44 White House video team ready for a holiday

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:23:33 -0500

By Garance Franke-Ruta White House aides prepping for Wednesday's annual turkey pardoning released a humorous video preview in advance of the goofy ceremony, which is among the silliest rituals in which the president participates. Shot from the perspective of the pardoned turkey and featuring a voice-over by White House assistant press secretary Ben LaBolt, the film by White House videographer Arun Chaudhary features background music from the classic Western "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" -- with occasional turkey gobble sounds added at key moments. A new classic -- of a sort.

State dinner: the attendees list

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:09:17 -0500

The White House has released the list of expected attendees at tonight's State Dinner. Names of note, beyond the heads of state and their top aides and a number of Hollywood actors and actresses, include the movie moguls David Geffen, Steven Spielberg, and Jeffrey Katzenberg. The list also includes: Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, CBS's Katie Couric, SEIU president Andy Stern, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, friend of Oprah Gayle King, agent Ari Emanuel (brother of Rahm), presidential sister Maya Soetoro-Ng, author Deepak Chopra, writer Jhumpa Lahiri, gay rights activist Urvashi Vaid, economist Amartya Sen, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, the New York Times's Thomas Friedman and Jason DeParle and The Post's own Rajiv Chandrasekaran and Raju Narisetti. The full list: The President & First Lady Michelle Obama Dr. Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, India & Ms. Gursharan Kaur The Honorable (Rep) Gary Ackerman, United States Representative Mr. Sant Singh

Noted: State Department gets shelter mag makeover

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:26:23 -0500

Folio reports: "The Magazine Publishers of America announced today that the U.S. State Department has enlisted the magazine industry to help decorate 17 rooms for the holiday season at the U.S. State Department buildings in Washington, D.C." Participating titles include Better Homes and Gardens, Martha Stewart Living, Mother Earth News, Natural Home, This Old House and Traditional Home. Of especial note, given the woes of the magazine industry: "The magazines are funding the makeovers themselves."

On tonight's menu: 'White House arugula'

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:40:25 -0500

Arugula. Updated 4:45 p.m. CBS has some of the first shots of the place settings and menu for tonight's White House state dinner with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The Sun Times's Lynn Sweet has the full menu here. The Post's Robin Givhan is providing updates on dinner preparations throughout the day here. And the Mrs. O blog notes what Michelle Obama wore Indian American designer Rachel Roy to the dinner preview Tuesday afternoon.

Noted: Michael Moore collaborator shopping film on Bush's military service

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:58:02 -0500

The New York Observer reports: "Documentary filmmaker and longtime Michael Moore collaborator Meghan O'Hara is currently working on a feature-length documentary about George W. Bush's military service in the Texas Air National Guard."

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Google apologizes for offensive image of first lady

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:20:14 -0500

By Garance Franke-Ruta Search engine behemoth Google is apologizing for image-search results delivered for first lady Michelle Obama that show the No. 1 image of her online to be a racist caricature. "We apologize if you've had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results," says a house ad from "the Google team" served up in conjunction with image results for queries on the first lady's name. "Search results are a reflection of the content on the web. Our search results simply reflect what's out there," Google spokesman Scott Rubin explained. "According to the way our algorithm works, when we try to deliver the most relevant search results based on other pages that link to it and so on, this is what is returned." He said it was possible that the image ranked so high because people were linking to it to condemn it,

President Lou Dobbs? Ex-CNNer says he's considering a run

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:18:10 -0500

Longtime CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, left, who resigned from the cable network in November after 29 years. (Kathy Willens/Associated Press) Updated 11:21 a.m. By Garance Franke-Ruta Former CNN anchor Lou Dobbs is considering a bid for the presidency. Asked Monday by former senator and current radio host Fred Thompson if he had given any thought to running for president in 2012, Dobbs replied: "Yes, is the answer." "I'm gonna be talking some more with some folks who want me to listen to 'em in the next few weeks," Dobbs continued in the appearance on "The Fred Thompson Show." "I mean I don't even know what to tell you in terms of where I'm leaning. Because right now I'm fortunate to have a number of just wonderful options." Also on Monday, Dobbs told Washington-area radio station WTOP (in remarks first noted by Politico): "I don't think I've got the nature for

S.C. governor faces 37 charges he broke state ethics laws

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:19:23 -0500

By Jim Davenport Associated Press COLUMBIA, S.C. -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford faces ethics charges he broke state laws more than three dozen times by violating rules on airplane travel and campaign money, according to details of the allegations released Monday. The civil charges, which carry a maximum $74,000 in fines, stem from a three-month investigation by the state ethics commission and could be pivotal in a push by some lawmakers to remove him from office. The state attorney general is deciding whether the governor would face any criminal charges. Continue reading»

