At 4 p.m. Mika Brzezinkzi will appear at Politics & Prose to promote her new book, Obsessed: America’s Food Addiction – and My Own. Then at 6:30 p.m. she heads to Politico Playbook cocktails at the Mayflower where she’ll be joined by Co-host Joe Scarborough. Together they’ll face the evil, formidable duo of Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei.

Watch out Mika! Maybe bow out now?

We’re joking, of course. With Politico and MSNBC increasingly solidifying an iron-strong bond with Joe writing a blog for Politico and Politico reporters appearing on their show several times a week, no doubt the interview will be as relaxed as can be as they have an “evening conversation” about politics and Mika’s new book.

Want to attend Politico Playbook cocktails? Sign up here.

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Robert Allbritton

“While it would be sad to see our TV partners in someone else’s hands, the 44-year-old innovator made clear this would be amazingly good news for POLITICO — and future new media companies like it that he plans to invest heavily in over the coming months. ‘This is the Golden Age of new media innovation, and I intend to stay on the leading edge of it,’ Robert said in an email to the staff. ‘So, I will be looking to invest in or launch media companies that follow the POLITICO model of dominating targeted coverage – and then using multiple revenue streams to profitably fund it.’”

Clearly it’s not easy to imitate the “POLITICO model.” Allbritton scrapped TBD, the online thingamjig that was supposed to zone in on local coverage but focused on all kinds of other crap such as how asparagus can make your urine stink, about a year after it began.

See the full memo from Allbritton here.

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In the piece, Allen refers to himself as one of Washington’s “top journalists” and he and VandeHei speculate that Allen is the focus of “at least a chapter” in NYT Chief National Correspondent Mark Leibovich‘s forthcoming book This Town.

“We won’t love the book, either,” Allen and VandeHei write. “It is clear that POLITICO and [Allen's] Playbook are portrayed as enablers of the culture Leibovich lampoons.”

Aside from Politico‘s “Behind the Curtain” the story being largely about… continued…

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A SWAK for FNC’s Ed Henry: In this morning’s Politico Playbook, Mike Allen slathers movie popcorn style butter onto White House Correspondents’ Association Prez Henry by calling him the “assertive guardian of the organization’s brand” for threatening legal action against GBK, a marketing firm that wanted to open a “gifting suite” for celebs attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner this weekend. Come on, Mike Allen, this wasn’t necessary. Yes, yes, we all adore Henry for the de-celebrification of this year’s WHCD and for acting like he doesn’t know what BuzzFeed is. But stop the madness. For one thing, it’s too late to widen the hallways of the Washington Hilton so Ed’s head can fit through. For another, the news spoke for itself — the organization apologized. See the item in today’s edition.

FBDC Fever: Just to show we’re not immune, FBDC’s own Eddie Scarry tweeted out “Morning Chatter” last night, writing the following. By the way, hugs for Eddie. I appreciate the compliment and we factor stuff like this into raises, so don’t stop on my account.

Every single one of today’s Morning Chatter entries is good. ow.ly/kmg8o via @fishbowldc

— Eddie Scarry (@eScarry) April 24, 2013

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Players (yes, some will just be watching): Reps. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.); Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.); Daniel Lipinski (D-Ill.); Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.); Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.); Luke Messer (R-Ind.); Jim McDermott (D-Wash.); Dave Reichert (R-Wash.); Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) (she’ll watch; an aide will be designated for a penalty kick); Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.); Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).

Also participating: Jürgen Klinsmann, U.S. men’s national soccer coach; former U.S. national team players John Harkes, Cobi Jones, Eddie Pope, Claudio Reyna, Tiffany Roberts Sahaydak, Juergen Sommer; and members of D.C. United.

Speakers: According to a release from Politico, U.S. Soccer Foundation President & CEO Ed Foster-Simeon; Co-Chair of the Congressional Soccer Caucus, Rep. Chris Van Hollen; Politico Exec. Editor Jim VandeHei; Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen; Johnson & Johnson’s Roberto Marques and Gallaudet University Provost Stephen Weiner. WTOP Radio’s Dave Johnson, who is also D.C. United’s television play-by-play voice, will emcee the event.

The event benefits Soccer for Success, the U.S. Soccer Foundation’s free soccer-based after-school program that uses soccer “as a tool to combat childhood obesity and promote healthy lifestyles for children in under-resourced urban communities.”

If you’re interested in playing or signing up your children for a clinic, visit here.

UPDATE: We’ll be updating the members of Congress who are actually playing soccer next week. The release was confusing and we’re getting clarity. For instance, as we added above, Slaughter will be watching only.

