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Posts Tagged ‘Mark Silva’

West Wing Reportage

Reporters May Be Getting Laid Off Left And Right, But At Least They’re Eating Well

By Patrick on October 10, 2008 2:15 PM

From a White House pool report…penned by the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Silva:

    En route to Florida we ate a turkey, tomato and cheese melt, open face, on toast, some really sweet and drippy macaroni salad, good, hard dirty potato chips and a big pickle, topped off with tiny cheese cake squares. Anxiety, as the president said, feeds anxiety.

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West Wing Reportage

This Week In Pool Reports

By Patrick on March 14, 2008 12:49 PM

This week in pool reports, Mark Silva asks, “It’s 1 pm at the White House. The pool call rings. The pool’s asleep. Who’re you going to trust?”

  • “POTUS met with the Prime Minister of Poland today and your pooler was in the Oval Office when they spoke to the media afterward. The room was very crowded as there were about a dozen Polish journalists in attendance. Also, and this was interesting, the entire exchange was done with translators. See transcript for actual remarks. … We can’t imagine that both leaders coordinated their attire for today’s meeting, but it can be noted, in case anyone cares, that although they both wore dark suits with white button shirts, POTUS wore a light blue tie while PMOP wore a red tie. POTUS also wore an American Flag lapel pin, as is customary.” — Malia Rulon, Gannett News Service

  • “POTUS had a late night on Saturday at the Gridiron Dinner and lost an hourto Daylight Saving. But he was still up early to go mountain biking on acrisp, bright Sunday morning. He emerged from the White House in his mountain biking gear at 8.42am and the motorcade pulled away moments later, arriving at the Beltsville Secret Service training facility at 9.05am. Pool watched Ferris Bueller’s Day Off on TV in the break room — still as funny 21 years later — while POTUS go this exercise.” — Andrew Ward, The Financial Times

  • “No sightings. No news. No nothing. Please check with your cordial Pentagon sources for word on what went on during just under two hour session.” — Ken Herman, Cox Newspapers

  • “He also recalled that his father, Richard Cheney, went through boot camp at Great Lakes during World War II. When his father came home on leave, when Cheney was 4, he explained to young Dick he was a yeoman in the Navy, showing the bird-like insignia on his shoulder. ‘I concluded that when Dad was at home, he was just Dad — but when he went back to the Navy, he turned into a bird,’ Cheney said. ‘So you see, very early in life, I decided that the United States Navy could do just about anything.’” — Matt Stearns, McClatchy Newspapers

  • “POTUS left the White House about 9:23 a.m. for an uneventful motorcade ride down Pennsylvania Avenue and up 6th St. NW to the Washington Convention Center and a tour of and speech to the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference. … Second tour stop: a Mack truck with a hybrid Volvo engine. Third tour stop: A GE wind energy exhibit. Your pool did hear a snatch of POTUS comment during that one: ‘We’ve got a lot in Texas,’ presumably referring towind-powered energy.” — Jonathan Riskind, Columbus Dispatch

  • “Oops…. That pool report should have said King Abdullah II, not Hussein. My apologies.” — Linda Feldmann, The Christian Science Monitor

  • “Outside in the sunshine, Barney, methinks, was trying to snatch a soccer ball with his jaws. The black dog chased the white ball around the South Lawn and across the driveway to the Oval Office side barking at the ball repeatedly. There are buds on the cherry trees in the Rose Garden, and this is it for the pool.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

  • “It’s 1 pm at the White House. The pool call rings. The pool’s asleep. Who’re you going to trust?” — Silva

  • “Pres bush exited plane in waco carrying one of the two black Scottish terriers, probably barney and not the lesser-favored female (name? Ms Beasley?) Boarded marine one.” — Nick Lewis, New York Times

  • “We walked down the colonnade towards lower press, but when we came to the door, an agent asked us to stop. It wasn’t clear at first why, and one reporter asked if he could go through, before realizing that VPOTUS was standing inside the doorway, waiting to walk through. VPOTUS said he would stand aside and let us go through. ‘Surely not,’ the reporter said. ‘I insist,’ said VPOTUS. And so the intrepid reporter went through into lower press. The rest of us were not so bold, or brash, depending on your point of view. We basically stood there until it was clear that VPOTUS would have to walk through. He rolled his eyes and smiled, and said, ‘I tried,’ and then strolled on past, in the direction of the east wing.” — Jon Ward, The Washington Times

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    West Wing Reportage

    This Week In Pool Reports

    By Patrick on January 24, 2008 1:57 PM

    Dubai is fancy fancy. POTUS gets his groove on and do you know what goat brain tastes like? Ask Mark Silva.

