The Sleuth: February 1, 2009 - February 7, 2009
House Democrats Party Like Boom Times
House Democrats let it all hang out last night. They danced, sang, drank and whooped it up at their annual retreat in Williamsburg until after midnight, forgetting, for a few hours at least, the misery of the free-falling economy, punctuated by the grim news that unemployment is hurling toward Great Depression levels. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (S.C.) danced together...
By
Mary Ann Akers
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February 7, 2009; 11:52 AM ET |
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Get Ready For the U.S. Census Fight, Chicago-style
Republicans are fit to be tied over the Obama administration's Tom DeLay-style strategy of removing the U.S. Census Bureau from the jurisdiction of the Commerce Department and transfering it to the White House. Their biggest fear, of course, is that with the 2010 census looming, Democrats will attempt to redraw congressional districts to their party's ultimate benefit. (Not that Republicans have ever used politics as...
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Mary Ann Akers
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February 6, 2009; 6:30 PM ET |
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Biden Visit Drives One Small Business Owner Off Deep End
Vice President Biden's visit to a dilapidated train station in Laurel, Md., today to promote the economic stimulus package sent at least one local business owner over the edge. Tim Abell, co-owner of Security Vault Works, which is a stone's throw from the train station, was so irate about Biden's security detail shutting down the street in front of his firm that he threatened...
By
Mary Ann Akers
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February 5, 2009; 5:23 PM ET |
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Klobuchar, a Laugh a Minute at Press Dinner
Hands down, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) was the star at last night's annual congressional press dinner, where Dick Cheney, Joe Biden and the Fourth Estate became the butt of jokes. "This could be the first time Lou Dobbs tries to deport an entire newspaper," Klobuchar said about the potential takeover of the New York Times by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu. On political fundraising, the...
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Mary Ann Akers
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February 5, 2009; 7:15 AM ET |
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An Evening Out With Congress
Tonight is the annual congressional correspondents' dinner hosted by the Washington Press Club Foundation. The Sleuth will be there, live tweeting the goings on and who's who, both on stage and behind the scenes. The highlight of the dinner, or the entertainment - a word we use loosely - each year are the main speakers: one House member and one senator, from different parties, who...
By
Paul Volpe
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February 4, 2009; 2:37 PM ET |
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Leo Hindery, Up the Creek Without a Patron
What has been a brutal day for former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle has also been a tough one for Leo Hindery. After spending years cultivating powerful politicians in Washington and paying public relations flaks to float his name as a possible Cabinet contender, Hindery, the media mogul and longtime Democratic donor, is up the old creek without a paddle. Well, as far as getting...
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Mary Ann Akers
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February 3, 2009; 5:26 PM ET |
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Super Bowl Tests President Obama's Cool
If you were wondering whether the famously calm President Obama kept his cool during Sunday night's incredibly suspenseful Super Bowl, the answer is... absolutely. He was totally into it, following every twist and turn in the dramatic and at times heart-stopping game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals, we're told. But even as the Steelers, who the president was rooting for, fell behind,...
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Mary Ann Akers
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February 2, 2009; 7:32 PM ET |
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Super Bowl, Another Defeat for McCain; Obama Invites Steelers to White House
UPDATED, 12:56 p.m. ET It's a good thing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wasn't at President Obama's inaugural Super Bowl party last night (as other members of the Pennsylvania and Arizona delegations were). Left: Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney after his team beat the Arizona Cardinals, Feb. 1, 2009. (Photo -- Getty Images). Right: President Obama at the White House, Feb. 2, 2009 (Photo -- Reuters)...
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Mary Ann Akers
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February 2, 2009; 9:29 AM ET |
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