Jill Biden pens a Veterans Day essay
Just as Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, was writing a story for us about how they were coping with their son Beau’s deployment in Iraq, a glorious thing happened: He came home. Jill did what any responsible journalist who gets caught in the news would do — she retooled her story. The quite moving result is in this weekend's issue, just in time for Veteran’s Day. Beau, 40, who is now weighing a run for the U.S. Senate to fill his dad’s open seat, served in Iraq for a year.
Photo courtesy of the White House
September 09, 2009
Sotomayor's debut on court is not flashy
Today’s rare September Supreme Court hearing on campaign finance and free speech marked the debut of Justice Sonia Sotomayor and our Jon Tollestrup was in the court room. While Sotomayor chimed into the questioning on two different occasions during the 90-minute proceedings, the new justice remained largely silent. Of course, when she did talk, all eyes and ears were on her. So, while it was a quiet debut, it will be an interesting one to look back on months and years from now to see how her voice and character in the Supreme Court emerge and develop in conjunction with the rest of the justices. Today, however, it was only evident that Justice Sotomayor, 55, is the new kid on the bench.
June 23, 2009
Neil Bush praises Obama's use of bully pulpit
I caught up today with Neil Bush, the chairman of the board of the Points of Light Institute and the son of former president George H.W. Bush. He told me that he deeply admires the personal commitment to service that President Obama and his wife, Michelle, have made and he's particularly tickled that the president is using his "bully pulpit" to call Americans to action. "My dad used his presidency in the same way," Bush said, and indeed it was the first President Bush who coined the term "points of light" and connected it to volunteerism.
I asked Bush how his parents instilled the idea of service in their children and he said, "My mom volunteered every Monday at the local hospital. My dad sponsored an inner-city softball team...they lived it." And he spoke proudly about his daughter model Lauren Bush, 25, who used her interest in fashion to design a tote bag that is sold to fund United Nations hunger programs. Bush said Points of Light and Facebook folks have been talking about how to use the social networking site to invite youth into the service movement and he sees youth involvement growing noticeably.
In fact, Bush — who has been involved in volunteerism and service for 20-plus years — took a few seconds before he answered my question about whether serving one's country really will become cool. "It does feel different, he said," "there's a larger energy, a more compelling need, more awereness of the transformative nature of volunteerism and the impact it can have. It's like a tsunami wave — building."
June 22, 2009
Inside the convention hall, awaiting first lady's talk
I'm inside a chilly, dark convention hall where in about 90 minutes Michelle Obama will address this national gathering on volunteering and service. The lines to get in are outside and around the block, there are Secret Service agents everywhere and super strict security. I've got a seat right up front — and as I walked in I saw Jon Bon Jovi hanging out in the back of the room. He'd done a sound check earlier. I plan to get a few minutes with him after his show.
I'll also talk with actress Kerry Washington, who just took the stage to do a little pre-show speech. She has the unfortunate task of talking to a half-full room but she's doin' all she can to get people excited. Why Washington? She's an "ambassador" for L'Oreal Paris and speaking to the company's Women of Worth program.
Earlier today the first lady, in sneakers, capri pants and a jacket, went to a city elementary school to help volunteers build a playground and plant an edible garden. She inspired the group — some said they were teary — but she also took time to do a little of the heavy lifting, say hello to and meet the people who had come out on an unusually warm San Franciso morning.
Michelle Obama launches summer service plan in SF
Monday morning greetings from San Francisco, the site of the 2009 National Conference on Volunteering & Service from which I'll be blogging much of this week. The conference opens today with first lady Michelle Obama, who will launch the president's United We Serve initiative to make this summer of 2009 a summer of service. As you may have heard, the president — former community organizer that he is — is calling on all of us to volunteer in our communities this summer to help the country's economic recovery. He'd also like us to make service part of our daily lives for good. The summer of service idea is to do something every day beginning today and ending on Sept. 11, a day of national service and remembrance of those who died in the 2001 terrorist attacks. Obama already has talked about his idea on YouTube — check it out here — and he is urging us to take a look at the White House's new web site serve.gov to both register our projects and look for ways to get involved.
