The White House Christmas Party

Me and the sis.

Following on the news that Republicans are now concerned that the President is "too" Christian (since the White House is decorated beautifully for Christmas, and apparently beauty (and Christmas) are off-limits during a Depression), it seemed like a good time to report back from the White House Holiday (read: Christmas) Party that Joe and I were invited to last Friday night.  Now I know some people are going to go all 99% on me, and that's fine.  But for the rest of you, I thought you might enjoy getting a sense of what it's like to attend the White House Christmas Party, so this post is for you.

First, there is more than just one White House Christmas Party.  In fact, from what I've been able to find, there are around a dozen, with some 12,000 guests overall (all, except the congressional party, I believe, were paid for by the DNC, so not taxpayer funds).  There are parties for White House staf, the Secret Service, members of Congress, and the media, among others (there's also a Hannukah party).  The one Joe and I were invited to was for the print media.  And it took place last Friday from 6pm to 9pm.

You arrive via the SE gate of the White House (south of the Treasury building), to a long line of people waiting to go through security (and you need to show an ID, and be checked off the guest list, just to get into that line).  I was standing with my sister Kathy (each invitee is permitted one guest, you submit your social security number and some other info in advance so they can check you out), right behind the Washington Post's Dana Milbank, who looked like he was avoiding being recognized in big black sunglasses (the sun set an hour before), but in fact had just had eye surgery.  I also had a nice chat with a London editor of the Economist, and Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade, all who were alongside me in line.

After about 15 minutes, we got to the check in, still outside, they check your ID, find you on the list, and you go next to the metal detector, which is surprisingly a lot faster, friendlier, and seemingly less intense than the airport.  After that you enter the East Wing of the White House, are greeted by members of the military in full dress uniforms, all very friendly, and you drop off your coat at the coat check.  You're then given a ticket with a time on it - ours was 7:15pm - that's when you come back to get your photo taken with the President and First Lady.

So, Kathy and I headed upstairs to go mingle and get a bite to eat before our photo.

Bill Clinton official portrait

At the top of the stairs is a large room with an official portrait of Bill Clinton on the far wall.  The Marine band orchestra is playing Christmas music. I've been to a few events at the White House and there's always been the Marine band playing, though this time it was quite a lot of them.  They were wonderful.  You're immediately greeted by a (I'm not sure what the correct terms are - waiter?) in black tie offering you wine or champagne (we opted for champagne), then you mingle.  (I posted a 4 second video, above, that I took of the Marine band orchestra - it wasn't entirely clear to me whether we could shoot video or not, but since the evening was "off the record," but you could take photos, I thought it wise to keep the video short as it could have recorded off-the-record voices.)

The initial large room flows into a long hallway, below. This is the hallway you the President walking down when he holds a press conference.  At the west end of the hallway is the State Dining Room, where they hold the state dinners (it's surprisingly small), and at the other end of the hallway (the east end) is the East Room, where they hold the presidential press conferences, and other events.  Between these two rooms are the Red Room, the Blue Room, and the Green Room.

The hallways connecting the East Room and the State Dining Room.

Dinner (below) was served in the State Dining Room and the East Room, with a nice dessert spread as well (below).  I'll take you on a small tour...

East Room.  Dinner was some kind of roast (tasty), small potatoes, shrimp,
haricots verts (I believe), and I'm not sure what else - I was more interested in dessert.

Dessert which included a wonderful Cherry Pie, Apple Pie,
Tiramisu, small chocolates, Christmas cookies and more.
The cherry pie was to die for, and quite uniquely flavored.

One of the 37 Christmas trees, and a wonderful view of
the Washington Monument.

Jackie O

So, it's around 7:05pm, and Kathy and I decide to head downstairs to get in line for our photo with the First Family.  It's a long line.  And took, I don't know, maybe 20 minutes or longer to go through.  You just slowly move alone, and the White House staff was nice enough to put a table of food next to the line so guests could eat.

After a rather long wait, meandering through various rooms, you arrive in the room where the President and First Lady are.  The Marine asks you how you want to be introduced (should he use your middle name, etc) and he walks you up to the President, you say hello and shake his hand, you greet the First Lady, you all smile for the camera, and bam it's over, the Marine walks you away.  Kathy read that it's over in ten seconds.  I barely even remember the President, it goes so fast, and you're so caught up in the moment.  My recollection is much better of Mrs. Obama, who is not only really pretty in person (her photos do her a serious injustice), but she's also a lovely person.  Even in those few seconds you feel like you really want to get to know this woman, she's just so nice and chatty (and mind you, we were her 300th schmooz that hour).

