The news that is not White House approved...
RSVP 2013
The town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is preparing to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the epic Civil War battle that occurred there and the historic speech delivered on the battlefield by President Lincoln four months later.
To mark the occasion, the organizers of the event have called on the Anointed One to deliver his own version of the Gettysburg's Address. But there's just one problem: The anniversary does not incur until July of 2013. I guess the organizers of the event are counting on him mounting a successful re-election bid (I wouldn't be so sure about that).
If the Anointed One does speak I'm guessing that he's going to probably run a little longer than Lincoln's 272 words. And I assume that he, unlike Lincoln, will use a teleprompter.
Oops, I Did It Again
Vice President Biden had the honor of giving the opening remarks at Wednesday's St. Patrick's Day reception at the White House for which Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowan was in attendance. The vice president gave the prime minister one of his characteristic introductions:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: His mom lived in Long Island for 10 years or so, God rest her soul. And — although she's — wait your mom is still — your mom is still alive. Your dad passed.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: God bless her soul.
(LAUGHTER)
BIDEN: I got to get this straight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
That's painful, although I guess it was a smooth recovery, Mr. Vice President. Next time it might be easier to just get your facts straight from the start.
The Ethical Mr. Dodd
Outgoing Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd's ethics troubles could soon be spreading to members of his staff. According to Bloomberg News, in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis, Senator Dodd's chief counsel was trading stocks of several companies that were being considered for bailouts.
The woman's name is Amy Friend, who serves on Chairman Dodd's Senate Banking Committee staff. Financial disclosure documents show that as the committee debated whether or not to save companies like AIG, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, Friend purchased stakes in four banks worth thousands of dollars.
Meanwhile, on the Republican side of the Banking Committee, Bloomberg reports no staff members own stock in the bailout companies in 2008.
What a shock. I guess the swamp still needs to be drained.
Bracket That
The White House says President Obama is so intensely involved in health care negotiations that he is once again postponing his trip to Indonesia and Australia. However, the Anointed One did find some time on a so-called busy schedule to talk to ESPN's Andy Katz.
For the second year in a row the president made his picks for the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament public. Unfortunately, the all-knowing first fan ran into a little bit of trouble filling out his bracket this year:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I think Syracuse keeps on going.
(CROSSTALK)
ANDY KATZ, ESPN: Should be an R in there.
OBAMA: Yes. I just completely messed that up —
KATZ: That's my R.
OBAMA: Come on. Sorry, guys. Malia and Sasha are going to tease me about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
You're not the only one, Mr. President. Syracuse fans are lighting up the blogs. They're not too happy with you either.
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