Last night, we bumped into Alleged White House Crasher Tareq Salahi at the GI Film Festival in Washington, D.C., with some campaign staffers.
The RHODC star was all smiles -- because his gubernatorial campaign is doing pretty well.
In fact, 19% of Virginians support Tareq's hypothetical campaign against Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), according to Public Policy Polling. And, he's got great name recognition (34%). For a "celebrity candidate without political experience, he is polling respectably," states Politico.
So, could Tareq really crash some people's dreams to have Sen. Warner in the Governor's Mansion? Don't say "no way" just yet.
Politicos. They're just like us. ... They get in car accidents.
Example: Howard Dean -- former Vermont governor, one-time presidential candidate, and previous head of the Democratic National Committee -- was recently giving a live radio interview via his cell phone on Wednesday when he got into a car accident.
OK, well maybe they're not just like us.
The best part is how he told the interviewer that everyone was fine, then abruptly hung up – instead of, you know, at least finishing up his point on "geographic boundaries." (Maybe the other driver was listening to Howard's interview and fell asleep behind the wheel?)
Check out the full audio here. Listen for the noticeable thump. We were totally hoping Howard would let out his infamous "Dean scream" as soon as the accident happened. Alas, he did not.
Well, this must be kind embarrassing for President Obama.
It seems that POTUS is having some stiff competition in one of the Democratic state primaries. Arkansas to be exact.
You see, a Tennessee lawyer, John Wolfe Jr., is challenging the President in the May 22 primary and he's currently only seven points behind POTUS in the most recent polls. And that's without any advertising on John's part whatsoever. Of course, the polling showing John's lead was taken the day after Obama's ABC interview in which he came out in support of gay marriage.
This challenge from an out-of-nowhere candidate actually isn't that unprecedented in conservative states -- in fact, in West Virginia's primary a federal prisoner just grabbed more than 40% of the vote while the President got 57%.
We kind of like this trend of the President having to fend off random crazies in primary elections for states in which he as no chance of winning in the general election. After Arkansas is Texas, which holds its Dem primary race on May 29 and where John will once again be running.
President Obama made a trip to Taylor Gourmet on 14th Street in Washington, D.C., today to talk about small businesses -- and, get his chow on.
And, who can blame him? We've been there and those hoagies are freaking a-ma-zing!
While POTUS was there, several local small business owners (including the president of Yes! Organic Market) met up with the POTUS to talk to him about the "To Do List," which is a measure the President is pushing that highlights the need to invest in small businesses.
Please, Mr. President, tell us you're delivering a few hoagie to Glittarazzi's HQ! We would love you forever.
(OK, we already love you forever, but we can't leave the office right now ... and the thought of those sandwiches is making us hungry, too!)
DiD yOu KnOw? ... Taylor Gourmet, which was founded by two Philly natives, Casey Patton and David Mazza, makes its own roast beef. (Yum!) The restaurant is also totally eco-friendly. Check out all of the deliciousness on the website, here.
VIDEO: President Obama Stops By Taylor Gourmet
WH REPORTER NOTES
Here’s more from the small business roundtable, plus a White House official says POTUS did in fact pick up hoagies for his lunch with congressional leaders at the White House today. The official declined to elaborate on exactly what types, saying only that it was “an assortment of sandwiches.”
Pool barely heard owners of Taylor Gourmet and Yes! Organic Markets tell POTUS their stories. Please see backgrounder in pool report #1 for info on owners. Here’s more from POTUS:
“Well, I tell you, your stories obviously are being duplicated all across the country. Each one of you were willing to take some risks,” he said. “As you guys said initially you got started with your own savings, scrapping(inaud) together, mortgaging your house and so forth. Obviously you had to take a leap. But you had a good idea. You provided a great product. And you are living out the American dream.”
“I’m very pleased to hear the SBA had some useful role in helping you guys expand,” he said.
POTUS explained the tax credit he wants Congress to pass, and he turned to address pool:
“What I just want to say to the reporters who are here, you’ve got three small businesses who are outstanding examples of American entrepreneurship. Food services, retail, construction, all across the country you’re seeing example of folks who have confidence in the economy and confidence in America. And it’s their ingenuity and their hard work that’s allowed them to be successful. But organizations like the SBA have also made a difference.
“Because sometimes private financing is willing to take a chance on a couple of young guys who have an idea about starting a great hoagie shop. Sometimes, it may be that a smaller business like a construction business where it’s relatively capital intensive is going to have difficulty competing with some larger companies in terms of buying the equipment they need. And so actions by Congress and good execution by the Small Business Administration can make a big difference in helping these folks succeed.
“It’s not going to do it for them. It’s not going to make up for bad service or a bad product. But when you’ve got great service or a great product and people are willing to work really hard, then action by government and the SBA can help give them a hand (inaud) and get them started.
