So What Would "Reeking" Smell Like?

The Times "covers" Michelle's star-studded birthday bash. Ms. Stolberg's set-up:

WASHINGTON — President Obama has pledged to use the remainder of his presidency to address income inequality, which he calls “the defining challenge of our time.” This holiday weekend, Mr. Obama had an intimate look at how vast wealth disparities in America have become.

On Monday, Mr. Obama and his family marked the birthday of the civil rights leader the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a visit to the D.C. Central Kitchen, where he, Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, donned aprons and prepared burritos for distribution to local homeless shelters.

On Saturday, the Obamas marked another birthday — Mrs. Obama’s 50th — with a party at the White House, with music by Beyoncé. Guests included entertainment industry A-listers like Stevie Wonder (who also sang), Paul McCartney and Samuel L. Jackson. Those who brought cellphones were asked to check them at the door, presumably to prevent photographs on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

And her punchline:

The two events — one a very public effort to promote community service, the other a private affair that carried a whiff of celebrity and secrecy — spotlight the often contradictory worlds that modern presidents inhabit.

A "whiff" of celebrity and secrecy? Ms. Stolberg does cite Byron York, who spent a bit more time marshalling a partial guest list:

According to reports in People, the Chicago Tribune, TMZ, US Magazine, and elsewhere, among of the attendees were, in no particular order: Beyonce, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, James Taylor, Smokey Robinson, Gladys Knight, Janelle Monae, Mary J. Blige, Angela Bassett, Courtney Vance, Herbie Hancock, Samuel L. Jackson, Grant Hill, Alonzo Mourning, Ledisi, Emmett Smith, Star Jones, Al Roker, Steve Harvey, Magic Johnson, Billie Jean King, Michael Jordan, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, Gayle King, Ahmad Rashad, Kal Penn, and Ashley Judd. Among the current and former government officials attending were Joe Biden, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, Susan Rice, Eric Holder, and Kathleen Sebelius.

And to be fair, after warning her readers that she is about to quote a "conservative pundit", Ms. Stolberg delivers the obvious by way of Mr. York:

“Why the secrecy?” wrote Byron York, the conservative pundit, in an opinion article in The Washington Examiner. Perhaps, Mr. York mused, given Mr. Obama’s income inequality agenda, “the White House felt photos of a champagne-soaked, star-studded party would be somewhat off-message.”

No kidding.

Comments

[rich@gmu]

first. ha.

income equality for us and star-studded bashes for them.

[Captain Hate]

Was Ahmad Rashad escorting the Iranian ferret?

[narciso]

Ah, Ashley Judd you need to bring the raw crazy,
to the event but that's just monday,

I'm sure the Times were equally understanding of Nancy Reagan in the 80s no, sarc,

[narciso]

That was of course, a rhetorical question;

http://www.nytimes.com/1982/02/17/us/nancy-reagan-gives-up-dress-designer-loans.html

[Marlene]

One day last week,a Howie Carrr listener mentioned the vapors the media had about Ann Romney's horse. Equine therapy is part of her MS treatment. Michelle's month in Hawaii and the birthday bash has been covered with glowing praise.

rich...cross post,are the snowflakes falling yet?

[Marlene]

Thanks rich,saw the snow report. I realize snow removal on the city streets is a nightmare. Up here,the plows just barrel down the road and you'd better not get in the way!

[TexasIsHeaven]

Clear blue sky - 55 degrees with a high of 60 today - lots of sunshine. going to play outside today. I'm going to sit out by the pond and watch the birds and squirrels and the forest critters go by. Everyone north of the Big Thicket has my sympathy today.

[Ignatz]

I hope somebody is writing these names down for pasting on convenient lamp posts when the revolution comes.

[J. Fred Muggs]

My invitation was lost in the mail. So when I called and told them I couldn't make it they substituted Al Roker for me.

Good call.

[rich@gmu]

If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
I have seen roses damask'd, red and white, But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
And in some perfumes is there more delight Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks

the Times probably wanted to write I ♥ you

[Extraneus]

Imagine the utter phoniness of that party.