Mrs. Obama is expected to officially get the initiative off the ground with her keynote speech before this perfect audience later today. But this morning, before any speeches are given, the first lady will join Maria Shriver, California's first lady, and a group of volunteers recruited some time ago, to build a playground at a local elementary school, with the help of KaBOOM, which builds playgrounds around the country. The two first ladies have advocacy of volunteerism in common and it's a coup for Shriver to have Mrs. O out there with her. But then, both are women who walk what they talk.
Photo courtesy of the White House
June 16, 2009
Michelle Obama talks volunteerism in D.C.
First Lady Michelle Obama has been making a splash on the international stage, but here in Washington, D.C. she's been an active community member who has invited D.C. school children to help plant a garden, visited schools to read to kids, spoken at a high school graduation ceremony, and more. Tuesday, the first lady was the speaker at the Greater D.C. Cares Business & Nonprofit Philanthropy Summit and Awards luncheon so I sent our latest staff addition, intern Steve Thompson, to the event to give us an insider's view on how the wife of the president rolls. Here's his report:
"Getting inside the event was not as easy as it sounds. After all, Mrs. Obama has celebrity status with government protection. I, and the 25 other members of the press who were at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown D.C. for the event, had to arrive at least an hour and 35 minutes before the first lady was set to take the stage. After a check of my media credentials (a card with my goofy smile and the word 'intern' in bold red letters) and a search of my bag (which I mainly use for carrying copious amounts of Orbit gum), I had the pleasure of standing spread eagle in front of a Secret Service agent so he could give me a full body scan with a hand-held metal detector. I felt like an unwanted relative at the family reunion. We were then led down a smelly back stairwell into a ballroom full of neatly set tables. I skipped breakfast and it was all I could to do to not snag a roll from one of the bread baskets. A few rows of chairs were reserved for us at the back of the room, caged in by a velvet rope. It was definitely not preferred seating.
"Many members of the press are old time pals so they could pass the time by chatting while we sat there to wait, and wait. I, however, passed the time by sending text messages to my old time pal Alex in between failed attempts to raise my BrickBreaker score. Unlike most celebrities, the first lady has security that even controls when you go to the bathroom. If I needed to use the facilities, or even leave my seat, I had to be escorted by a White House staffer named Ann, who was about 105 pounds of anal retentive. The first lady wasn't the only speaker but those who preceeded her got nowhere near the attention Mrs. O commands. When the President and CEO of Greater DC Cares introduced her, all eyes were on the stage, and the first lady strode onto it to a standing ovation. Sporting a hot pink shirt and a black and white cardigan, she smiled but seemed embarrassed that everyone was standing for her and quickly told everyone to please sit down. A proponent of service to others, she spoke to the audience about the need for volunteerism — a theme she is expected to call upon again next week when she addresses a national convention on volunteering in San Francisco. At the end of her speech, Mrs. Obama took time to shake hands with attendees. Then, in a flash (literally, there were flashing lights around her), she was ushered away."
Photo by Richard Termine
May 08, 2009
Hollywood meets Washington (and Obama) Saturday
Saturday night is the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner here in Washington, also known as the Press Prom, where various news and information organizations try to outdo each other by inviting the biggest name celebrities they can get, most of whom have no connection to covering or commenting on the news, to sit at their tables. But, hey, it's fun. Among those expected in town this weekend are Tim Daly, co president of the Creative Coalition and an advocate for the arts, Kate Walsh (his Private Practice co-star), Kevin Bacon, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Chace Crawford, Eva Longoria Parker (that's Eva at left)...see what I mean?