UPDATE 2: And now, a moment of clarity. Lawmakers who will actually play in the game are: Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.)’s wife; Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.); Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.); and Todd Young (R-Ind.). Rep. Adam Smith intended to play but now cannot make the event. We’ve changed the above to reflect that.

All others will participate in penalty kicks or designate a staffer to kick for them.

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This is too much!

In Wednesday’s Politico Playbook, Mike Allen writes about the MSNBC Joe Scarborough‘s surprise 50th birthday party. Allen, a “Morning Joe” regular, posted a variety of pictures, including one of NBC’s David Gregory in the moonlight, he wrote about “Le Menu” — which included mini burgers and mini pastrami bites — and then he concluded with a big mass of sightings, which included none other than himself.

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The “key person” in this case is former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. A Wednesday story by Stone cited two Republican “operatives” who said Barbour has decided to leave American Crossroads because he disagrees with its strategy going forward to get Republicans elected in the 2014 midterm elections. American Crossroads is a super PAC run by Republican strategist Karl Rove. Barbour was a heavy fundraiser for the group and a surrogate for GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney throughout the 2012 campaign cycle.

Stone’s story said Barbour was “traveling and did not respond to a request for comment.”

Allen received exclusive comment from Barbour after the story published. Barbour told Playbook:

“The [HuffPost] article …. has no basis in fact. Nobody at [HuffPost] even talked to me about it. From the beginning of my involvement with American Crossroads in 2011, I repeatedly, consistently and publicly said my participation with Crossroads was to try to help elect a Republican president in the 2012 election. That effort ended last November; so did my American Crossroads effort. I left with high regard and respect for American Crossroads and its entire team, many of whom have been friends as well as colleagues of mine for many years. …”

Though Barbour denies HuffPost‘s report, Stone tells FishbowlDC he stands by his sources… continued…

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VandeHei’s time: Clock Time: 1:37:32 Net Time: 1:27: 57 (Gender place: 3458)

Allen’s time: Clock Time: 1:37:32 Net Time: 1:27:56 (Gender place: 3456)

VandeHei and Allen ran it with VandeHei’s brother-in-law, Dale Schuurman. The trio apparently ran together and finished simultaneously — one for all, all for one. Technically we think this means Allen beat VandeHei, although, if true, it was only by a one-second margin. Likely no long lasting resentments will arise.

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Politico’s

THE FIRST PLAYBOOK DEAL DU JOUR is a classy condiment recommended by Josh Deckard. Playbook has found Sir Kensington’s gourmet “scooping ketchup” to be quite a conversation piece. Now there’s also mayonnaise, in classic and chipotle. Sir Kensington’s says this is the only U.S. mayo that’s certified non-GMO (genetically modified organisms), with no artificial preservatives — instead, lemon juice and vinegar. Playbookers get 20% off mayo at Sir Kensington’s online store; coupon code ‘mayonnaise.” See a one-pager about Sir Kensington’s. http://bit.ly/10BQh1v … www.sirkensingtons.com

The Playbook Deal Du Jour? Is this a new feature? Did Allen get paid directly for this? Does Politico get a taste of that sweet payday from Big Mayo?

We reached out to Mayo Mikey and got his response on the matter.

continued…

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Regular viewers of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” are often treated to a healthy, peppy dose of Politico‘s Mike Allen. His Playbook segment airs for approximately five minutes as he rattles off his enthusiastic take on current happenings in Washington.

Take that five minutes and imagine what it would be like condensed into a seven second video clip. The closest thing to that in real life is a Vine clip produced Thursday by Politico‘s video producer Alexander Trowbridge.

After Allen hosted a Q&A with White House aide Dan Pfeiffer, Trowbridge got a behind-the-scenes clip of Allen reciting the “best line” from the interview. Vine is a social media platform in which users can publish and share short videos.

“Best line from Playbook Breakfast this morning,” Allen says, staring into the camera with his classically caffeinated eyes. “Dan Pfeiffer says ‘take the job for what it is, not for the next one you want.’”

And it loops over and over and over again. Truly mesmerizing.

“We’ve been playing around with Vine as a way to give our readers a quick look into the Politico newsroom, talking to our reporters- in just 6secs!- about stories driving the conversation,” Senior Video Producer Christine Delargytold FBDC. “We’ve just been deciding day to day on what and who to Vine based on what’s of most interest to our audience on site and social media.”

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Politico

At 5:50 a.m. this morning,  a roundtable of Politico Executive Editor Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Maggie Haberman took over MSNBC’s “Way Too Early” program to do a segment called “Politico Wake-Up Call.”

