ABC News Radio White House Correspondent Ann Compton is seen here in Ann Hand jewelry she said she needed to get restrung for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend. She was spotted at the National Journal “Making the News” party Friday night at The Powerhouse bar in Georgetown.

Of course, Compton was seen in the V.I.P. section upstairs.

By Eddie Scarry and Betsy Rothstein

National Journal‘s pre-White House Correspondents’ Dinner “Making News” party Friday could easily go down as one of this year’s nicest, most well-planned parties in the coolest warehouse space we’ve seen in awhile. And maybe it will if attendees forget that for a large portion of it, the restroom for hundreds of guests was out of order.

That’s right. There was one toilet available for the entire warehouse full of partygoers, and the top floor, which contained the toilet, was for V.I.P.’s only.

“That’s hood,” one attendee waiting outside the restroom remarked about the potty problem. “Poopgate, drink slowly,” said another, explaining that one employee advised him to pace himself. When Fox News’ Peter Doocy approached the first-floor restroom area, he was told he could not enter. “How long do you think?” he asked the woman standing guard. “Alright, I’ll let it go.” (We sincerely hope he held it in, not let it go.) Another partygoer cracked, “All these people are going to have to piss on themselves. This might be the shortest party ever.”

The attendant said she had people requesting buckets and cups.

The party took place at the two-story bar in Georgetown called The Powerhouse. It was on the bottom floor where they stationed event workers in front of the hall leading to the restroom, alerting guests from about 10 p.m., when the party started, to about 11:30, that the toilets weren’t working. Only that one VIP restroom upstairs was available. But without one of the exclusive red wristbands, how were most of the guests going to relieve themselves?

“If it gets too bad we’ll have to open up the VIP area,” said NJ Communications Director Ben Fishel at the time.

At one point a team of men carrying what looked like… Read more

Actress and pretend Senate hopeful Ashley Judd held court in Atlantic Publisher David Bradley‘s gorgeous kitchen last night at his pre-inaugural bash. The party, dubbed “Downton Bradley” for its hoity-toity guest list, was a who’s who of Washington D.C. where the living room was filled with everyone from TIME‘s Joe Klein, CBS Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett and CBS’s Norah O’Donnell to former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan with wife, NBC Chief Foreign Correspondent Andrea Mitchell, White House correspondent for ABC News Radio Ann Compton, WaPo and MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, Debbie Dingle, wife of Rep. John Dingle (D-Mich.), whose surname persistently comes out “Dungle” on the iPhone, CBS Washington Bureau Chief Chris Isham, Atlantic Publisher Justin Smith, Hungarian Amb. Greg Szapry, Comcast Executive V.P. David Cohen, and AOL Co-founder Steve Case.

The dining room, meanwhile, had its own plateful of D.C. V.I.P.’s — former White House Press Sec. Joe Lockhart, former PBS’ Jim Lehrer (yawn), CNN and Newsweek/The Daily Beast‘s Howard Kurtz, BuzzFeed Bureau Chief John Stanton and reporter Rosie Gray, Roll Call HOH’s Neda Semnani and Warren Rojas, National Journal Publisher Bruce Gottlieb, NJ‘s new spokesman, Ben Fishel (former flack to ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Penistown), Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.), Media Matters), reporter Chris Frates and Atlantic Spokeswoman Natalie Raabe, NJ National Correspondent Ron Fournier, NJ‘s Ron Brownstein and Washingtonian‘s Carol Joynt, who described her recent quick bout with the flu despite having a flu shot. Also in the dining room: Lobbyist Heather Podesta.

In the foyer was a male guest with a neck beard (see pictures after the jump), Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), lobbyist Jack Quinn and wife, Susanna, Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) and outgoing Sec. of State Hilary Clinton‘s former Chief of Staff Melanne Verveer.

It was the kitchen, however, that was the apparent nerve center of Bradley’s house. With beautiful creamy couches and a blazing fireplace, and the surprisingly down-to-earth Bradley in the corner chatting up guests, it was there where we spied on Judd mingling with D.C. insiders such as HuffPost‘s Howard Fineman, who wore a bright pink tie and signature mane of longish silver locks, Bloomberg View‘s Margaret Carlson. Judd was accompanied by an unidentified partially balding man. Also roaming the kitchen was Fineman’s sister, Elizabeth Schroeter, in from Colorado. Asked about her brother, Schroeter said he was a “really good guy.” Judd, with a red flower in her hair, struck various poses throughout the night. Most noteworthy, however, was her stick straight posture, even when sitting, and her ability to stick her chest out when engaged in casual conversation. Let’s just say she was well aware that flashbulbs were capturing her every move.

Out on the enclosed patio were more guests to gawk at and grill.

(Pictured above left: Atlantic Publisher David Bradley)

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Jason Grumet‘s Bipartisan Policy Center has managed to bring both parties together for one night in hosting “A Century of Service” to honor the public lives of former Republican Sen. Maj. Leaders and BPC Founders Howard Baker and Bob Dole. The event is Wednesday evening.

