The Press Parties with Obama
Barack Obama hosted the first of two White House holiday parties for the press Monday night — and some of the same journalists who slap his hand regularly in print lined up to shake it in person.
Everybody wants to party with Obama
Awkward? Maybe, but neither presidents nor the press corps that follow them have a lot of interest in saying so.
“I think every president grouses about hosting a party for the meanies in the press,” says former Clinton White House press secretary Mike McCurry. “But I also think they get a chuckle out of watching the reporters fall all over themselves to get pictures in the receiving line.”
For reporters, the appeal of the annual holiday party is pretty obvious. They get unusual access to the White House, all decked out in its holiday finery, as well as a minute or two with the president and the first lady, captured in a suitable-for-framing photo. And reporters usually get to bring a guest — a perfect chance to impress the spouse, the parent, the child or the would-be romantic interest.
Read More: By AMIE PARNEs, Politico
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