Rescue Me's Denis Leary, author of the book Why We Suck:A Feel Good Guide to Staying Fat, Loud, Lazy and Stupid
And yes, the president and first lady are expected, as are all the important players in the administration.
Speaking of important players, Oprah tweeted from this week's Time magazine dinner for its 100 Most Influential People. "SO FUN TIME 100. My first time. So many interesting, smart peeps. including Twitter guys," she tweeted. Oprah is now taken with Twitter. It's fun to follow her. I like that she only tweets about the interesting stuff. Get on board with her here.
April 13, 2009
White House egg roll, new gigs for familiar faces
The White House Easter Egg Roll was all about promoting physical fitness and health, a message First Lady Michelle Obama wants to get across to the nation....
Bravo to Jennifer Garner for joining Save The Children's U.S. Programs as an Artist Ambassador. Her appointment was announced today. She and husband Ben Affleck are now parents of two girls....
Speaking of Ben, his new movie with Russell Crowe, State of Play, opens this weekend and tonight's press screening in Washington, D.C. is expected to be exceptionally crowded. Could it be because it's about journalists?...
Online voting begins today for CMT Music Awards, country music's only fan-voted awards, and first round finalists are posted and Sugarland, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley are leading. Check it out at CMT.com...
Tickets go on sale this week for Aerosmith's summer tour, launching in St. Louis on June 10. ZZ Top joins them starting June 16....
American Idol fans will be happy to know that Jason Castro (pictured on the left), third runner-up in the 2008 season, has signed with Atlantic Records and will have an album out later this year....
High School Musical cutie Ashley Tisdale releases a single tomorrow from her new album, which won't be out till June.
Photo by Andrew Shepherd
First Dog Bo may inspire puppy fever
I'm already mad about First Dog Bo, and not only because I have a serious case of puppy fever and he's incredibly cute. I'm an unabashed dog lover and the owner of a beautiful blonde cockapoo named Cassie who, like Bo the Portugese Water Dog, doesn't shed and thus is better for people who may be allergic to dogs or vacuuming. Cassie is now 10 and though I don't share this information with her, the vet calls her a "senior." I thought a frisky new friend might make her happy in her golden years until I consulted with our smart pet expert Steve Dale, who asked if Cassie likes to be around other dogs. "Not really," I answered honestly. "So would this puppy be for you or for Cassie?" Steve asked, seeing right through my motives.
In fact, those questions are ones Bo's original owners — the ones who named him Charlie but found he wasn't a "good fit" for his family — should have asked themselves before bringing the adorable one home to meet their older dog. Like most PWDs, Bo — who arrives Tuesday — is likely to have more energy than the president, which I know Sasha and Malia will love. Even after those important trainers he's been working with make him good-mannered and suitable for living in an historic house filled with antiques, he's sure to bound about the living quarters with irrational exuberance and tear up the South Lawn like a greyhound running a race for big money.
Of course, the Obamas —none of whom, reportedly, have previously owned pets — are not the first to have a dog in the White House. But the only one I ever got to meet was Buddy, the chocolate Lab acquired by President Clinton during his residence there. Buddy (who coincidentally had the same name as my previous non-shedding dog, a Wheaton Terrier) was allowed to schmooze with reporters on occasion and was doing so without restraint at a press picnic on the White House grounds when, looking for a little affection, he nosed up to my then 8-year-old daughter Alicia. She gave him lots of pets and attention, until his Secret Service detail found him.
White House photo by Pete Souza
March 06, 2009
First family update
You have to love first lady Michelle Obama, who fed the homeless yesterday, in a Washington, D.C. shelter. The lady walks the talk. She also swings. The White House has a bowling alley, movie theater, swimming pool and a zillion rooms to explore but it had no swing set, until now. Mrs. O tried it out with her girls. As for the president, he's getting grayer. They all do, but in 45 days? The Washington Post looked at the scientific evidence, as did CBS. See for yourself below.
Photo by Sam Riche/USA Today