  • “Bush greeted, shook hands and posed for pictures with workers throughout the facility, and used ‘hola’ to greet the numerous Hispanic workers. At the conclusion of the tour, Bush delivered his remarks on the need for an economic stimulus package, and admiring the ‘Stander,’ asked Wright to ‘crank this sucker up.’ After receiving a demonstration from Wright, Bush took the reigns, going forwards and backwards on the ‘Stander’ while waving to the press corps. Bush called it a ‘fine looking machine.’” — Andy Leonatti, CongressDaily.

  • “Air force one took off at 2:29 after a fairly sluggish motorcade made its way past the Egyptian security guards staring out at the desert, the mountains and the sea. The security guards tried to stop our back part of the convoy at the airport, but only for a moment. No gaggle. In fact, no anything, except cheeseburger and fries, followed by lasagne, with a couple of movies in between.” — Daniel Dombey, Financial Times

  • “While a crush of about 40 mostly local photographers held a scrum on a stairway, a voice from the top of the stairs called out, ‘I would like to answer your questions! Any questions? Too late.’ And with that, POTUS turned around and disappeared into his meeting.” — Richard Wolf, USA Today

  • “The president wore a full-length robe, which was black, with bluish-silver trim, and he seemed eminently pleased. Only later, when he sat beside the king and took it off, did it become clear that the robe was lined with fur. A Saudi said that the robe is called a farw — the pool looked up the spelling. Ambassador Fraker, Bolton, Gillespie, Perino and Elliot Abams followed in their own robes, or fara. Abrams, when asked by Newsweek, said he was allowed to keep it, suggesting these were gifts for all. A few minutes after the main group, Rice arrived, fresh from Baghdad and wearing no robe.” — Steven Lee Myers, The New York Times

  • “Al Jandriyah Farm might have conjured images of the dusty scrub of Crawford, for those who have been there, or even horse country in Kentucky, but in fact it is a 2,000-acre of oasis in the desert, reminding the pool more of a golf resort than anything like last night’s desert encampment outside Abu Dhabi.” — Myers

  • Trainers lead out four of the king’s horses, which mostly just posed; they were very nice looking animals. Among them was Alysheba, the winner of the Kentucky Derby in 1987 (in a time of 2:03 2/5, for those who follow these matters). The horse, now 24, was said to be the king’s prized champion, and is a now a retired stud. Apparently his first owner was a Texan, but that requires further research. A foreign trainer there, whose name unfortunately the pool didn’t have time to get as the pool was rushed to the motorcade, said that Alysheba won $6.5 million ‘back when money was money,’ making the pool wonder what was considered money now, if not that.” — Myers

  • “Your pool caught up with the president at an arrival ceremony at the palace/museum open-air entrance area, as the program was already underway. With drums beating and performers chanting, he held a sword over his right shoulder, and swayed arm-in-arm to the music with his host, identified as Prince Salman, the governor of Riyadh. He seemed to get into the dance, leaning further to the right and then left and slightly dipping his shoulders as he shifted his balance. He displayed a sheepish grin. He was wearing a blue suit; no overcoat.” — Jim Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times

  • “Each was asked to introduce himself and his/her company before speaking. The president went first and said: ‘I’m George W. Bush. I’m the president of the United States.’” — Gerstenzang

  • “The motorcade rolled from the cultural center in Dubai at 12:50 pm local and rolled out along Dubai Creek, with its relatively low high-rises, and then on through downtown, with its relatively high high-rises. What will be the world’s tallest building is only one among many with cranes atop them in a city that appears intent on building an instant high-rise skyscape. Dramatic curves and points and odd balancing acts seem to drive the edgy architecture. We headed to the legendary hotel, the Burj el Arab, and on the way we passed Ski Dubai, the indoor ski slope which contains five slopes and looks, from the outside, like an overblown air mattress. It’s supposed to be freezing cold in there. It’s warm and balmy out here. At the Burj el Arab, a white, tall, sail-like building on the beach, actually built out on a jetty jutting into the water, we marveled at the lofty helipad at the top where some tennis stars have played for a promotional event.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

  • “There was goat brain on the buffet in the pool hold in Dubai today. I cannot report what it tastes like.” — Silva