Now, if the President speaks to you, you're not supposed to report the details, those are the rules.  The President and I had no conversation anyway, so there's nothing to not report.  Joe Sudbay, our deputy editor here on the blog, on the other hand, for the second year in a row did in fact have a brief but substantive conversation with the President, one the President himself initiated.  (Remember, Joe was invited to interview President Obama at the White House for AMERICAblog in October of 2010, where he asked the President about various gay-related topics, and elicited is the person who elicited the "evolving" answer from the President on the issue of gay marriage.)

Sorry, I can't report on Joe's conversations with the President at last year's and this year's Christmas parties, but let's just say that the President of the United States, more than a year after that interview, knew who Joe was (and lest you think the President's briefed on the guests beforehand, maybe he is, but there are 600 of them coming through for ten seconds a shot, over a two hour period with no break that I'm aware of - it would have to be one hell of a briefing to cover everyone.)

And then, woosh, you're out of the room, and you almost can't believe any of it happened.  Kathy told me later that she almost cried when she walked into the room with the President and the First Lady, the sense of history and pride in country was so overwhelming for her (and I have my suspicions about whether she even voted for him, so that's why I find that tidbit interesting).  I was thinking about it later, and realized the President had 300 flashbulb equivalents go off in his and the First Lady's eyes during those two hours.  Heck, it was more like 900 (I believe there were 3 flashes with our picture).  I'd be curious to ask an eye doctor if that's entirely safe for the eye.

Sitting down to eat in the Blue Room (the faces are a bit
warped from people moving while I was shooting
the panorama).

The Red Room, right next to the State Dining Room.

Panorama of the Red Room.

The Green Room.

Huge 400 pounds gingerbread White House,
with Bo the dog sitting in front. There were
a lot of Bo-representations throughout the party.

Kathy really wanted to meet Arianna Huffington,
being fellow Greeks. I like Arianna, always have.
Smart as hell, and quite personable.

A view of a Christmas tree in the first room upstairs, with
the Marine band orchestra barely visible behind.

It was a very nice affair, but in all fairness, as the Republicans now - of course - are claiming that it was "too opulent" of an affair (but boy those GOP members of Congress didn't turn down the invite, did they), I've done "opulent" in Europe, long-tailed butlers and all. This Christmas Party was very nice.  It wasn't opulent.  But even if it were, it's the White House, not the local Denny's.  I want to be proud of the White House, and what it represents regardless of who's President.  I want it, expect it, to showcase our country to the world.  And last, but not least, I'd argue that during a Depression is exactly the time I want Christmas to come just as it did before, no more no less.  Life goes on.

Republicans really need to stop their war on Christmas :-)

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Canada goes flat earth on climate change

While they have point that Kyoto without the US is bad, pulling out the day after Durban is nuts. But that's the new Canadian government. Nuts.

Canada had been expected to pull out and as a result faced international criticism at the Durban talks. Kent had said previously that signing Kyoto was one of the previous government's biggest blunders.

Kent said it would save Canada $14bn in penalties for not achieving its Kyoto targets. "To meet the targets under Kyoto for 2012 would be the equivalent of either removing every car, truck, ATV, tractor, ambulance, police car and vehicle of every kind from Canadian roads or closing down the entire farming and agriculture sector and cutting heat to every home, office, hospital, factory and building in Canada," Kent said.

Mike Hudema of Greenpeace Canada said in a statement it was a further signal that the Harper government is more concerned about protecting polluters than people.

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UN: At least 5,000 have died in Syrian uprising

These numbers are highly likely to increase before it's over. Included in the 5,000 deaths are at least 300 children. The Guardian:

More than 5,000 people have died in the nine-month-long Syrian uprising, UN human rights chief Navi Pillay said on Monday.

Pillay, the UN high commissioner for human rights, told reporters on Monday that she told security council members of the dramatic increase in deaths during an afternoon briefing.

The death toll used by the UN in recent weeks has been around 4,000.

Pillay said she recommended that the council refer Syria to the International Criminal Court, the permanent war crimes tribunal, for investigation of possible crimes against humanity.

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Holiday buying slows as consumers wait for bargains

The start was good this year in the US but the shopping spirit appears to have ended quickly. CNBC:

Forty percent of consumers are completely done with their holiday shopping at this point, up from just 28 percent who were finished at the same time last year, according to the America’s Research Group/UBS Christmas Forecast Survey.

What’s more, only half of consumers hit the malls this last weekend, meaning those that are left are sitting on their hands awaiting bigger mark-offs, the survey showed.

“You could push them over the edge at this point with a 60 to 70 percent discount,” said Britt Beemer, CEO of ARG, who has been conducting the phone survey and marketing research for 27 years. “But most would probably use a credit card, as their budgets are depleted.”

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How to talk to a relative with cancer this Christmas

Love the topic.  Unsure whether I found the article particularly helpful - some of the points were obvious, others left me unclear.  See if you find it helpful. Read the rest of this post...