“This is the reason why we think it’s so important for congress to act right now. The economy is recovering but we’ve still got a long way to go. Too many folks are still out of work. We’ve got some headwinds …(inaud) the situation in Europe, and it’s still a difficult housing market. So we want to sustain the momentum. And one of the ways that we can sustain momentum is for Congress to take some actions right now, even though its election season, even though there’s gridlock, even though there’s partisanship. Take some actions right now that would really make a difference.
“We’ve put together a handy to do list that’s very short. I’ve been talking about it for the last couple of weeks. One of the items on that to do list would be to provide tax breaks for companies like these that are hiring new employees or raising the wages and salaries of their existing employees. Either way, what that does is give them incentive as they’re expanding to say, ‘maybe we hire an extra two people, maybe we hire an extra three people, maybe we hire an extra 10 people.’ And they will have additional resources to continue growing, to continue expanding. It’s something that in the past has been an idea that garnered support from Democrats and Republicans. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t act on that right now.”
POTUS to pool: “The same way that we should be allowing all families to refinance because they’ve got an extra $2k in their pocket. Then they can buy more hoagies or go shop for some outstanding organic foods. It’s the same reason why all the other items on the to-do list really make a difference…Some of these small businesses may be interested in hiring a veteran.”
(he described the veteran jobs corps proposal from his to-do-list for Congress)
“My message to Congress and I’m going to have a chance to see the congressional leadership when I get back to the White House – I’m going to offer them some hoagies while they’re there -- is let’s go ahead and act to help those that sustain momentum for our economy There’ll be more than enough time for us to campaign and politic. Let’s make sure that we don’t lose steam at a time when a lot of folks like these are feeling pretty optimistic and are ready to go.”
He ended with “Thank you all” and did not answer yelled questions from pool about Boehner and the potential for a debt showdown.
It's no secret that President Barack Obama is pretty tech savvy.
He's the first POTUS to carry a BlackBerry, he uses a laptop, and he is heavily into social media.
And, Candidate Obama is no different -- hHis 2008 presidential campaign was widely regarded as the first national campaign to successfully utilize a digital presence -- and, the 2012 campaign looks like it will be just as groundbreaking.
At the heart of all the rumors and hubbub is "Dashboard," a new digital application that the Obama campaign built from scratch and in-house, which made it kind of ultra-secretive and did nothing to stem the foreboding rumors of just what it does. It's beeing called the "Digital Holy Grail" for political campaigns.
According to the Obama campaign site, Dashboard is "going to make a huge difference in how we organize for 2012.
For the first time -- ever -- people will be able to join, connect and build neighborhood teams online." Wait ... what does that mean? Well, sources say that it will allow staffers and volunteers to organize and to connect in real time, as well as share and store information about supporters. So, if a staffer needs to put together a group to canvas a neighborhood, Dashboard will help them find nearby volunteers and registered supporters in the area. There's even a supposed smartphone app that will allow them to access and upload information on the ground.
Currently, the program is being tested in certain battleground states, but the campaign plans to roll it out nationwide this month.
One of our favorite presidents, Bill Clinton, was interviewed -- before a live audience -- by Legendary Journalist Tom Brokaw (special correspondent, "NBC Nightly News") this week.
The conversation focused on the fiscal challenges faced by Americans in today's current economy. There was also talk of the challenges that policy makers face when trying to explain fiscal policy decisions to their constituency as well as the challenges of forming policies that are acceptable across party lines.
The interview was a part of the 2012 fiscal summit, "America's Case for Action," at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium in Washington, D.C.
The LA Galaxy hit up Washington, D.C., in style this week.
Captain David Beckham and his teammates stayed at the swanky St. Regis hotel, hit up some restaurants (think Cafe Milano) and did the White House -- all within two days.
But, President Obama wasn't going to let the king of underwear ads off easily as he honored the team on its Major League Soccer championship win.
"Half his teammates could be his kids," Barack said.
But, POTUS didn't stop there. He also teased David about his line of undergarments.
Hey, when you're sexy ... even the President notices.
President Barack Obama
L.A. Galaxy Vice-Captain Landon Donovan and Captain David Beckham
President Barack Obama is presented with an honorary L.A. Galaxy jersey
President Barack Obama
L.A. Galaxy Vice-Captain Landon Donovan and Captain David Beckham
President Barack Obama is presented with an honorary L.A. Galaxy jersey
VIDEO: "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake
David goes walking near the White House after checking into his hotel Monday.
David poses with our hot friend, Antonio, at Cafe Milano in Georgetown Monday evening.
David Beckham heads to the White House after checking out of the St. Regis Tuesday.
President Obama honors the team at the White House on Tuesday. Glittarazzi's Ali caught this pic with her camera phone.