  • “The drizzle had ended by the dance’s end, and then four robed men came out with hunting falcons on their arms — fabulous big birds of light brown tones with dark markings, and they approached Bush, who briefly took a bird on his arm and handed it back. ‘Beautiful birds,’ Bush said. With this, we were led out and motorcaded to the cultural center past the famous Dubai creek, which was not active on this national holiday — declared so for the Bush visit. Your pooler dubbed it Freedom Day.” — Silva

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    West Wing Reportage

    This Week In Pool Reports

    By Patrick on January 16, 2008 1:55 PM

    The holidays and the primaries have given us a backlog of pool reports, but there are some gems in here, including holiday plans, the royal treatment of the presidential pups, and the “biggest bling” the Secret Service has ever seen.

  • “President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice lighted candles and stood silently in the grotto, believed to be the birthplace of Jesus Christ, down steep stone steps beneath the altar of the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. A guide named below explained the setting but neither Bush nor Rice said anything there audible to your pool.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

  • Peres made some highly complimentary comments to POTUS, saying that POTUS has ‘introduced character into politics,’ and then discussed the peace process. Transcript coming. POTUS joked back to Mr. Peres that he was ‘following your example,’ prompting Mr. Peres to remark, ‘Be careful.’ POTUS then said, ‘I come as an optimistic person and as a realistic person. I come with high hopes.’” — Jon Ward, Washington Times

  • “No news, except this bipartisan shocker: Rahm Emanuel will be with POTUS all day today. (No, he didn’t fly in on the plane.) Your pool will refrain from smart aleck remarks.” — Sheryl Stolberg, New York Times

  • “Your bleary eyed pool reported at 7:15 a.m. for a Saturday morning of vicarious exercise. We loaded into the 13-vehicle motorcade at 7:25 for some quality van time. POTUS, wearing a bright blue biking jacket, climbed into his SUV at 8:23. Two bicycles, emblazoned with ‘United States of America,’ were mounted on a backup vehicle. The trip to the Secret Service training facility in Beltsville was uneventful. The exerciser in chief and his entourage entered the Beltsville complex at 8:48 while his journalistic camp followers trooped into the visitor’s center and sampled its culinary delights.” — Dave Cook, The Christian Science Monitor

  • “At Camp David with the president and first lady, according to the White House, are their twin daughters, Barbara and Jenna; the first lady’s mother, Jenna Welch; the president’s sister, Doro Bush Koch, and her family; and the
    president’s brother, Marvin, and his family. ‘Like most Americans,’ Perino said, the president was ‘enjoying time with his family.’” — Bob Hillman, Politico

  • “Earlier, your pool arrived on the plane to find the presidential pooches, Barney and Miss Beazley, scampering about the press cabin. The door to the guest cabin was open and, in a new spirit for the new year, White House staff accomodated your pool’s request for a tour. The president’s housekeeper sat the dogs in the comfy cabin chairs: Beazley
    scampered onto the table to sniff the array of candies and M and Ms.
    Those dogs ride in style.” — Stolberg

  • “Ed spent the weekend at the ranch and was initiated in the protocol of presidential brush-clearing to make a path for the biker-in-chief. ‘I did not get to use the chain saw,’ says the counselor. ‘I was relegated to the raking. New guy.’ The Bushes spent New Year’s eve with two other couples, friends from Texas. The girls and Jenna Welch had already gone. They did not stay up to watch the motorcycle dude fly across the football field, as did your pooler (and as did Gillespie himself, in the staff trailer on the ranch, after grilling some steaks with other staffers.)” — Stolberg

  • “Some color now on the enormous bling given to POTUS at the palace, after the receiving line and before the meeting. It is a large encrusted necklace with a medallion at the bottom — the medallion was handcrafted by skilled artisans with 18K gold, and it has a handpainted enamel American flag. The necklace is set with hundreds of natural, precious rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Secret Service called it the biggest bling they’ve ever seen–photogs came up with official bling of the highest order.” — Ward

  • “At 7:33 POTUS came through a door across the room from us, and an officer said, ‘Attention on deck.’ All the sailors stood, and the officer said, ‘At ease.’ The sailors broke into loud and enthusiastic applause as POTUS walked into the room and waved to them. POTUS then walked to the chow line and joined in with a few sailors — he grabbed a plate and deposited pancakes and bacon on the plate, adding a generous dose of syrup to the flapjacks. He stood in chow line next to Seaman Kevin Key, an intel specialist from Wisconsin, and said, ‘Smile, your mother may be watching,’ prompting laughter from press and some sailors who heard. POTUS also joked with photographer Pablo Monsivais of the AP, seeing him and saying, ‘Pablooo.’ He also spoke to Matt Spetalnick of Reuters, saying ‘thank you for all the suggestions, I can figure out what to eat,’ after Matt and another reporter suggested he scoop up some eggs or fruit.
    POTUS then sat down at a table in the middle of the room, and the pool was ushered out.” — Ward