Republican committee members call for unity around conservative principles

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:59:17 -0500

Attorney James Bopp, pictured in 2006. (Linda Davidson/The Washington Post) Updated 5:57 p.m. By Perry Bacon Jr. Conservative Indiana Republican James Bopp Jr. on Monday began circulating a draft resolution calling on the Republican National Committee to end funding and endorsements for any candidate who deviates from three or more of its ten planks. Bop, an attorney, is vice chairman of the RNC; ten other committee members signed onto his call to arms. "I think we have a very urgent task as Republicans and that is to reclaim our conservative bona fides and supporting liberal Republican party-splitters is very damaging to that task," Bopp said, referring to the saga in the New York 23rd congressional district earlier this month, where the Republican withdrew and endorsed the Democrat in what had been a three-way race also pitting her against a member of the Conservative Party. "So the resolution puts our money

Barack Obama's Facebook feed

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:34:47 -0500

Our colleagues at Slate have released the latest version of their hit satirical feature, "Barack Obama's Facebook Feed." This edition has updates on health care and Sarah Palin -- as well as Khalid Sheikh Muhammad's iTunes playlist.

Al Gore on SNL: 'We're melting. Love, the Glaciers'

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:24:47 -0500

In case you missed it: former vice president Al Gore was on Saturday Night Live over the weekend in honor of NBC's "Green Week," joining Seth Meyers to promote Gore's new book Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis. On the show, Gore proposed -- with his usual deadpan -- a series of outlandish schemes to call attention to climate change, such as taping toy guns to trees and planting them in congressmen's yards in the middle of the night or delivering letters, along with a bucket of ice water, from the glaciers.

Official: U.S. emissions target will be part of climate talks

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:49:00 -0500

By Juliet Eilperin The U.S. will identify a near-term emission reduction target as part of an effort to reach a comprehensive climate agreement in Copenhagen next month, senior administration officials said Monday. The officials, who briefed a group of reporters on the condition that they would not be identified, said the U.S. delegation would put forward a target as long as other major greenhouse emitters, including major developing nations, did the same. One official said any specific greenhouse gas cut the U.S. offers would reflect the fact that Congress has yet to finalize climate legislation. The House has passed a bill calling for a 17 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2020 and an 80 percent cut by 2050. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has passed legislation with a 20 percent reduction by 2020, but that number is expected to drop as more centrist lawmakers weigh in on

From Obama, a new focus on math and science education -- and a new plum for prize-winners

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:07:57 -0500

President Obama poses with students from various schools following his remarks on science, technology, engineering and math education initiatives at the White House. (Jason Reed/Reuters) By Michael D. Shear President Obama today announced partnerships with private businesses to increase achievement in math and science, saying the country must do more to compete with the world in those areas. The new federal campaign will encourage businesses and non profit groups -- including the Discovery Channel, Intel, and Time Warner -- to focus more energy and money to teach kids about math and science. "The hard truth is that for decades we have been losing ground," Obama told a group in the East Room of the White House Monday, noting that American students are rated 21st in the world in science and 25th in math. "We all believe that we can't allow division and indifference to imperil our position in the world."

Sen. Nelson indicates supports for opt-in public option

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 13:51:53 -0500

By John Amick and T. Rees Shapiro A day after the Senate voted to take up the health care reform bill, President Obama's top domestic priority dominated the discussion on Sunday morning talk shows. ABC: THIS WEEK - Nelson pushes opt-in public option On ABC's "This Week," Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) reiterated his likely support of an opt-in provision for the public option. But Nelson, a moderate who voted Saturday to send the bill to the Senate floor for debate, said that "if there are a whole host of other items that are the same as they are right now," he would not vote for the bill. Those include the Senate's language on abortion, which is less restrictive on public funding than the House version. "It depends on what the public option is," Nelson said. "I am opposed to the public option... where the states have to opt out. I

44: Obama says Asia trip about jobs

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 06:00:00 -0500

By Scott Wilson President Obama used his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday to draw a line between his recent trip to the economic engines of Asia and job creation at home, calling it a "task I will continue to focus on relentlessly in the weeks and months ahead." Obama's message, which he recorded before leaving Seoul, South Korea, the last leg of his Asia trip, highlights the mounting political concern in the White House over what so far appears to be a jobless economic recovery. While expanding for the first time in more than a year, the economy continues to shed jobs, a trend that ranks as the chief worry of the electorate in poll after poll. The national unemployment rate has pushed above 10 percent for the first time in decades.