The interesting part? NO MSNBC hosts were on set. Just Politico. Last week while hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brezezinski were on vacation, the trio showed up on “Morning Joe” for a segment.

New show brewing?

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Politico‘s Executive Editor Jim VandeHei is getting the hell outta there and heading to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” He has wanted to make his exit for awhile and TV is where he set his sights. MSNBC took notice after seeing the video that VandeHei narrated about how he breathed the very breath of life into Politico and how it has taken the journalism world — and the world — by storm. Some may have noticed VandeHei’s extensive appearance on “Morning Joe” last Thursday while regularly hosts Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough were on vacation.

VandeHei will slowly phase into Willie Geist‘s third-tier co-host role as Geist concentrates on the “TODAY Show.”

Politico had no comment at this time. Editor-in-Chief John Harris was heard wailing in the Politico newsroom. James Hohmann, a reporter, was spotted handing him tissues. Mike Allen, practically VandeHei’s brother, could not be found. Sources say he has fled to Argentina to drown himself in a thick, juicy steak and red wine.

Politico Publisher Robert Allbritton, when reached at his mansion… continued…

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Ciaramella posted a “Westeros Playbook” early Friday morning, a mock tip sheet in the style of Playbook and based on the popular Medieval fantasy drama “Game of Thrones” on HBO.

In the parody, Playbook’s “little bird” tips come from “a little raven”; the “Behind the Curtain” feature is alternatively “Behind the Veil”; and the sponsored messages in Playbook, usually from some energy or manufacturing company, are instead fake advertisements for a whore house (“At Chataya’s House, our experienced and exotic women provide weary gentlemen with the finest pleasures of the Seven Kingdoms and beyond”).

Non-viewers of “Game of Thrones” are likely to miss most of Ciaramella’s cute references… continued…

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POLITICO TAKEOVER: Aside from Mike Barnicle and WaPo and MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart, “Morning Joe” had three Politico employees on set today. They included Executive Editor Jim VandeHei, and reporters Maggie Haberman and Mike Allen.

Dare to dream

“If I could get one less email a day calling me the c-word I would be happy.” — Progressive talk radio host Stephanie Miller appearing on CNN Wednesday night.

Predawn Politico Playbook Publish Time: 4:50 a.m.

Journo Love

“When I did @CNN this morning w/ @rolandsmartin I didn’t yet realize I was sitting next to @NABJ’s Journalist of the Year. Congrats my man!” — National Journal‘s Chris Frates, who’s also apparently sporting a mullet lately. Indeed, as reported by Maynard Institute’s Richard Prince, Roland Martin has been named the National Association of Black Journalists’ Journalist of the Year. The award will be presented to him at the national convention in Orlando in August. Martin was previously awarded the organization’s President’s award.

Pundit has issues on Acela

“To the snoring asshat sitting next to me on the Acela: I’m going to do to you what I used to do to my ex when he snored & you won’t like it.” — MSNBC Contributor Jimmy Williams.

First World Problems: Maddow or Morgan? 

“Having a tough time deciding between Maddow and Piers right now. Two totally different shows. No DVR. Who. Will. Win?” — BuzzFeed‘s Dorsey Shaw, who subsequently had these big thoughts on cable news: “Jay Leno should go to Fox News. Matt Lauer should go to CNN. Alex Wagner should go to 7pm. I should take the day off.”

Forget writer’s block…

“Experiencing serious case of Twitter block. Nothing funny or interesting to say about Ashley Judd.” — The New Yorker‘s Ryan Lizza.

Harshness is…

“That sound you hear is 10,000 political hacks unfollowing @AshleyJudd” — Politico‘s Ben White.

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Supported by a soundtrack comparable to the background music in Coca-Cola’s anti-obesity ad, the video is narrated entirely by Executive Editor Jim VandeHei and features image after image of the Politico newsroom and photographic vistas of the Washington area. He talks about the complacency of Washington media and reporters getting lost in the weeds, and how this field is more challenging than ever. He says publications must adapt, but many have not because it’s all so uncomfortable to change. All envelop the reasons he wanted to start Politico and why he badly wants it to succeed.

“We launched at the end of January [2007],” VandeHei says in the video. “By the end of May we were co-hosting a presidential debate and people were talking about Politico like it was a brand that you’d be familiar with. We were four months old!” Wow!

It goes on with VandeHei explaining how exceptional Politico has been in aggressively covering politics, how the publication has been willing to adapt to changes in media and how it’s going to continue to do so heading into uncertain times for news media.

The larger “about” page for Politico has been updated with… continued…

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