Liz Sidoti - FishbowlDC

WeinerGate: What do Reporters Think?

Betsy Rothstein — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:02:22 +0000

And the Weiner saga continues. Here’s a quick conversation from this morning’s MSNBC “The Daily Rundown” with host Chuck Todd and reporters, NJ‘s Major Garrett and the AP‘s Liz Sidoti. The conversation, largely intelligent and serious, eventually degenerated into laughter. How could a Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) story about a mysterious weiner photograph not?

Garrett: Well, of all the things that have been somewhat comical and mildly absurd about this story, the idea of Anthony Weiner giving a speech to 45,000 people actually strikes me as among the most absurd.

Todd: He seems overly defensive. It seems he has created a mountain out of what could have been a molehill.

Sidoti: The public is willing to forgive mistakes, errors in judgment. …What the public won’t stand for is cover-ups and charges of hypocrisy.

Garrett: Hacking. Prank. Distraction. No investigation. Nothing operative is happening at the FBI or Capitol Police. Every indication is that he did it. And because he won’t answer, people are going to jump to that conclusion.

Todd: Until he [has] an answer.

Garrett: Or until he can get that 45,000. I’ll be there. [All three journalists break into laughter.]

Todd: [More Laughter] This is what summer in D.C. is like in a non-election. There’s the serious, the speculative and there is silly and surreal. It’s going to be a wonderful 90 days. So glad the heats up. [Laughter]

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FishPoolDC: Our Insider’s Notes from Today’s Press Briefing

Christine — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:47:57 +0000

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.”

continued…

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Liz Sidoti Turns 30…

Patrick — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 10:58:32 +0000

…and celebrates by jumping out of a plane.

From Playbook:

And AP’s Liz Sidoti, who covers the GOP ’08 candidates, plans to celebrate her 30th on Saturday by jumping out of a plane, 41-style.

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