 16, apparently, has his life story to tell. Both of these cultural icons have autobiographies coming out in the fall. George W. Bush will release “Decision Points” in November, while Justin Bieber gives the world “Justin Bieber: First Step 2 Forever” in October. The important question to address, at least according to Predicto Mobile, is which book will sell better out of the gate?”
Vanity Fair has come out with their 2010 International Best-Dressed List and the September issue is honoring some of the world’s most fashionable first ladies. The FLOTUS, Michelle Obama, France’s Carla Bruni-Sarkozy and the U.K.’s Samantha Cameron made this year’s cut. This is the first time on the list for Cameron, the third for Bruni-Sarkozy and the fourth for Obama. However, their spouses didn’t fare so well…nor did male politicians in general. Best-dressed men included Alec Baldwin, Javier Bardem and Martin Scorsese, but no politicos — not even President Barack Obama, whom the magazine dubbed one of its "Best-Dressed" in 2009. Perhaps if he ditches the mom jeans, he’ll have a shot next year.
For a guy with no staff and no experience in the political arena, Alvin Greene knows how to stay in the news cycle.
In late July, the blogs were quick to jump on a video about Greene and his long-shot bid for Jim DeMint's Senate seat. The entertaining three-minute rap video called "Alvin Greene is on the scene," which has plenty of LeBron James footage, went viral quickly, but it wasn't Greene or his campaign who came up with it. But...he does like it.
"I didn't have anything to do with it, but I'll take credit for it," Greene told ABC. "The video looks good. The music is good. It's cool."
So, Greene's team decided to finally come out with a campaign video of their own. However, I think they might have been better off with the anonymous catchy rap video.
RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s been very quiet for the past few weeks, but the blogs are writing this morning about a conversation he had with someone he thought was a donor. Turns out Steele got punked...whoops.
CNN’s Ticker says, “in an unorthodox interview with a conservative journalist posted online Monday, Steele proclaimed that a second term is all but certain - and he brushed aside news of a potential challenge from former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman. "Norm is an old friend. Norm is not going to challenge me for RNC chairman," Steele declared in phone interview with journalist Evan Gahr. Gahr had called Steele at his home posing as a GOP donor. An RNC spokesman verified the authenticity of the July 26 phone call.”
When Gahr revealed he was not a donor towards the end of the phone call he said it was because Steele wouldn’t have spoken with him otherwise. Steele answered, "That's probably true because I'm not doing any interviews. Activists call all the time. They don't try to sneak an interview. That is not kosher."
Sidenote: Evan Gahr reached out to me last week with this story and a transcript of his call with Steele. I couldn't reach the RNC to confirm the call.
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell blasted President Obama for appearing on "The View," but conveniently failed to mention he also wanted to appear on the ABC show -- and was rejected.
Rendell, appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" last week, compared "The View" to Jerry Springer's show and slammed Obama for appearing on softball programs.
"I think the president should be accessible . . . answer questions that aren't pre-screened . . . but I think there's gotta be a little dignity to the presidency," Rendell said. "I wouldn't put him on 'Jerry Springer' either, right?"
Sources close to "The View" said that in May, Rendell's camp pitched him to appear as a guest on the daytime talk show via satellite to talk about Pennsylvania's tax amnesty.
But producers turned him down because the show doesn't do remote interviews, although a source said they "left the door open" for Rendell to appear later on.
There's no word on whether that door is still open after Rendell went on "Morning Joe" and mouthed off, "I think the president of the United States has to go on serious shows. And 'The View' is -- you can make a case that 'The View' is a serious show, but also rocks and rolls a little bit. I'm not sure he has to go on 'The View' to be open to questions."
Obama appeared on the "The View" with hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Joy Behar, Sherri Shepherd and Barbara Walters on Thursday morning, the day after he attended two $30,400-a-head fund-raisers in the city.
A Rendell spokesman said he was "not aware of" the governor's attempt to appear on "The View." The rep said, "I can't say definitively. None of our communications people who are here today are aware that we ever pitched him to be on 'The View.' " A rep for the show had no comment.
The board of the White House Correspondents Association has agreed, by consensus, to move the Associated Press to the front row, center seat in the James S. Brady Briefing Room.
The board further agreed to move Fox News to the front row seat previously occupied by AP, and relocate NPR into the second row seat previously held by Fox, next to Bloomberg News.
It was a very difficult decision. The board received requests from Bloomberg and NPR in addition to Fox for relocation to the front row and felt all three made compelling cases. But the board ultimately was persuaded by Fox's length of service and commitment to the White House television pool.
The board also made a series of adjustments to the larger seating chart, including the addition of a new seat seat for the foreign press pool.
These deliberations mark the third time in four years the board has tackled this issue, and we urge members to view seating room changes as an ongoing process that will be revisited again as our industry evolves.
The changes are effective Monday, August 2. In addition, the board member from NPR abstained from debate of seating assignments for the first two rows.
I'm surprised that their idea for a reality show was nixed. These two have more drama than an episode of Jersey Shore.
There was news over the weekend that Bristol Palin and Levi Johnston’s engagement may be off—yet again. Bristol may call off her wedding to Levi Johnston after she found out his ex-girlfriend, Lanesia Garcia, is pregnant and he may be the father (out of a pool of 3 possible baby daddy candidates). However, Garcia has admitted that Levi isn't the father of her baby, telling UsMagazine.com, "Point blank, it's not true at all. We haven't hung out at all since 8th or 9th grade when we broke up. I don't know where people are getting this. It's not true at all. Levi is not the father of my baby."
E! News says that a different ex-girlfriend may be the reason for calling off the wedding. "Instead, Bristol and Levi have ended their short engagement because Levi's other ex girlfriend, Briana Plum, said some nasty things about Bristol in an interview. A source told E!, "There was also some picture on Facebook of him and Briana and Bristol just said, 'Let's hold off on the engagement.'"
With the words STOP SB 1070 written on her left arm, Lady Gaga used her sold-out show in Phoenix Saturday night to protest Arizona's new immigration law according to RadarOnline. They write, “Midway through her performance at US Airways Center, Lady G went on a rant against the controversial law that instructs police to check the immigration status of anyone they suspect of being in the country illegally. The singer also dedicated her song You and I to a young boy who told her his brother had been sent back to Mexico."