What was the hot topic he talked about? Well, what's the only hot topic worth discussing nowadays?
Gay marriage, of course!
The POTUS explained that, though he's not convinced that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is constitutional (as the justice department has previously stated), he's not committing to repeal it yet. President Obama said he knows that this will be one of the big issues in the upcoming election.
"This is going to be a big contrast in the campaign, because you've got Gov. Romney saying we should actually have a constitutional amendment installing the notion that you can't have same-sex marriages," he said.
Guess we'll just have to stay tuned and, see how this all plays out in November!
Did you know? ... In the past decade, 10 countries around the world have legally allowed and recognized same-sex marriages, including Argentina, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, South Africa and Spain. Want to learn more? Read up on it, here.
So the "Ron Paul Revolution" is over, right? Eh, not really.
While Ron might be giving up, his supporters aren't. They're grabbing wins in several GOP state contests and snagging delegate spots for the upcoming Republican convention. Two were elected to head up Alaska's Republican party and more Ron supporters beat out Mitt Romney fans for delegate spots in Massachusetts and Nevada. And, Ron plans to make appearances at a bunch of GOP state conventions, which is where delegates are picked.
Unfortunately, even if the delegates or the people that pick the delegates are part of Ron's camp, they still have vote to according to their state's primary results and Mitt won all those states.
So, what's the big deal?
Well, delegates do more than just ceremonially vote for the candidate that won their state's primary; they also influence and help to create party policy and direction for the next four years. So, these wins could essentially lead to Ron's particular brand of Liberation politics gaining more of a foothold in the GOP.
And, even though Ron's too old to run for President in 2016, it would lay the groundwork for someone with similar views and/or ties to him to gain the Republican nomination next time it's up for grabs.
The "6th Annual G.I. Film Festival" kicked off with a red carpet event, honoring Navy Hero, POTUS Candidate and Serial Entrepreneur H. Ross Perot this week.
The event, which was held at the Newseum in Washington, D.C., featured a special screening of "Chosin," a film about the heros of the Korean war directed by Brian Iglesias.
The G.I. Film Festival continues through May 20 and offers 42 film screenings, red carpet special events, cocktail receptions and award ceremonies.
DiD yOu KnOw? ...Ross Perot ran for President of the United States in 1992 and 1996.
OK, so, that was last week -- and, technically, she is a dual citizen of the United States and Switzerland.
To catch up our slower readers: Michele's husband Marcus is of Swiss decent and is thus eligible for Swiss citizenship, which also means that so are Michele and his children. Some of the kids wanted to apply and they all decided to do it together as a family, which is kind of sweet. But, as we pointed out in out previous post, we thought this move might estrange things with Michele's Tea-Party base and open her up to attacks.
Well, we were right.
Her Democratic opponent quickly hinted to reporters that the Michele's dual citizenship might split her loyalties.
That's when "Ole Crazy Eyes" (That's our nickname for her. Don't steal it! We copyrighted it so we can sell t-shirts.) backtracked and sent a letter to the Swiss consulate asking that citizenship be revoked. She then explained to the press: "I took this action because I want to make it perfectly clear: I was born in America and I am a proud American citizen. I am, and always have been, 100 per cent committed to our United States Constitution and the United States of America."
Of course, this now opens Michele up to being accused of having the opinion that Americans who hold dual citizenships aren't real Americans and could possibly have divided allegiances.
This whole episode just re-enforces our desire not to have children.
Senator Rand Paul has come under fire for his recent comments about President Obama's stance on gay marriage.
The Kentucky senator said that he didn't think the POTUS's views on marriage "could get any gayer."
Come on now, Rand. We believe in at least being civil.
In addition to Team Glittarazzi, all kinds of religious and political leaders are chastising Rand's choice of words, including Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, who said: "People in this country, no matter straight or gay, deserve dignity and respect."
Senator, we always liked you and hope you can learn to see that everyone is worthy of your respect -- whether you agree with their views or not. Let's keep the political talk P.C., shall we?
Did you know? ... "Think B4 You Speak" is a campaign to get people to stop using derogatory language by learning to verbalize their feelings in a less offensive way. We think it's a great idea that needs to be spread around! Learn more about it, here.
VIDEO: Sen. Rand Paul on Obama's Gay Marriage Stance
Do you recognize the smooth young man with the 'fro, above?
That's actually President Barack Obama, chilling with his mom, Ann, at his high school graduation.
It's such a cute picture, we have to wonder why we haven't seen it before. After all, it's not every day you get to see your President rocking Hawaiian leis and a 'fro!
Did you know? ... A documentary project, "Ann Dunham: A Most Generous Spirit," was in the works but seems to have been cancelled due to lack of funding. Learn more about it, here.