[Extraneus]

[shudder]

[Ignatz]

"Reeking" would smell like the WH broom closet where Barry and Jay Z were lit up, although having to hide to choom seems an unlikely contingency with this clown show.

[bgates]

Those who brought cellphones were asked to check them at the door, presumably to prevent photographs on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

And also because some of the older guys at NSA like to hack directly into a physical object once in a while, for nostalgia's sake.

[Marlene]

J Fred Muggs...I'm reading P.J.O'Rourke's "The Baby Boom" and he gives a shout out to the early Today Show,including you and Dave Garroway. Some of you *older* boomers might enjoy the book. O'Rourke makes wry and nostalgic observations about growing up in the Fifities.Then the Sixties "happen" and his observations become laugh out loud funny and brutal.

[Danube on iPad]

I couldn't be more sick of these people.

[Dave (in MA)]

I figured 'reeking' to refer to the presence of self-described White House pants-pooper Al Roker.

[rse]

One can only imagine what kind of champagne was deemed suitable for mo's fete. Probably not a Californian sparkling wine either.

To continue the ed discussion from the last thread, there was nothing accidental about the feds taking over direction of ed. ESEA was written to do just that by both a Pres and his adviser, Ralph Tyler, who knew precisely what they meant by the Great Society. I posted a link last week to a May 1964 LBJ speech in Michigan that about made my hair stand on end about what LBJ intended. Since speech came from a PBS website, I am not the only one interested in the current timeliness of that vision.

In 1968, Tyler hosted what became known as the Belmont Strategy laying out how to use federal funding to control direction of state depts of ed. Most legislators to this day are unaware how much the feds control state DoEds.

Again none of this is accidental. The March has just taken longer than anyone thought it would. The current emphasis on inequality and EPA pushes on coal and ed reforms that always make behavioral psychology the remedy for every proclaimed legal wrong are all just components of an end game.

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Yeah, Dave. Oh my goodness....couldn't even believe that story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSORjrg1t8w

What a world...

[narciso]

Well alrighty that;

http://twitchy.com/2014/01/21/dnc-hacks-you-wont-believe-how-msnbc-cbs-framed-wendy-davis-lies-dana-loesch-blasts/

I'm trying to think who would they cast for the Lifetime version of 'Julianne's Bender', rhetorical question, probably one of the Friday night players.

[Porchlight]

I'm surprised CBS and MSNBC even reported the story, narciso.

Wendy Davis didn't have a prayer of winning before these stories broke, but she'll have a lot less fun wasting campaign donations now. Gonna be a long year for her and she deserves every minute of it.

[jimmyk on iPhone]

"Was Ahmad Rashad escorting the Iranian ferret?"

I recall Rashad being politically conservative. No more?

[henry]

Delayed effect of concussions jimmyk.

[centralcal]

rse: Ed Henry got a snapshot of the truck delivering the champagne last week.

[centralcal]

And, for you Porch, a lovely picture of Wendy Roseannadanna Davis before she became blonde.

[Captain Hate]

I'm just glad that in least one state there are consequences for lying and being an idiot.

[jimmyk]

I think I was wrong about Rashad ever being Republican or conservative. I got him mixed up with Lynn Swann.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Davis?-- THAT's Wendy Davis? she's cooked when that photo gets out;

Mooschelle's Party?-- OK they used California champagne. Least they could do after outsourcing ObummerCare jobs to India via Accenture.

[Comanche Voter]

Say Marlene; Ann Romney rides horses as equine therapy for her MS.

Mooch---well the extra vacation in Hawaii, and the big birthday bash (guests told to eat at home--they'd get snacks and such at the party, washed down with sips of champagne)were just therapy for her dysfunctional marriage to Obozo.

[Captain Hate]

The funniest story I ever heard about Rashad was how he cut his Viking coach, Bud Grant, the ultimate OWG (old white guy), some slack when he couldn't pronounce his name and told him it was ok to call him Bobby.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Bobby Moore came out of Oregon U, no?

[Captain Hate]

Yes, played with Dan Fouts.

[Neo]

Income inequality is like the poor.
Jesus said the poor will always be with us.