Among the VIP attendees: Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Maj. Leader Harry Reid, Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, Sen. Pat Roberts, Sen. Lamar Alexander, former Sens. Tom Daschle, George Mitchell, Bill Frist, Trent Lott and many others will gather at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium.

As the D’s and R’s come together, hopefully complaining about the elite or liberal media can wane for one evening only.

The invite-only GOP-honored soiree is expected to draw a host of journalists including Ron Brownstein and Ron Fournier of NJ, James Bennett, The Atlantic, Ann Compton and Jonathan Karl, ABC, Peter David, The Economist, Politico‘s Patrick Gavin and Reagan lover James Hohmann, Jim Engel, Fox, , Roll Call‘s Neda Semnani, The Hill‘s Judy Kurtz, Capitol File‘s Sarah Schaffer, The Examiner‘s Paul Bedard and Nikki Schwab, MSNBC’s Chuck Todd, and CNN’s Kathleen Koch.

More details can be found on the homepage of the BPC’s website here.

Politico‘s Byron Tau reported this weekend on White House Press Secretary Jay Carney’s odd word choice at Friday’s press briefing.  Carney surprised the press corps while talking about the current political battle between the White House and Republicans over the payroll tax on Friday. Carney said “Pick your metaphor, window dressing, or gorilla dust”… Wait. Gorilla dust? What the hell is gorilla dust?  Mark Knoller and others in the press immediately picked up on it and asked Carney for clarification. The Double Tongued Dictionary defines it as “bluffing, posturing or hollow attempts at intimidation.” Of all the analogies floating around Washington, we’ve never encountered Gorilla Dust before. So we reached out to Jared Rizzi, Producer & Washington Correspondent for POTUS Radio on SiriusXM, who interacts with Carney on a regular basis. He says this isn’t the first time he has heard the expression. He tells FishbowlDC that an old Political Science Professor at the University of Notre Dame used to say it.

Video of Carney’s explanation below.

There are a few different ways to look at ABC White House Correspondent Ann Compton. Her lookalikes include conservative commentator Bay Buchanan and former first lady Laura Bush.

On Dec. 13, several Washington female journos will convene to discuss their experiences on the campaign trail and the upcoming presidential election.

The reporters — ABC’s Ann Compton, NPR’s Mara Liasson, and WaPo‘s Karen Tumulty — will join The Atlantic’s Linda Douglass in a candid conversation at the Newseum. The event, which boasts a coffee and dessert reception, is being underwritten by ExxonMobil. A description: “With the 2012 election looming and popular interest in the political press corps surging, the discussion will combine analysis of the election and insight into political strategy as the evolution of women’s presence in political reporting and what it’s like to be a woman on the trail.”

More info: Contact Elizabeth Vargas at evargas@theatlantic.com.

Photo L to R: Rick Klein, Robin Sproul, Richard Kaplan, Ross Levinsohn, Jonathan Karl, Amy Walter, Joe Ruffolo.

If you didn’t make it up to the rooftop of 101 Constitution Ave for Yahoo! News’ swanky soiree on Wednesday night, here’s a quick recap of what you missed:  Thrown by event extraordinaire Philip Dufour, the party was held in large part to welcome new DC bureau chief David Chalian.  In addition, the newsgroup used the opportunity to kick off their 2012 campaign coverage plans and to raise a glass to their partnership with ABC News.

Ross Levinsohn, Yahoo! EVP of the Americas  (and American University alum),  spoke about Yahoo! News’ expanding editorial coverage and presence in Washington to a crowd that included many familiar faces from ABC’s DC bureau:  Ann Compton, Jonathan Karl, Rick Klein, Polson Kanneth, Richard Kaplan, Amy Walter and Robin Sproul.  Also in attendance were WaPo‘s Dana Milbank, Neil Patel of the Daily Caller, NJ’s Chris Frates, Jane Mayer from the New Yorker, CNN’s Dan Lothian and Alex Mooney, Politico’s Marty Kady and Keach Hagey, Judy Kurtz of The Hill, NBC’s Adam Verdugo, MSNBC’s Karen Finney, CQ Roll Call’s Mark Walters and FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski.

Washington is known for its “important” power lists. Most publications have them. There are lists for top lobbyists like Washingtonian‘s “Hired Guns: The City’s 50 Top Lobbyists.” Both The Hill and Roll Call also boast top lobbyist lists. There are lists for important people everywhere (TIME‘s 100), for socialites (Washington Life‘s Young and the Guest List) and there’s FNC’s “Power Player of the Week.” This week The Hill presented their annual summer “50 Most Beautiful People of Capitol Hill.”

Politico‘s 50 to Watch party Thursday night at Barcode in downtown D.C. was unusual in that not even those attending knew whether they had made the list or whether they were just being invited to a party with booze and balloons.

“I had no idea. I had no clue,” remarked ABC News White House Correspondent Ann Compton on her way into the party upon discovering that she’d made the list under the category of New Deans of the White House Press Corps. “What fun!” She continued, “Having been here since I was brand new at 27, to be discovered is really cool.”

