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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“I don’t know she is,” he said when asked if we could send Miller his regards at the red carpet premier of Netflix’s “House of Cards” last night at the Newseum. FishbowlDC explained that Miller tipped off the FBI about details surrounding the Jack Abramoff scandal, as portrayed in the film “Casino Jack,” starring Spacey himself. “Oh,” Spacey said, sort of recalling who Miller is. “Hi! Sure. I don’t know what you’re asking me,” he said. Then his handlers moved him along.

“House of Cards” tells the story of Francis Underwood, played by Spacey, a congressional Democrat who wheels and deals his way to the top of the political world. Michael Dobbs, the creator, told FishbowlDC that he wrote the story “as a form of therapy” after having worked as the chief of staff to former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the late ’80s.

The Washington news corps. plays a heavy, fictional role in the show, which is based on the original 1990s BBC series of the same name. James Foley, one of the show’s directors, said while working on story lines he’d ask himself whether it would be believable if he saw it reported on CNN. If not, he’d ask the lead writer for adjustments to the script. He also said actual on-air talent from CNN make cameos in the show, including… continued…

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Now that everyone has had a chance to vote, the results are in for the FishbowlDC Superlatives. We’ll be rolling out the results today and tomorrow, so be on the lookout to see how your nominees did.

Biggest Self Promoter– This was the closest vote that we had in the whole competition. It was between Former Daily Caller reporter Michelle Fields, ABC News White House Correspondent Jake Tapper, The Daily Beast and CNN’s Howard Kurtz, WaPo’s Chris Cillizza and Publicist Tammy Haddad. The photo finish saw Tammy Haddad beat out Fields by only five votes! Congratulations Tammy!

Worst Temper– The candidates were Mother Jones’s David Corn, Politico’s Jim VandeHei, Politico’s Tim Grieve, Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher, and Slate’s Matt Yglesias. The people have spoken and they say Tim Grieve has the worst temper in Washington! We’d congratulate him, but we’re afraid it might set him off.

Favorite Flack– We asked you to choose between POTUS campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki, Mitt Romney spokesman Brendan Buck, House Maj. Leader Eric Cantor’s Deputy Chief of Staff Doug Heye and NRCC’s Brian Walsh (pitched as Drama and Turtle), C-SPAN’s Howard Mortman, and House Maj. Whip Kevin McCarthy spokeswoman Erica Elliott. Despite a last minute push by Mortman, the winners were Doug Heye and Brian Walsh!

Most Likely to Wind Up in Jail– The suspects choices were Politico’s Joe Williams, PR Exec. David Bass, BuzzFeed’s John Stanton, The Daily Caller’s David Martosko, The Daily Caller’s Neil Munro, Reason‘s Mike Riggs and freelancer Moe Tkacik. The overwhelming winner was Joe Williams.

Class Clown: This category was a joke. The results were the most lopsided in all of the superlatives. The contenders were Sirius XM’s Julie Mason, Roll Call HOH’s Neda Semnani, Yahoo! News’ Olivier Knox, Reuter‘s Sam Youngman, The Atlantic‘s Scott Stossel, Wonkette and The Guardian‘s Jim Newell and The Drudge Report’s Charlie Hurt. Julie Mason walked away with this category with a crushing 46 percent of the vote.

Most likely to end up with a reality show– In D.C., there are PLENTY of options, but we narrowed them down to Mediaite’s Tommy Christopher, ABC7’s Stephen Tschida, TWT‘s Emily Miller, Susanna Quinn, Publicist Wendy Gordon, Publicist and blogger Janet Donovan, NBC’s Luke Russert, Current TV’s David Shuster,and CNN’s Roland Martin. The winner of this category was…  Emily Miller! (Our advice would be to make sure you get the lighting right on her reality show or she might shoot the bulbs out.)

Thanks to everyone who voted, but we aren’t done yet with the big reveal. Check back tomorrow to find out the winners of all of our other categories, which include Best Writer, Sexiest, and Best On-Air Personality!