But you can be sure that come 3 years from now, the Obamas won't be poor.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Ahmad Rashad' is the ultimate kept celebrity 'boy toy'. He was OJ's hanger on before, well ya know OJ killed 2 people, then he married that actress from the Cosby Show to get some class, then he was Michael Jordan's jock sniffer, then he got his big meal ticket marrying Woody Johnson's ex, until she kicked him out of the Palm Beach Manse, so now he's licking Persian ass. It's a living I guess.

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

Neo-- I would modify that to say Moochelle will never be poor. She'll get a big check from Barry and write a book to Oprah will hustl to he moron fans. Barry, will get rich and then be poor again when he gets scammed by some sharpie. Then, some rich Muzzies will bail him out in exchange for Pilgrimage to Mecca and becoming one of the faithful to Allah and his Prophet. Bless'd be his name.

[Captain Hate]

Rashad used to be on NBC NBA broadcasts; Marv Albert would refer to him as "The Dean of Sideline Reporters".

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

CaptH-- that would be known as 'damning with faint praise.'

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Wonderful Davis link, cc. Wow!

[narciso]

Illustrating the absurd;

http://weaselzippers.us/today-snow-storm-hits-virginia-d-c-2008-robert-kennedy-jr-blamed-sarah-palin-for-the-demise-of-snow-in-virginia/

interesting King didn't he feel he owed as much as to Kennedy, somewhat like RFK did to Cuomo,

[Ignatz]

I think Barry is on to something with his push to diminish income inequality.
After all, after five years of his genius policies the median income has declined for most of those years and income inequality has grown more under him than virtually anyone.

Being a super genius he'll simply do the opposite of what he has been doing to get the opposite results...right?

[Janet - the districts lie fallow, while the Capitol gorges itself]

Wendy Roseannadanna Davis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPQFQzSxxR0

*this is also why I don't quit smoking! Hah!

[Ignatz]

The twitchty Wendy Davis comments are hysterical.

[Porchlight]

Wendy Roseannadanna Davis

LOL cc, that's totally what I thought of when I saw it too!

I will try to be open-minded here - I think with a good cut and color, eyebrow shaping, smart makeup and clothes it's not really that hard to get from old Wendy to new Wendy. It's the revelations about her life that are really key. To lose custody of both her daughters including her daughter from her first marriage - in Texas, that is quite rare, especially back then. And the restraining order re: drugs and alcohol, too. Bad news.

If you come clean from the beginning like GWB and admit you were messed up and have since cleaned up your act, that's one thing. If you never mention your past sketchy behavior until your first major campaign and leave it out there for your opponent to (probably quite easily) discover, that's quite another. Even if you take her side you have to admit it's terrible campaign strategy. She is just not cut out for the big leagues.

And besides, how on earth can the left complain? This type of campaigning (digging into family court documents) was Barack Obama's MO all the way to the WH.

[Account Deleted]

Porchlight,

I find myself hoping Abortion Barbie sticks it out to the bitter end. I thinks she's a wonderful example of the typical Progressive Democrat and a credit to both Planned Parenthood and Emily's List.

[centralcal]

Porch: I think the restraining order language re: drugs and alchohol is just boilerplate per something I saw on twitter.

And, you're right about hair, makeup and clothes making a huge difference (if you make the right choices). But still, I was struck that she looked way older when she was, um, way younger. :)

[Captain Hate]

I'm with Rick; I want the Republicans to start using pink sneakers in their ads to remind the nation of the quality of wimmenz candidates the donks attract. Think they can fit a pair under a ginormous pair of cankles?

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

ginormous... HEH!

[Porchlight]

Porch: I think the restraining order language re: drugs and alchohol is just boilerplate per something I saw on twitter.

I wondered about that too, cc, but she did lose custody - why? Either because she was unfit or because she decided it was easier not to have kids & gave them up. Troubling either way.

Rick, I agree. But it turns out the Dems are wising up faster than I thought, because she was having trouble fundraising even before these stories hit. They are apparently smart enough not to throw too much money at a sure loser when so many other candidates are in dire need.