Many who didn’t make the list made jokes. NRSC Spokesman Brian Walsh told me he was unofficially #51. And Sen. John Thune‘s (R-S.D.) press secretary Kyle Downey agreed to be #53. Walsh’s illustrious dog, Rudy, slid in at #52.

HuffPost-AOL Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington showed up just to mingle. She knew she hadn’t made the list. Former Sen. Fred Thompson (R-Tenn.) made the list and few understood why with all the “formers” in his title.

The concept of a power list? “It’s very Washington,” said a GOP flack at the party who wished to remain anonymous.

A sampling of who made the list: CBS News’ Mark Knoller and Bill Plante, American Urban Radio’s April Ryan,  fundraisers like Alison Baker of Straus Baker, Paula Dukes of Rizzo Dukes Group, Joanna Brooks, a religion columnist, Greg Giroux of Bloomberg Government, David Waldman, a liberal blogger. TV Faces included Brett Baier (FNC), Sam Feist (CNN), David Gregory (NBC), Phil Griffin (MSNBC) and Norah O’Donnell (CBS).

Waiters and bartenders at the party had chiseled physiques and wore tight-fitting Politico T-shirts. “What’s not to like?” replied one waiter when asked if he liked the T-shirt. “It says Politico. And then people ask me what Politico is and I have no idea.”

Oh, look! Another White House Dean. April Ryan, a correspondent for American Urban Radio who most recently landed a seat on the WHCA board, also made the list. Like Compton, she was surprised and tickled to make the cut. “It’s amazing,” she said. “I’m thankful. It’s nice that someone recognized the work I do. I wasn’t doing anything to be recognized. I just do my job. It’s an honor.”

WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart was in the crowd. Asked what these power lists accomplish, he replied, “The most important thing they do is they let people know quite possibly who they should be paying attention to in a serious manner rather than the folks they are already paying attention to. Most of the time the people we think are important aren’t as important as we think they are or they think they are.”

Politico‘s Mike Allen (pictured above in a photograph that makes him look like a cartoon character) had a different, POLITICO (all caps) sort of response when asked to comment on the list. “This is the next generation of newsmakers,” he said. “These are the people who are going to win the cycle.”

Some were excited about the list. “I like the lists,” said ABC’s Polson Kanneth. “Everyone loves a good list.”

As mentioned earlier, The Hill‘s “50 Most Beautiful People of Capitol Hill” came out this week. Party banter inevitably turned to it. One male who had previous been on the beauty list expressed shock over this year’s list. He looked almost embarrassed to have once been on it. Another partygoer expressed outrage, “It’s not just that they were not that attractive. It’s that some were actively ugly.”

While the bar quickly filled with political and media types who appeared to be enjoying themselves, not everyone there was so hot on the concept of power lists. An intern from Ghana perusing the 50 Politicos to Watch glossy magazine at the bar remarked on lists like this in general: “They’re all corrupt. But I have no evidence to prove that.”

And there was publicist Janet Donovan, who also doesn’t appear to think much of lists. “I hate lists,” said Donovan. Drifting into the crowd of important people and those watching them, she added, “They’re condescending.”

For more on the White House Deans, read Politico Patrick Gavin‘s story here.

Find out who else was in the crowd…

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Today is the birthday of “the man the White House wakes up to.” That’s Politico‘s Playbook Author Mike Allen, who was born in 1964 in Orange County, Calif.

You won’t see this news in his own birthday section — he’s not that sort of guy. So we wanted to shower him with Happy Birthday wishes here. (h/t ABC’s Jonathan Karl, who tweeted the news this morning, saying, “Happy Birthday Mike Allen, the one birthday you won’t read about in Playbook.”)

We have remarks from a special person in Allen’s life: NJ‘s Marc Ambinder, who lobbed a public grenade at Playbook last week at the Page One screening/panel at the Newseum. Ambinder specifically criticized Allen’s select birthday listings for “further politicizing Washington” and for “pushing the Administration’s agenda.” The pair later exchanged relative niceties over email.

Ambinder’s birthday message for Allen is as follows: “Happy Birthday to the best-sourced, most jealousy-inducing and nicest journo I know (and like to occasionally public tweak).”

NYT‘s Mark Leibovich, who wrote the immense 2010 profile on Allen, remarked, “Is it his birthday? If it wasn’t in Playbook, how can we be sure he (or anyone) was really born? It’s the DC equivalent of the long-form birth certificate.”

When asked for birthday comments for Allen, Politico Editor-in-Chief John Harris wrote: “Mike and I have known each other for 20 years–we were both young reporters in Richmond–and I think we’ve been friends longer than any of his other Washington colleagues. He was a force of nature then and is a force of nature now. One of the most exceptional journalists of his generation, and one of the most exceptional people.”

We at FishbowlDC wish Allen a very Happy Birthday.

UPDATE: ABC’s Ann Compton tweeted a birthday message to Allen today. She wrote, “Happy Birthday to the guy in the only picture on my WH booth wall.” See the photograph after the jump…

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