  • “Having just experienced the joys myself of a dry state in Kuwait, I was also interested to learn that in Bahrain, Wednesday night is when things go wild. That’s because many Saudis drive across the causeway connecting the two countries to escape their countries’ alcohol ban.” — Ward

  • “After touching down at the Al Asyl Landing Zone, our caravan wends down a straight but hilly road thru desert, a few camels on the right, another incomg helo about to land. Tufts of grass among the sand. A group of four horses further along on the other side. Vast areas of nothing and noone except three riders on horseback along other side of fence-fences lining parts of roadway. The road changes from paved and becomes all wet sand. Rain is now dripping all over the van windshield, yet there is a hazy backlight illuminating the clouds.” — Jane Aaron, Chicago Jewish News

  • “The Crown Prince shows POTUS aprx six falcons which are perched on stands about a foot off the ground in the left center area. The Crown Prince picks one up and pets it and POTUS also admires and strokes the bird. The men spend time enjoying the creatures and then turn to a small tent perpindicular to the first one.” — Aaron

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    West Wing Reportage

    One Of These Kids Is Doing His Own Thing

    By Patrick on January 16, 2008 1:55 PM

    Mark Silva…abroad.

    DSC02932_2.jpg

    More photos and Middle East trip details from the Washington Times’ Jon Ward.

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    Taking Out The Trash

    Morning Reading List, 12.11.07

    By Patrick on December 11, 2007 9:58 AM

    4345057.jpg

    Good morning Washington. It’s the birthday of Sen. John Kerry and Nikki Sixx, a motley crew indeed.

    Quickly navigate Morning Reading List:

    NEWSPAPERS | ONLINE MEDIA | MAGAZINES | RADIO | REVOLVING DOOR | JOBS

  • You think Huckabee’s AIDS comments will not stop Huck-mentum.

    NEWSPAPERS

  • Vote for debate questions on Politico’s new debate page.

  • Why did a sports writer write the Post’s profile of Hillary Clinton?

  • From the Post:

      The menorah that President and Laura Bush lighted at last night’s White House Hanukkah party had special significance: It’s owned by the family of Daniel Pearl, the Wall Street Journal reporter who was kidnapped and killed in Pakistan in 2002. The menorah originally belonged to his great-grandparents, Chaim and Rosa Pearl, who took it with them from Poland to Israel in 1924. Pearl’s parents, Judea and Ruth Pearl, were on hand for the ceremony.

  • The New York Observer reports, “Sarah Ellison, the Wall Street Journal media reporter who has been covering Rupert Murdoch’s takeover of Dow Jones, will write a book about the transformation of the news media, to be published by Houghton Mifflin in 2009. According to a posting on Publishers Marketplace announcing the deal, the story of Mr. Murdoch’s acquisition of The Journal will be the centerpiece of Ms. Ellison’s book.”

  • “The International Herald Tribune announced plans Monday to transform its financial section online and in print next month by forging an alliance with the news agency Reuters.”

  • David Carr writes, “At the end of the 1990s, I was editor of The Washington City Paper, a weekly with a history of excellence built by Jack Shafer (now the press critic for Slate), and owned by a group of college friends turned businessmen who also owned The Chicago Reader. In the time I worked for them, I was impressed by their constancy and their willingness to support good work in the belief that if you produced quality journalism, the business would look after itself. In the case of The Reader, it seems like that turned out not to be true.”

    Top of post

    ONLINE MEDIA

  • Check out Ezra Klein’s new online digs.

    Top of post

    MAGAZINES

  • “Fortune suspends disbelief with Cheney”

  • The Bobbleheads continue.

  • Radar’s John Cook writes, “When Joe Klein signed up with Time magazine as a political columnist in 2003, he turned to this quote from Teddy Roosevelt for the name of his weekly dispatch, which he dubbed ‘In the Arena’ … Klein has written that he intended the reference as a sort of self-effacing rebuke, a constant reminder that he is but a humble critic who chronicles the doings of deeds. But to believe that interpretation, one must ignore the fact that Klein’s body of work amounts to little more than a festival of projection and poorly disguised vanity.”