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You know you’re one hell of a flack when a flock of journos bust their midday beat to break bread in your honor.  And such is the case of Kelley McCormick,  former partner at Qorvis Communications and Reese Witherspoon lookalike.  McCormick and her new role as Gibraltar Associates COO were toasted yesterday at a swanky lunch hosted by “Meet the Press” EP Betsy Fischer and the one and only Tammy Haddad.

Nearly 40 guests mingled over champagne before sitting down to a three-course wine luncheon of split pea soup with creme fraiche, bacon-garnished crab cake and tasty dessert.  Both Fischer and Haddad shared kind words about their friend before Gibraltar CEO Eric Bovim raised a glass to McCormick, gushing “I can’t imagine doing this without her.”

Attendees of the fancy-pants lunch fete included Politico’s Mike Allen, NBC White House producer Alicia Jennings, WaPo’s Amy Argetsinger, Examiner’s Nikki Schwab, The Hill’s Kate Oczypok, DC’s Karen Sommer Shalett, Janet Donovan, Cap File’s Kate Bennett and Sarah Schaffer, Huffington Post’s Christina Wilkie, Kiki Ryan, Bloomberg’s Ha Chan, Tracy Sefl, Washingtonian’s Sophie Gilbert, Washington Life‘s Michael Clements, Emily Lenzner, Poshbrood’s Elizabeth Thorp, Twitter’s Adam Sharp, WBJ‘s Jen Nycz-Conner and SELF‘s Marc Adleman.  Congrats to Kelley!

L to R: Betsy Fischer, Mike Allen, Kate Bennett, Halle Mayes, Tammy Haddad, Marc Adelman, Kelley McCormick.

*All photos courtesy of Haddad Media.

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HRH Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, made an unusual appearance in Washington for a reception at the US Capitol Monday evening.  Co-hosted by Sen. Roger Wicker, Sen. Mary Landrieu, Sen. Kay Hagan, and Sen. Thad Cochran, the royal reception was held to honor the Prince for his work as International Chairman of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award – a program designed to help build character and self-esteem in the world’s youth through volunteering and physical challenges.

The fete brought out a slew of prominent figures and media types such as British Ambassador Nigel Sheinwald; Rep. Dennis Kucinich and wife, Elizabeth; CNN turned FOX News’ Ed Henry and wife, Shirley; Tammy Haddad; Miss America 2011 Theresa Scanlon; ABC News producer Polson Kanneth; AP’s Kimberly Dozier, Roger Simon and Marcia Kramer from Politico; Juleanna Glover; FNC’s Greta Van Susteren and husband, John Coale.

For more on the royal reception, visit WHInsider here. 

L: Greta Van Susteren and Sen. Wicker R: Ed and Shirley Henry

*Photos by Gretel Truong, courtesy of Haddad Media.

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Licht, Brzezinski, Mike Allen, Mark Leibovich, Louis Burgdorf

If the idea of Mark Leibovich‘s impending book release strikes fear in your heart, we’ve got some bad news for you.  You’re sleepless nights won’t end anytime soon.  “I’ve finished about five pages,” the star scribe told FishbowlDC last night at a book party for “Morning Joe” EP- turned-CBS News VP, Chris Licht.

Hosted by Tammy Haddad, Constance Milstein, Jon Meacham and Kevin Sheekey, the event packed the parlor of the Jefferson Hotel with a guest list that included MSNBC’s Mika Brzezinski and Joe Scarborough, CBS’s Chris Isham, HuffPo’s Howard Fineman, Bob Woodruff, Hilary Rosen, Politico’s Jim VandeHei, Patrick Gavin and Mike Allen, WaPo’s Jonathan Capehart, Sally Quinn, MSNBC’s Louis Burgdorf, Kelley McCormick, MTP’s Betsy Fischer, Janet Donovan, Wash Life’s Kevin Chaffee and John Arundel, Examiner’s Nikki Schwab and Anne Schroeder Mullins.

FishbowlDC also caught up with a delightful David Shuster who shared a few secrets about his investigative website project after we swore to keep the info offline for now.  But the most interesting insight of the night was gleaned from what wasn’t said:  When asked if “Morning Joe” might follow him to CBS, Licht swerved and ultimately dodged the question, leaving guests to wonder if the show’s rumored move is more than simple speculation.

For info on Licht’s book, “What I Learned When I Almost Died,” click here and check out video from his bash here.

