White House down the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland partyDetails of an Alice in Wonderland White House dress up party — featuring Johnny Depp in character — were kept secret due to concerns it might create a bad PR look, according to New York Post.
White House
White House attempts a Rickroll
The official White House twitter account replied to a tweet complaining about how boring the latest White House briefing on fiscal policy was, with a link straight to Rick Astley’s classic.
Media briefs: Newspaper sales audit change … Aussie editor freed …
Front page of the Day … ABC announces “milestone” changes to auditing rules for newspaper sales … Australian media boss Ross Dunkley free after conviction in Burma …
How the White House steered the bin Laden death narrative
The White House undertook two major Osama bin Laden operations: the first his assassination, the second how it was rolled out to the media. The WH proved it understands how journalists work, writes Gabriel Sherman.
Must-miss: the White House Deficit Summit
Vice US President Joe Biden will be the host and mediator of the White House’s recently announced Deficit Summit. There’s nothing like a good ol’ fashioned exercise in vitriolic futility, writes Adam Sorensen.
Video of the Day: A very White House Christmas
Yesterday was an important day in the White House: Michelle Obama officially unveiled this year’s “holiday” decorations, including 19 Christmas trees and a giant bow made out of pipe cleaners. Check out this behind-the-scenes look at 97 volunteers, full of Christmas spirit as they deck the halls and hang tinsel in the Oval Office.
Rundle: the world changed this week. And it’s only Monday
When the diplomatic correspondence of an entire nation can be loaded onto a memory stick, then security is only as good as the least ‘dependable’ individual in the whole chain.
Michael Wolff: where’s the oil?
The scientists are now the fumfering ones, insisting reports the Gulf oil spill has disappeared must be true. The greater crisis is, says Michael Wolff as it has long been: the lack of a reliable narrator.
Pentagon can’t plug WikiLeaks
Too bad that the Pentagon is demanding that no more confidential US military documents appear on the internet, WikiLeaks has confirmed it will continue to leak damaging documents from around the world.
Fox News sneaks into the front row
After months of campaigning, Fox News will be getting a front row seat in the White House briefing room. But not Helen Thomas’ coveted front row centre seat, Associated Press has claimed that one.
It’ll cost Obama $600,00 to read the WSJ
For over a decade in Washington, government staff have read a daily organised wrap of press clippings from major publications. Except, Murdoch’s Wall Street Journal has decided to up the price for WSJ clippings by a whopping $600,000.
Washington changes tune on talks with Taliban
The official line from the White House is that America does not negotiate with the Taliban. Behind the scenes, however, attitudes are shifting and the Obama administration are exploring options to negotiate through third parties.
Who gets Helen Thomas’ seat?
Retired journo Helen Thomas had the prime seat for White House press conferences: front row, centre. Now she’s gone, the battle is on the coveted chair, with Fox News the current frontrunner.
Can the White House kick out a reporter from the press corp?
The resignation of Helen Thomas has raised questions of whether the White House can decide press corps credentials. It’s not easy to get a pass, but only security concerns can take it away from you.
Helen Thomas retires in disgrace: a Crikey wrap
Journalism legend Helen Thomas was forced to retire on Monday amidst controversy surrounding her comments on Israel. Nicolas Bradley brings you a wrap of the best commentary on Helen.
Dowd: All the single ladies put your hands up
It’s total bull that recent US Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan gets referred to by the White House as “unmarried” rather than “single”. Why make her sound depressing? asks Maureen Dowd.
must read 
Inside the world of White House dinners
Air out the tuxedo and polish the pearls, Vanity Fair goes behind the scenes of White House state dinners. From protocol to presidents and promoting the Obama brand, they’re complicated affairs.
Politico‘s Mike Allen: The most powerful journalist in DC
The NYT profiles Politico’s Chief White House Correspondent Mike Allen, the man whose Playbook drives the nation’s daily political discourse.
The day I met Obama
Barack Obama fan boy (and ABC’s Washington correspondent) Michael Brissenden spills on his 25 minute encounter with the “tallish, slim, well groomed” POTUS, which included a surprise visit from Sasha and Bo.
Google takes over the White House
Google isn’t just your favourite search engine. It’s power has increased so much that it is now involved in policy debates and government lobbying in the US. But is it just a tiny fish in a giant Washington pond?
Who answers the White House phone?
Everything you ever wanted to know about dialing the leader of the free world: Does he really have a secret number? Can you call it? And what about the iconic Cold War “red phone”?
Organising the Obamas: the crucifixion of their social secretary
The Obama’s social secretary is a long time friend of theirs, Desirée Rogers. Which makes it even sadder as the Washington political pool sucks her in and spits her out for her flashy clothes and love of the ‘Obama brand’.
Canberra’s Camelot: take the Lodge tour
Get ready for some political voyeurism as Thérèse Rein opens the doors of the prime ministerial residence to a TV show. But can we really pretend that the Lodge has the same mystique as the White House? asks Mel Campbell.
What’s the White House worth? About $15m less than a year ago
Even the White House is not immune to falling US property prices: real estate bloggers Zillow say the building is now worth $292.5 million — $15.6 million less than when Obama took office a year ago.