  • The Verse Magazine’s re-launch party is this Wednesday. Check it out here.

    Top of post

    RADIO

  • From DCRTV:

      DCRTV hears that WTOP will interrupt the all-news flow to air a sports event – the first time since dropping the Orioles after the 2000 season. Navy has made it into the Poinsetta Bowl. The 12/20 football game would normally air on WTOP’s sister, talker 3WT, but there is a conflict because the hockey Capitals are playing that night. And a Bonneville source tells DCRTV: “We honor our contracts.” WTOP will make sure there is room for news, traffic, and weather updates during the Navy game, which will air at 8 PM. The Navy coaches pre-game show will air on 3WT before the Caps…..

    He also hears that “No Big Changes Coming To MAL.”

    And while you’re at it, submit your nominations for the “Best/Worst” of 2007.

  • Check out Mark Silva on “On the Media.”

  • Ad Week reports, “Two months ago, when wildfires scorched hundreds of square miles in Southern California, forcing the evacuation of a half-million people, listenership spiked on KNX Radio, the CBS-owned outlet in Los Angeles. But the uptick wasn’t for the station’s on-air signal; listeners had instead tuned into the station on the Internet.”

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    REVOLVING DOOR

  • Morgan Felchner has left Campaigns & Elections magazine.

    Top of post

    JOBS

  • Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine is seeking a hard-nosed political reporter with a talent for feature writing.

  • American Chemical Society is seeking a Copy Editor

  • Chemical & Engineering News is looking for a Web Associate and a Production Editor.

    Top of post

    Hat Tips: DCRTV, TVNewser, IWantMedia, Romenesko, MediaBistro, JournalismJobs, JournalismNext

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    West Wing Reportage

    This Week In Pool Reports

    By Patrick on September 25, 2007 2:53 PM

    It seems sometimes, there really is nothing exciting to report from the pool, except when POTUS and a Prime Minister dress alike.

  • “You might think that being leader of the free world means never having to sit in traffic but you would be wrong. A short construction-related traffic delay on New York Avenue briefly slowed what was an otherwise uneventful trip to the Secret Service training facility in Beltsville, for what we’re told was some bike riding by President George W. Bush.” — Craig Gordon, Newsday

  • “Unfortunately, your pooler has nothing terribly interesting to report. The room had been well prepared for a brief, 30-second tour by a group of reporters. A text display near the ceiling had been set to read ‘unclassified.’ The huge video monitors displayed the public Web sites of the NSA, DHS and other agencies. Digital clocks showed time for Hawaii, Colorado, Texas, Georgia, Kabul, Zulu, Local and…I can’t read my notes for the last one. It might have said Baghdad. Cameras were allowed in, but, for some reason, no sound recording equipment.” — Sean Musseden, Media General News Service

  • “Standard drill: President in arm chair; PM to his right in similar arm char. Both in dark blue/gray suits; white shirts, nearly identical blue ties.” — Jim Gerstenzang, Los Angeles Times

  • “During flight, the VP, sometimes aka senior administration official, completely missed an oportunity to yuk it up with the pool, But we did eat light salads — avocado, ham, turkey and blue cheese chunks served on a bed of lettuce with hard-boiled egg slices — and garlic rolls en route.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

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    Networks

    Ann Compton: The FishbowlDC Interview

    By Patrick on July 31, 2007 9:55 AM

    comptonintpic2.JPG Say hello to ABC’s Ann Compton.

    What word do you routinely misspell? In this administration: subpoena.

    What’s the name of your cell phone ring? silent — the President hates to be interrupted during photo ops. (I misspell interrupted, too.)

    What time did you get up this morning? 5:20a

    When did you last cry and why? Actually, I can’t remember.

    How many emails do you receive a day, roughly? afternoon rush hour sometimes 400 — all work related.

    What’s your favorite letter? a gentle handwritten apology from Bush41 after he snapped at one of my questions.

