West Wing Reportage

A truly brief pre-holiday weekend briefing started with Press Secretary/WH School Marm Robert Gibbs' scolding of NBC's Chuck Todd for another late entrance (though no one heard a two-minute warning). "Three times -- you've got to go to detention hall," RG announced. (Chucky T was allowed to stay.)

But... Free Ice Cream?!: With more grim economic numbers out this morning, Gibbs continued to keep the bar low on short-term employment data. Asked if the WH still expected to see 10% unemployment this year, Gibbs said, "Absolutely," adding, "in the next two to three months -- I think it's quite clear that we'll hit that number." He noted POTUS's "impatience" and said, "He sees this economy through the eyes of the American people, and obviously the American people are continuing to hurt." (On a completely unrelated up side, Gibbs wondered aloud if a ringing cell phone was an ice cream truck. "Ice cream sandwiches are on me," he said. So... at least we have that going for us.)

Salons are for Hair and Nails: When Gibbs recognized WaPo's Michael Shear after an unusually early "thank you" from AP's Liz Sidoti to close the briefing, Shear's intro of "On healthcare..." drew laughs from all corners. Rumors of WaPo's salon-style healthcare gatherings with Obama officials and the controversial $25,000 price tag for lobbyist tickets has sparked a significant journalistic ethics debate around town. "The Counsel's office has advised me to ask Mike exactly how much each of these questions is costing," Gibbs cracked. NYT's Jeff Zeleny, next to Shear, made his seatmate squirm as he asked Gibbs to weigh in on the salon idea. RG said no verdict had been rendered but that the salons "would likely exceed what the Counsel would feel, in this case, would be appropriate."

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Ever wonder what President Obama's biggest pet peeve at the White House is (the "shine police") or what the pastry chef's speciality is... the AP's interview with the President today included some fun tidbits we picked up from CBS' Mark Knoller's Twitter feed:

AP asks Obama: Kobe or Michael? "Oh, Michael," he says. "I havent seen anybody match up with Jordan yet." (Move over: boxers or briefs.)

Problem you'd like to have: Obama tells AP the WH pastry chef makes the best pies he's ever tasted. Says hard to resist ordering every nite.

AP intvu: Obama's pet peeve at WH? "The shine police" - makeup folks who "constantly" powder his nose & forehead. "quite irritating" he says

AP's White House correspondent Jennifer Loven has an interview with President Obama today previewing his upcoming trips to Russia, Italy and Ghana July 5-12th, and also on his domestic agenda. The interview will air on all AP platforms- print, TV, radio, online, mobile, etc.

WaPo's Howard Kurtz takes a look at the press following First Lady Michelle Obama these days- NYT's Rachel Swarns, WaPo's Robin Givhan, Newsweek's Allison Samuels, AP's Darlene Superville and Politico's Nia-Malika Henderson- all African American women.

Perhaps this gives them a richer cultural understanding of Obama as a trailblazer. Indeed, most write with enthusiasm, in some cases even admiration, about the first lady as a long-awaited role model for black women...

But if their bosses hoped these staffers would receive special access, some secret-handshake entry into the East Wing -- or even a casual wave at a health clinic -- they were mistaken, at least thus far. None of the beat writers has been granted an interview since the inauguration. Instead, they must piece together a mosaic from glimpses of Obama, who has a limited public schedule and a staff that fiercely guards her privacy and her image. (Other reporters, of varied ethnicities, dip in and out of writing about the first lady.)

Check out the rest of today's Media Notes here.

The White House posted a 29-page list of its employees' salaries late yesterday...

WH press secretary Robert Gibbs, communications director Anita Dunn and director of speechwriting Jon Favreau all cap out at $172,200. WH deputy press secretary Bill Burton still does well, but doesn't quite make the David Axelrod, Rahm Emanuel $172,200 salary.

Hotline "On Call" blog points out "Obama lists 487 employees... Obama has 20 employees making the highest salary possible; Bush had 18." (h/t Playbook)

It feels a little invasive, but you can check out the complete list for yourself here.

