Useless Information

Notes from a briefing room press insider...

Chaos in Gibbs-istan: As a skeptical tone continues to rise in the Brady briefing room, Afghanistan ruled the show today as Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was forced repeatedly to bat down the premise that Gen. Stanley McChrystal has earned a POTUS-backed slap on the wrist for breaking the silence on the war's policy review in a London speech. CNN's Ed Henry led the charge, with RG more than once accusing him of "many caveats in your question" as he quoted McChrystal; RG, in a common podium defense, said he didn't know whether POTUS had seen the "Chaos-istan" comment and, in response to whether the speech was appropriate, that he wasn't in charge of scheduling for each member of the military, later repeating that POTUS is "comfortable with the way the process is and how it's moving forward." He chastised reporters: "I get that the Washington game is to do the back and forth," to which Henry promptly cried: "It's not a Washington game!" RG called the 25-minute POTUS-McChrystal one-on-one onboard AF1 in Copenhagen "a constructive meeting ... not about what's going on on cable television." In response to whether NSA Jim Jones was rebuking McChrystal in his comments on the Sunday shows: "Far be it for me to parse the words of a four-star general."

But What if We're Thirsty?: POTUS is set to brief Congressional leaders tomorrow on the Afghan review process, which RG says is intended to "walk them through where we are" and "solicit their views." In the wake of the deadly weekend attack in Afghanistan, he noted that the strategy on the table is to move from such outposts and focus more on the population centers. ABC Radio's Ann Compton followed up to ask why that strategy had not been implemented if it had in fact been agreed upon "several months ago," as RG said. She was referred to the five-sided building. As for the hush-hush Af-Pak meetings (a five-part series, so far), RG forewarned that "it isn't about the number of meetings" and that the fifth meeting might not immediately precede a POTUS announcement. When CBS's Chip Reid employed the old RG baseball analogy technique to ask what inning it is for the Afghan assessment, RG replied: "You haven't even gone for your first beer yet."

continued...

First, Sen. Durbin told Lynn Sweet of The Chicago Sun Times that "... the folks protesting President Obama's health care overhaul ... are "tea baggers" and "birthers". Then, Chuck Norris weighed in on the topic. Naturally, nobody argued with the man who "can sneeze with his eyes open". Naturally, (phony) Kenyan Birth Certificate Generators were popping up everywhere. But no sooner did U.S. News & World Report's Robert Schlesinger report on their existence, they seem to all have been shut down. What gives?

Exactly 50 years ago today: Nixon & Khrushchev's historic "Kitchen Debate."

WaPo reported (07/24/1959)

"As Vice President Richard Nixon and Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev walked through a model home at an American exhibit in Moscow, they engaged in an impromptu argument on the relative merits of capitalism and communism that became known as the "kitchen debate." While their heated discussion involved issues of international importance, the tone at times resembled that of a playground spat. At one point a frustrated Nixon even jabbed his finger at Khrushchev and said, "You don't know everything."

VIDEO

OH, THE IRONY! Exactly 15 years later (07/24/1974), Nixon would be embroiled in the Watergate Scandal.

*Photo courtesy of Tom Williams Working III

Our pals at FamousDC kicked off Monday morning with this "handy" photo. Can you name the owner of these hands?

HINT: The reporter attached is one of our favorite Cap Hill journos... but it's not Erin McPike.

Today we begin a new regular feature, a Photo Caption Contest (so original, we know). Drop your photo caption suggestions in the anonymous tips box below (or shoot us an email at fishbowlDC at mediabistro DOT com if you want credit for your brilliance) and we'll publish the winner within a few days. Good luck!

If Christopher Hitchens were to ever storm out of a saloon in order to hunt down an editor who had chopped his prose to pieces all in the name of "word count," we suspect it might look something like this:

(It's actually actor Ray Winstone playing Captain Stanley in the new movie, "The Proposition")

The Most Important Decision You'll Make All Day:

...and since this week was all about Pulitzers raining down upon the Washington Post, we thought we'd share with you the excitement of one (one-time potential DC resident) V.I.P., upon his hearing the news of the Post's Pulitzers: Brad Pitt.

"That's very, very exciting."

Naturally, Pitt hadn't actually read the stories in question (Although, to be fair, it's not the first time that Pitt has gotten excited about things before actually reading them: After all, something has to account for his accepting the lead role in "Meet Joe Black.").

The Post is going smoke-free, Christopher Hitchens be damned! A message from inside the 15th Street headquarters:

"This is to let you know that The Post plans to eliminate the smoking room that is located near the second floor cafeteria in the Northwest Building as of May 15, 2006. This change will make The Post's District of Columbia facility entirely smoke-free, as are The Post's production plants in Springfield and College Park. That space will then be transitioned to other uses. If you smoke, you will be required to smoke outside after the policy becomes effective. We appreciate your understanding.

"If you would like to take this opportunity to kick the habit, the Health Center will arrange for employees to participate in a Smokenders program. If you're interested, please contact XXXXXXXX at extension XXXXX."

Now when the DC smoking ban kicks in and Posties aren't subject to the fumes at the Post Pub across the street, they'll actually live in a smoke-free environment--except for Bob Woodward of course, who loves the smoke and mirrors.

This is a little off our beaten path, but figured it'd be interest to perhaps seven of you: AEI has announced that resident fellow James K. Glassman will take over editing the think tank's magazine this fall, following a "long and successful" editorship by Karl Zinsmeister.

Over the years, Glassman has worked at basically every major news organization based here: He was president of The Atlantic Monthly, publisher of The New Republic, executive editor of the Washingtonian, executive vice president of U.S. News & World Report, and editor of Roll Call, and more recently, founder of the website Tech Central Station.