Obama Has Off-The-Record Lunch With Journalists At White House

Politico:

The attendees for Friday's lunch were as follows: CNN's David Gergen, Washington Post's Chris Cillizza, Newsweek's Jon Meacham and Howard Fineman, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Cynthia Tucker, POLITICO's Mike Allen, NPR/ Fox's Mara Liasson, Talking Points Memo's Josh Marshal and a trio from the the New York Times: David Brooks, Andy Rosenthal, and Gail Collins.

Read the whole story: Politico

Comments

[Okieborn]

Mr. President !!
How about a free lunch for the ill, homeless, and out of work Americans who worked so very hard for Hope and Change !!

[rain33]

whats the big idea? yawn!

[MyrtleJune]

Brooks is not a journalist.

[citizen of the universe]

I would love to be a fly on the wall in these off-the-record meetings. You can rip him to shreds in your column and he invites you to lunch. Who feels more awkward the journalist or the President?

[yweston]

Faux Entertainment was included. Bush never included "Liberals" in his meetings.

[Gretel1or2]

What's the point of this article...these WH lunches with journalists are routine..and happen with all administrations. Moving right along - we've got a health care reform bill to get leglislated and plenty more to do!!

[Antifascist-08]

OK, al you folks should know that HP put this article out here to see how many tr o lls would come out of the woodwork to complain about it somehow.

Interesting that people on both sides took the bait.

[Antifascist-08]

"The off-the-record lunch lasted about two hours, and included a green salad, halibut and and pear tart for dessert.."

I smell a conspiracy!

[Gretel1or2]

Yes, I find it rather curious that there was no red velvet cake on the dessert menu....

[escribacat]

Michele Malkin is going to be very jealous again. Maybe they should save her a cupcake next time.

[LeftCoastLarry]

I think John Madden would have been a good choice.

[Durango]

excuse me.

it is possible some of those folks were "journalists."

But most are "Pundits".

Big difference. Don't know them all but i doubt there was a 'reporter" in the group.

And David Brooks?

A very inaccurate and bad pundit indeed.

[MurrayAbraham]

Is that a free press? Journalists who accept off the record meetings with the powers that be?

[LeftCoastLarry]

What's not free about it?
Pay attention to what's going on. Obama has met informally with people from this line of work a few times now.
I think it's great that he meets with them. What do you want? A president completely lacking in social skills?
Oh, that's right. We just had that for eight very long painful years.

[JMBrodie]

Happens all the time. Not a big deal. It gives us a way to understand the person in an unvarshied setting. It also helps us understand the way the person sees the issues, sees the job. etc.

[Antifascist-08]

It didn't cost them anything, did it?

Free press, free lunch. Works for me.

[weatherwaxx]

Why not? He's their President too.

[Citizen54]

Oh look, it's the Conventional Wisdom club, straight from the latest DC cocktail party.

Where's someone like, oh, Matt Taibi? Or Glenn Greenwald? Charlie Pierce? Amy Goodman?

[Durango]

Agreed.

What this country suffers from is way too much conventional wisdom.

Conventional it very well may be.

But WISDOM?

Not hardly.

[littlepuffycloud]

I bet David Brooks chews with his mouth open.

[kasinca]

I bet he picks his nose and digs his arse...he is a rethug.

[talkingdog]

It's off the record until the next talkshow appearance.