    Read the rest when you click below…(and see previous FishbowlDC interviews: Julie Mason, David Shuster, Joe Curl, Alex Pareene, Peter Beinart, Jonah Goldberg, Megyn Kendall, Ana Marie Cox, Jim Brady, Howard Mortman, Amy Argetsinger, Jose Antonio Vargas, Chuck Todd, Tom Gottlieb, Kelly Ann Collins, David von Drehle, David Lat, Mark Leibovich, Zain Verjee, David Plotz, Paul Kane, Karen Travers, Mark Halperin, Hugo Gurdon, Greg Kelly,Ken Rudin, John Dickerson, Anne Schroeder, Spencer Ackerman, Bret Baier, Bob Sellers, Greta van Susteren, Danielle Jones, Jonathan Salant, John McCalla, Pam Hess, Ryan Grim, Marc Ambinder, Marty Kady, Jack Shafer, Annie Lou Bayly, Jerry Zremski, Charlie Cook, Dave Hughes, Howard Fineman, Katie Tarbox, Mark Segraves, Chris Cillizza, Tom Sietsema, Bill Triplett, Robin Givhan, David Brody, Norah O’Donnell, Carl Cannon, Jordan Lieberman, David Folkenflik, Molly Henneberg, Ernesto Londono, Brody Mullins, Aaron Blake, Martha Raddatz, Andrew Sullivan, Christina Bellantoni, Shane Harris, Nora McAlvanah, Adam Nagourney, Erin McPike, Mike Memoli, Ju-Don Marshall Roberts, Arthur Delaney, Chris Mincher, Rachel Sklar, Laura Sullivan, Jeff Kosseff, Matthew Cooper, Scott McCrary, Dan Reilly, Jennifer Griffin, Ari Shapiro, Jonathan Kaplan, Rick Klein, Mike Allen, Olivier Knox, Erik Wemple, Nathan Burchfiel, Andrea Mitchell, Mike DeBonis, Anne Kornblut, April Ryan, Amy Morris, Keith Koffler, <strong>Mark Silva)

    Also, drop us a line to let us know who else you’d like FishbowlDC to interview. They must work in the Washington area and you must include their email address.

    Read more

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    West Wing Reportage

    Mark Silva’s Fingers Hurt

    By Patrick on July 2, 2007 11:50 AM

    When he travelled with First Lady Laura Bush on her recent Africa tour, the Chicago Tribune’s Mark Silva filed hugely long and hugely impressive pool reports.

    Word count so far on all of them? Over 20,000, making it just as long as the Washington Post’s “Angler” series on Vice President Dick Cheney.

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    West Wing Reportage

    This Week In Pool Reports

    By Patrick on June 18, 2007 1:50 PM

    This week in the pool reports, POTUS has car trouble, he passes up the chance to try jump rope and there is a Polish Barney.

  • “President Bush used his appearance at the Hispanic prayer breakfast to keep up the pressure for a comprehensive immigration reform package. It was a welcome message to a friendly audience of Latino religious leaders, given in a familiar formulation and between bouts of presidential throat-clearing. Seasonal allergies or a cold, perhaps?” — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas Morning News

  • “The motorcade had a military helo escort to Fiumicino Rome International Airport, and, surprise, surprise, as Gomer Pyle would say — the 747 AFOne awaited us, after we had been told the runway was too short in Albania for big bird. Maybe a rich uncle built a runway this week? We do share core values.” — Mark Silva, Chicago Tribune

  • “The motorcade from the Vatican to the U.S. embassy moved through busy downtown streets lined with curious onlookers, many packing digital cameras. Dozens and dozens of cops also lined the route. And, here at least, there were no signs of the strong anti-Bush sentiment that pervades this country. Not far from the embassy, the president’s car stalled, stopping the motorcade for maybe five minutes. It eventually started back up and completed the trip. But right at the embassy gates, the limo had troublesqueezing through gate so Bush got out, reportedly waved to the crowd and walked in.” — Michael Fletcher, Washington Post

  • “Teeny news flash: ‘Fine thanks,’ POTUS says, asked how he feels. But he doesn’t look it.” — Sheryl Stolberg, New York Times

  • “We drove down some winding roads to reach the Polish president’s spectacular seaside retreat. It is very wooded — sort of the Polish Camp David — but right on the sea, which is truly sparkling. President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria, along with their dog Titus, a black Barney lookalike, greeted Potus and Flotus at the centerpiece building of this five villa estate.” — Stolberg

  • “Bush spent about a half an hour at the new facilities of the Boys and Girls Club of South Central Kansas, which are very impressive. As we awaited POTUS entry into the spanking new gymnasium, AP White House reporter Deb Reichmann took an impressive whirl in the jump rope line, but Bush declined an offer to join in when he showed up. ‘No thank you,’ he laughed. He noted to one little girl, ‘Looks hard,’ and she concurred, ‘It’s hard.’” — Michael Abramowitz, Washington Post

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