L: Anne Mullins, Patrick Gavin, Brzezinski, Scarborough R: Licht & David Shuster

Republican Strategist Alex Castellanos asks a question during Q&A.

*All images by Bruce Vartan Boyajian/Haddad Media.

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In his book, Licht, co-creator and original executive producer of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” recalls the story of his fast-paced, Jerry Maguire-style career and how it came to a screeching halt when one day he heard a pop in his head and learned he’d suffered a near-deadly brain hemorrhage.  He spent eight long days in a hospital bed thinking about how his life had almost been cut short.  The book tells what happened next.

To celebrate Licht, his book, and his life, friends and colleagues will gather at The Jefferson Hotel from 6.30 – 8.30 pm (invite only).  For more about Licht or “What I Learned When I Almost Died,” click here.

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Mary Kathryn Covert and Michael Steel

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of celebrities, journos and politicos packed the nine bedroom, 7,000 square foot mansion of businessman and Washington Kastles owner Mark Ein.  The former residence of legendary publisher Katherine Graham, the historic Georgetown home (sold in 2002 for $8 million) provided a picture-perfect setting for the annual garden brunch co-hosted by Tammy Haddad, Ted Greenberg, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Mark Ein, Alex Castellanos, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, Jim Courtovich, David Adler, Steve McMahon and Franco Nuschese. Honorary chairs Wendy Murdoch and Susan Axelrod added a charitable component to the event which benefited CURE Epilepsy and the White Ribbon Alliance.

Journos enjoying mimosas, greyhounds and bloodies packed several tiers of decks behind the home and trickled off into the backyard for a little fresh air.  The sprawling estate provided plenty of hiding spots for celebrity guest who would have been forced to mingle more openly at Haddad’s home – the previous venue for the brunch.  Spotted through a cracked VIP room door (new this year) were Chace Crawford and Maria Bello.  We bumped into the Palin family, Jeremy Piven, Tim Daly and Morgan Fairchild mixing with the “commoners” outdoors and caught up with Chelsea Handler who breezed into the brunch about 20 minutes before it ended.  Representing the political elite were Susan and David Axelrod who shared their daughter’s struggles with epilepsy, White House communications gurus Jen Psaki and Dan Pfeiffer, Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), Ebs Burnough, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel and McCarthy spokeswoman Erica Elliott.

The list of journo attendees was unwieldy but we owe a special shout out to Patrick Gavin‘s pants that seemed to mock the day’s cause (*see seizure-worthy pattern) and wife Anne Bracken Gavin who looked stunning and svelte after giving birth to the couple’s first child only a few weeks ago.

L to R: Anne Bracken Gavin, Patrick Gavin, David Axelrod

Bloomberg’s Phil Mattingly and Erica Elliott, press secretary for Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-22)

L to R: Tammy Haddad, Slice, Pam Dornic, Glenn Ballard, Christine Delargy and Topspin.

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Lord, Gregory and Zimmerman

Dufour and Cherukuri

A menagerie of metrosexuals and the ladies who love them gathered at Fiola Wednesday evening for the launch of Winston Lord‘s new venture, Venga.  The company, co-founded by Sam von Pollaro,  is the creator of iPhone and Andriod apps that connect Washington D.C. consumers with exclusive offers, specials, happy hours, and music at restaurants, bars and lounges.  Out to show their support for Lord and Von Pollaro’s entrepreneurial efforts were NBC’s David Gregory, ABC’s Jonathan Karl, CNN’s Ed Henry, FNC’s Chris Wallace, UrbanDaddy’s Jeff Dufour, Huffington Post’s Peter Cherukuri, Tammy Haddad, man-about-town Mark Ein, and Politico’s Mike Allen.  Also spotted were Nats player Ryan Zimmerman and Mike Isabella from Top Chef.

Congrats to Winston!  For more information on Venga, visit govenga.com

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Kastles Tennis mascot: Topspin

The famed White House Correspondents’ Brunch, held annually at the home Tammy Haddad and Ted Greenberg, is moving to a new locale on April 30, 2011.  Rather than torturing the fine folks of the Palisades with parking valets and  paparazzi, swarms of pastel-clad brunch-goers will migrate to Mark Ein‘s Georgetown manse for the garden gala. In addition to the revised location, the host committee has added Wendi Murdoch and Susan Axelrod as honorary event chairs.