[Captain Hate]

Porch, some fellow morons have been stating that they're using her as a cash cow (!!) to draw in cash from Baby Killerz R Us for downstream races.

[Christie Krist]

Chechens are largely secular, even atheistic, a point that may be lost on many here.

A testimony from former FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds, talking about “Operation Gladio B being an ongoing NATO funded operation in cooperation with the Pentagon to stir up Islamic radical terrorism specifically in the North Caucasus region and the surrounding area as a type of threat to Russia and China …,”

More than 30 people were murdered by two consecutive suicide attacks in the southern Russian city of Volgograd, northeast of Sochi, which will host the Winter Games on February 7-23, 2014.

History:

On September 1, 2004, a group of Chechen terrorists took hostage and two days later murdered at least 335 schoolchildren and parents in Beslan, a town in the Russian republic of North Ossetia.

The main Chechen rebel leader during the first Chetchen war, Dzhokhar Dudayev, had a somewhat secular nationalist outlook.

Alexander Iskanderyan, director of the Center for Caucasian Studies in Moscow, has notably said, “..the Chechen independence movement had no Islamic dimension at all.”

When the conflict began to attract media coverage, Islamic jihadis migrated to Chechnya. Nearly twenty years on from independence the majority of Chechens just want peace and autonomy. However many prominent Chechnya commanders such as Shamil Basayev have become radicalised into a so called Islamic support network influenced by the West who control such stooges as British national Baba Ahmad and ‘other’ SAS trained mercenaries.

Chechnya is the new Afghanistan and a diplomatic and military quagmire.

[Porchlight]

Porch, some fellow morons have been stating that they're using her as a cash cow (!!) to draw in cash from Baby Killerz R Us for downstream races.

I think that was the idea, but unfortunately for them it isn't working. She ain't raising jack. So to speak.

I think the non-Texas Dem races are scaring enough people that the out-of-state money isn't pouring in like it was supposed to. And the attempt to nationalize the race appears to be blowing up in lefty faces.

[maryrose]

Porch:
I couldn't be happier to witness the early demise of Wendy Davis.
Replacement candidate in 5,4 3 2,...

[NK(withnewsoftware)]

I think the Dems will stick with Davis, because of the 'war on Womenz' and 'hands off my vagina' memes. It's all Gayz all Womenz all the time for Dems now.

[Porchlight]

A replacement candidate won't win anyway and they know it. That's why they didn't have anyone ready to go before Wendy stepped up.

Bill White, former mayor of Houston, ran about as strong a campaign as TX has seen from a Dem since Ann Richards and he couldn't get it done against Perry in 2010. I'd like to see Davis stay on just to do the max damage to the downticket races and provide a nice little pink sneaker example to the rest of the country as Rick and Cap'n point out.

On the flip side, the damage to Dem morale statewide would be considerable if she has to step down, so it's all good either way.

[Extraneus]

Seems a bit early to knock her off. Remember how Republicans were salivating over Torricelli's demise?

[clarice]

Made it home on probably the last plane to make it to DC today. I'm feeling lucky.

[Porchlight]

Maybe so, Ext. But TX isn't NJ (thank God).

Glad you're home safe, clarice.

[Captain Hate]

Remember how Republicans were salivating over Torricelli's demise?

The Torch was finished; it's just that they had somebody reeking of embalming fluid waiting for the black robed tyrants to put him on the ballot contrary to filing deadlines. Porch and everybody else from Texas have assured me she is toast.

[narciso]

It is striking how so far we haven't seen any dissension from major Dem polls, whereas the Top Men. . .

[maryrose]

CH:
Dems in New Jersey changed the rules of the state to resurrect their recently departed former senator after the filing deadline. End justifies the means was their mantra.

[maryrose]

narciso:
They walk in lockstep like the Stepford Wives. They have no master except Obama. They also have no genuine concvictions to help their fellow man. It is all about the power and the money and the position.

[narciso]

'you hate us, you really hate us;

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2014/01/oh-waah-charlie-crist-whines-about-tea-party-and-conservative-bloggers-in-new-book/