Outta Control: CBS's Chip Reid and corps legend Helen Thomas led the charge on the issue of how the WH chose to select questioners and attendees at today's health care town hall. A defensive Press Secretary Robert Gibbs pointed to the submission of questions via Twitter and Facebook and urged reporters to reserve judgment until after they see the broad range of views represented, though Reid maintained that it seemed "tightly controlled." When RG tried to lighten the mood by asking Helen if she had e-mailed a question, she shot back: "I don't have to e-mail it. I can tell you right now what I want to know." She charged the Obama team's press shop with a "control" that she has never seen at the WH: "It's shocking. It's really shocking." Gibbs laughed at the insinuation that he was "controlling the press," and judged: "poorly, I might add."

Rahm and the Floating Smiley Face: Gibbs hailed yesterday's pro-employer health care mandate from Wal-Mart as a "pretty big mindset change on behalf of the nation's largest employer." When CBS Radio's Mark Knoller asked about a threat from West Wing badass Rahm Emanuel, RG replied: "Rahm would appreciate you denoting that he might have twisted or broken an arm," even as the Chief of Staff didn't bully the retail giant.

>>UPDATE: And now the video...

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The White House is pairing up with TubeMogul, a California-based start up Internet company, to distribue and analyze web videos. In an interview with BeetTV, executive David Burch said the White House will use TubeMogul to upload to YouTube and Vimeo, and for analytics on video usage. The deal does not include the White House's in-house video channel, which is managed internally.

We told you earlier today that the Obama campaign scored two top prizes at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Awards.

The media team put out a statement later thanking "all those volunteers, who knocked on doors, hosted events, made phone calls, contributed whatever they could afford and stood in line on Election Day to make their voice heard." And President Obama, who they called "the best client anyone could ever hope to have."

Full statement after the jump...

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Coup-La-La, Day II: Ousted Honduran President Zelaya's prospective visit to the U.S. was the focus of several briefing questions, but Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said most interactions on a potential visit would take place in Foggy Bottom, with no Obama-Zelaya one-on-one planned. The corps continued to question why the Obama team's professed involvement in trying to maintain Honduran stability was not the kind of "meddling" it has avoided in Iran. Gibbs said it was "the understatement of the week" to say the countries are
different, and named distinctions, including a recognized "democratic process" in Honduras that has been thwarted, and the absence of U.S. observers in Iran.

That Other War: With the official withdrawal of U.S. forces from Iraqi cities today, Gibbs declined to project "victory" in the war there, only repeating several times that this was "an important step forward." "We'll keep the banner printers from doing anything crazy," he said, in a shot at Team 43. Gibbs referred to POTUS's campaign trail comments when someone asked if the sacrifice was worth it -- "of course it was," Gibbs said. On VPOTUS's new Iraq portfolio, RG said he'd hate to use the term "mediator," but that Biden will be "working with Sunnis, Shi'a, and Kurds to achieve political reconciliation."

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"Coup-La-La!": Reacting to Sunday's ouster of Honduran President Zelaya, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said that in the days leading to the coup, the administration "was attempting to prevent the type of unrest" that the Latin American nation saw over the weekend. He later called it a "severe disruption in any sort of democratic norm" and said the WH has not changed its recognition of the president of Honduras. He declined to offer further details as more diplomatic posturing gets underway.

Wishing We Were All in England?: Continuing to frustrate a call for more details on POTUS's healthcare bill wish list, Gibbs maintained that the legislation was in the hands of Congress. Several reporters asked whether the Obama campaign pledge to not raise taxes on those below the top bracket is still operable, to which RG repeatedly noted, "We're going to let the process work its way forward." "So it's not?" several replied in unison. As Gibbs brushed off the challenge, CBS's Chip Reid countered, "There's nothing hypothetical about reaffirming a campaign promise." Obama "has laid out pretty clearly what his financing mechanism would be," Gibbs argued. When NBC's Chuck Todd tried one last time, not even appreciative groans welcomed RG's dismissive joke about the combative issue: "I love us playing out Wimbledon without the benefit of a grass tennis court."

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