As for the new venue, we don’t know much but we hear “Topspin” will be bouncing (ha! get it?) would-be crashers in the driveway and guests will be forced to enter and exit Ein’s home using Kastle Systems key fobs.  Okay, I made that up but a boy can dream…  Check out the video invite to this year’s event below.

2011 WHC Garden Brunch Preview from whcinsider on Vimeo.

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Check your inboxes! Tammy Haddad, Washington’s hostess with the mostest, will hold the 18th annual White House Correspondents’ Garden Brunch on Saturday, April 30, 2011 from 11 am – 2 pm.  Sharing hosting duties this year are Tammy’s hubby Ted Greenberg, Kevin Sheekey, Hilary Rosen, Mark Ein, Alex Castellanos, Anita Dunn, Bill Knapp, Jim Courtovich, David Adler, Steve McMahon and Franco Nuschese.  A pillar of  the White House Correspondents’ Dinner weekend, Haddad’s annual brunch brings out a slew of celebrities, journos and politicos for some fun in the sun before the big night.  This year’s brunch will benefit CURE Epilepsy and the White Ribbon Alliance.  By invitation only.

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Before appearing at last night’s Congressional Correspondents Dinner, Miss America 2011 Teresa Scanlan lunched with Washington media types at Cafe Milano. Hosted Milano owner Franco Nuschese, Tammy Haddad, Regina Hopper (former Miss Arkansas and president of America’s Natural Gas Alliance), and Kelley McCormick, the midday event offered journos a chance to spend some personal time with the pageant winner. Guests included WJLA’s Pamela Brown, Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne from TLC’s “DC Cupcakes,” Meet the Press’ Betsy Fischer, ABC News’ Polson Kanneth, Politico‘s Patrick Gavin, Cap File‘s Kate Bennett, Janet Donovan, and The Hill‘s Emily Goodin.

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MTP's Adam Verdugo, Betsy Fischer and Erika Masonhall c/o WHCInsider

A group of Washington’s journos gathered for cordials and cupcakes at the home of “Meet the Press” (MTP) E.P. Betsy Fischer last night.  The cocktail party was held to welcome Erika Masonhall to the MTP team.  Formerly press secretary for Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Masonhall is now the press representative for NBC’s “Nightly News” and “Meet the Press.”

In addition to network bigwigs like Fischer, Washington Bureau Chief Antoine Sanfuentes, David Gregory and NBC News President Steve Capus, some of the District’s top reporters were in the house to raise a glass to MTP’s press rep.  Jeff Zeleny from the New York Times, soon-to-be USA Today reporter Jackie Kucinich, WaPo‘s Paul Kane, Tammy Haddad, Roll Call‘s Jessica Brady and Politico‘s Mike Allen, Jonathan Martin, Manu Raju, and Keach Hagey all found their way out to Fischer’s Falls Church, Va. maison.

*Unfortunately for FishbowlDC, last night we learned the hard way that you should start a car more than once every three months to prevent its battery from dying.  R.I.P. battery and congrats Erika!

For more photos and info from the Masonhall fete, check out WHCInsider here.

Mike Allen, David Gregory and Antoine Sanfuentes c/o WHCInsider

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Mary Kathryn Covert, Glenn Ballard, Michael Steel, Brianna Keilar

The Kalorama manse of lobbyist Juleanna Glover played host to The Week‘s first annual Academy Awards party last night.  Complete with Oscar-shaped cookies, popcorn and tuxedo-clad servers passing trays of Junior Mints, Milk Duds and Redvines, the event was a perfect balance of festive glitz and a casual night at the movies.