Online shopping up this year

When you read the stories of what's happening in the stores, it's no wonder more and more people are buying online. It's so much easier to be a rational shopper and compare prices from the comfort of your home than getting caught up in a shopping frenzy at the store.

For the week ending Dec. 9, consumers spent $5.9 billion online, up 15 percent from the same period a year earlier, according to comScore, which tracks Internet activity.

E-commerce spending for the first 39 days of the 2011 holiday season reached $24.6 billion, also up 15 percent versus the corresponding days last year, comScore added.

Earlier in the season, the day that has become known as "Cyber Monday" saw a record $1.25 billion spent online in the United States, up 22 percent from last year. Other early season shopping days were also strong, with "Black Friday" e-commerce sales jumping 26 percent from a year ago.

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Remember when the GOP called Obama a Muslim? Now they’re saying he's too Christian.

First he was a Muslim.

Then he declared a war on religion (but not enough war on Islam).

And now he's too Christian.

Apparently the far right is now upset that the White House is all decorated for Christmas. From Media Matters:

Here's my favorite part from Malcolm:

How simple, politically astute, symbolically helpful and cost-effective it would have been for the Obamas this year to say that in sympathy with so many struggling countrymen, they were curtailing holiday decorations to match the sacrifices of others.

Right. Now imagine the seismic eruption that would have occurred if the Obamas announced they were curtailing (banning!!) Christmas decorations in the White House this year. Talk about a five-alarm fire for Fox News. The First Family would have been denounced as Grinch-like heathens.

Absolutely right. Can you imagine the uproar if the Obama's canceled Christmas?

Republicans need to start focusing on the actual economic, and other, problems this country is facing. Read the rest of this post...

OWS-related music video: What’s happening to the land I love?

About Occupy Wall Street, and more. It's quite good. Great iconic images. By Robert Horn, the brother of one of our long-time readers:

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NYT claims "Star Wars" is 100 percent effective at shooting down ICBMs

I'm confused about something in the NYT. In an article supposedly debunking (I'm not so sure it's debunked) Newt Gingrich's concern about an electromagnetic pulse (likely from a nuclear device detonated over an American city) taking out much of the US electronic infrastructure (which also means our electrical grid), the following three paragraphs pop up.  The grafs seem to conclude that Star Wars works (and the NYT reporter seems to editorially accept the premise in between the lines of what he writes):

But it is to the risk of an EMP attack that Mr. Gingrich has repeatedly returned. And while the message may play well to hawkish audiences, who might warm to the candidate’s suggestion that the United States engage in pre-emptive military strikes against Iran and North Korea, many nuclear experts dismiss the threat. America’s current missile defense system would thwart such an attack, these experts say, and the nations in question are at the kindergarten stage of developing nuclear arms.

The Missile Defense Agency, an arm of the Pentagon that maintains an arsenal of ground-based interceptors ready to fly into space and smash enemy warheads, says that defeating such an attack would be as straightforward as any other defense of the continental United States.

“It doesn’t matter if the target is Chicago or 100 miles over Nebraska,” said Richard Lehner, an agency spokesman. “For the interceptor, it’s the same thing.” He called the potential damage from a nuclear electromagnetic pulse attack “pretty theoretical.”

Huh?

This sounds like one of the Star Wars programs. And I don't recall us ever being able to, with 100% certainty, shoot down incoming ICMBs. Here's what I found at Wikipedia, which describes the system mentioned in the article:

The U.S. Ground-Based Midcourse Defense (GMD; previously known as National Missile Defense – NMD) system has recently reached initial operational capability. Instead of using an explosive charge, it launches a kinetic projectile. The George W. Bush administration accelerated development and deployment of a system proposed in 1998 by the Clinton administration. The system is a dual purpose test and interception facility in Alaska, and in 2006 was operational with a few interceptor missiles. The Alaska site provides more protection against North Korean missiles or accidental launches from Russia or China, but is likely less effective against missiles launched from the Middle East. President Bush referenced the 9/11 attacks and the proliferation of ballistic missiles as reasons for missile defense. The current GMD system has the more limited goal of shielding against a limited attack by a rogue state.

Okay, the Pentagon quote in the NYT seems to be in response to Gingrich talking about rogue states attacking the US, and, per Wikipedia, that seems to be the "goal" of this program, but does it work 100% of the time?  That's not just the clear implication of what the Pentagon official said, it's seems to be the clear conclusion the NYT reporter has reached in this story.

Anyone else up on this? Read the rest of this post...

Mitt Romney is... The $10,000 Man

The DNC created a mock $10,000 bill with Mitt Romney's face on it to poke fun at the out-of-touch $10,000 wager Romney tried to make with Rick Perry during the last GOP debate. Read the rest of this post...