Despite the all-star lineup of party hosts (Ron Bonjean, Tammy Haddad, Juleanna Glover and Karen Finney), the fete was not over-attended, offering around 100 guests a relaxed atmosphere to mix, mingle and eat their weight in miniature grilled cheese sandwiches* (see: me).  Spotted taking in the festivities were FD’s Mary Kathryn Covert and Michael Steel, CNN’s Brianna Keilar, Sam Dealey of Qorvis, Sarah Bonjean, Janet Donovan, NRSC’s Brian Walsh,  Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times, soon-to-be USA Today‘s Jackie Kucinich, Doug Heye, The Hill‘s Emily Goodin, Mark Paustenbach, Glenn Ballard, Pepper Watkins, Jay Newton-Small, Jeremy Bash of the CIA, Barbara Martin, Becca Glover Watkins, Kimball Stroud, Washington Life‘s Kevin Chaffee, WaPo‘s Jonathan Capehart, Daily Caller’s Megan Mulligan,  UrbanDaddy’s Jeff Dufour and an uber-preggers Jayne Sandman.

L: Ron Bonjean and Jackie Kucinich R: Popcorn served in The Week funnels

L: Tammy Haddad with Lynn Sweet R: FishbowlDC entourage

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But others don’t think he’s genius at all. As one D.C. Editor put it, “Just read his stuff. An “important political reporter in Washington.” Bullshit. I’ll bet you my car nobody’s ever heard of this guy. Anyone who thinks [NJ's] Marc Ambinder is worth writing about can’t be over 23.” The journalist added, “It has a faux insider feel, like someone who watches too much Morning Joe.”

Some see a self-loathing. Still others just find him loathing. “I don’t give too much credence to people too chickensh*t to put their name behind something because, obviously, once we know who they are, we’ll soon realize that they’re just as douchy as the rest of us,” said a longtime Washington journalist. “Likely: Even more douchey.”

@DCjourno recently told the NYT, “Several of my followers still don’t understand that I’m a parody. They think I’m just a cool D.C. journalist, which really says it all.”

And it’s easy to see why he has some people fooled. Just like the journalists he mocks, he’s always speaking with “senior administration officials.” He suggests good people to follow, including WaPo‘s Ezra Klein (“Few understand health care better than Ezra,” he tweeted sarcastically) and Politico‘s Mike Allen (“Follow foreign policy guru @mikeallen for updates on Egypt. He’s tweeting from the frontlines in Rosslyn”). He always directs his followers to “must reads” and “smart takes.” In fact: “If anyone out there sees a tweet that i can re-tweet with “Interesting … ” in front of it, DM me!”

Tapper suggested his followers check out the stream to see what really went down at former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs‘ farewell party. Apparently, “Gibbs telling the Mark Knoller/vodka-filled-plastic-guitar Vegas story.” Later: “Ambinder talking abt 19th century German philosophy. Gibbs goes, ‘Marc, we know you’re smarter than us. U gonna hit this jameson or not?’” And later still: “Alright, Vietor just challenged me to a dance off with your pants off. Zeleny is the judge. Have a good night, everyone.” Slate‘s Dave Weigel said that @DCjourno was “winning the evening” with his fake live-tweets.

The guessing game has grown more intense as @DCjourno’s follower count has risen, now to more than 3,000 people. CNN’s John King, USA producer Abby Livingston tweeted: “More ppl care about who is @dcjourno than who authored ‘o.’” ABC News’ Political Director Amy Walter agreed: “Ha. So true.”

Asked if he’s @DCJourno, The Daily Caller‘s Mike Riggs adamantly denied it to FishbowlDC, saying, “As much as DCJourno pretends to be in this world, but not of it, whoever’s writing those tweets cares deeply about Beltway culture and the assholes who maintain it. I don’t. Or at least, not enough to glorify its participants through caricature. I’m flattered that you think me even-tempered enough to maintain such a ruse, but I’m not your man, and I don’t know who is.”

@DCJourno wouldn’t give us any clues whatsoever about his identity, but did agree to an interview by e-mail. He wouldn’t, however, allow any follow-up questions. We tried to press him on a couple of things, but no such luck.

Are you actually a D.C. journalist, or more of an observer? I am an actual D.C. journalist, hence the Twitter handle, @DCjourno.

Why are you anonymous? Will you ever reveal yourself? I’m definitely not anonymous. Pretty much everyone in this town knows me now.

Are you a man or a woman? Man.

Find out what @DCJourno likes to do in his spare time and why he’s so looking forward to Tammy Haddad‘s garden brunch…

continued…

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