Photograph by Charles Dharapak/AP Photo

President Barack Obama walks with Chief of Staff Denis McDonough, right, as they leave the Gridiron Dinner through a loading area at a hotel in Washington, on March 9, 2013.

President Barack Obama, wearing white tie and tails at Washington’s premiere show of political satire, made light of budget cuts consuming the capital.

“Because of sequester, they cut my tails,” Obama said at the head table of the Gridiron Club’s annual dinner last night, opening with an allusion to the budget sequestration he has ordered. “My joke writers have been placed on furlough.”

This didn’t stop the president from making fun of his new Treasury secretary, Jacob Lew, who replaced Timothy Geithner.

“Jack is so low-key, he makes Tim Geithner look like Tom Cruise,” the president said.

It didn’t stop him from making fun of Secretary of State John Kerry, who has replaced Hillary Clinton.

“Let’s face it, Hillary is a tough act to follow,” Obama said, adding of Kerry: “Frankly, though, I think it’s time for him to stop showing up for work in pant suits.”

And it certainly left no protection for Vice President Joe Biden in Obama’s comedic script for a room full of journalists and government leaders attending the annual Washington ritual.

“His age is an issue,” Obama said of Biden, a potential candidate for higher office. “I had to take Joe aside and say, `Joe, let’s face it, you are way too young to be the Pope.”’

Yet, judging from the laughter in the Renaissance Hotel ballroom, the night belonged to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, a Republican who was widely ridiculed for a lackluster televised response to Obama’s first State of the Union address to Congress and the nation as president in 2009.

Jindal thanked the Gridiron Club for offering him this opportunity “to try to be funny on purpose.”

“They say this is a place where you can come and tell jokes about the president, poke fun at yourself, set political ambition aside and just generally say anything you want,” Jindal, a supporter of Republican Mitt Romney’s 2012 campaign for president, said in his stand-up routine — “kind of like the Romney campaign.”

“Now some people have asked me if I intend to run for president in 2016,” said Jindal, who went on to name the first of the presidential nominating contests. “I have no plans to run. I’ve made that clear over and over again,” he said — “in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina.”

“I mean, come on, what chance does a skinny guy with a dark complexion and a funny name have?” asked Jindal, who was born of Indian immigrants and stood two seats from Obama, the nation’s first African-American president, as he delivered his monologue. “The truth is, I am too skinny to run. At least that’s what my friend, Chris Christie, keeps telling me,” Jindal said of the heavyset New Jersey governor.

“Speaking of brown, I was hoping to see my good friend, John Boehner, here tonight,” Jindal said of the U.S. House speaker from Ohio. “We actually go to the same tanning salon.”

Jindal paused to take a sip of water, explaining he was “getting really dry up here” — with a sight gag making fun of a pause for water that Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida took in this year’s response to the State of the Union.

Jindal even poked fun at the name of the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Reince Priebus: “At least I had the foresight at the age of four to change my name to Bobby.”

Obama, too, had some fun at Rubio’s expense, pausing only briefly for a water break and announcing; “That, Marco Rubio, is how you take a sip of water.”

Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, delivering the Democratic Party’s jokes, offered the audience an allusion to the inaugural ceremony for Obama’s second term in which the singer Beyonce mouthed the words to the national anthem.

“Did anyone else notice that Bobby Jindal lip-synched his entire remarks?” Klobuchar asked.

Klobuchar also joked about Obama’s first debate with Romney during the 2012 campaign, in which polls found viewers crediting Romney with an advantage over the president.

“I know one thing,” Klobuchar said. “I prepared more for this speech than the president did for his first debate.”

The Gridiron Club, marking its 128th year, is the oldest organization of journalists in Washington, with membership by in invitation. The private conclave roasts public officials at an annual white-tie dinner in Washington, with the songs of its satirical skits accompanied by U.S. Marine Band.

While every American president since 1885 except Grover Cleveland has attended the Gridiron, this was only the second appearance for Obama as president. He last appeared in 2011.

The night featured repeated jokes about journalist Bob Woodward’s telephone and e-mail encounter with an Obama aide who suggested Woodward would regret what he was reporting about the president. Woodward, of the Washington Post, was one of the reporters whose reporting about the Watergate scandal in the 1970′s led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

“Can anyone tell me when an administration has ever regretted picking a fight with Bob Woodward?” Obama asked. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

The first lady was not in attendance at the Gridiron dinner, though the audience could assume the president was speaking of her as he delivered one of his lines.

`I’m sure that you’ve noticed that there’s somebody very special in my life who is missing tonight, somebody who has always got my back, stands with me no matter what and gives me hope no matter how dark things seem,” said Obama, proceeding to name a New York Times columnist and statistical analyst who predicted the president’s re-election in November.

“So tonight, I want to publicly thank my rock, my foundation,” Obama said. “Thank you, Nate Silver.”

Original post is Obama’s Gridiron: Jindal’s Night by Political Capital.

Photograph by Gerald Herbert/AP Photo

President Barack Obama greets people as he visits Island Snow for shave ice in Kailua, Hawaii, during his holiday vacation, on Jan 3, 2013.

President Barack Obama returns to Washington today from his annual family vacation in Hawaii for a week expected to include Cabinet nominations, a meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and preparations for a second-term inauguration.

Obama is scheduled to return to the White House before noon. Before his departure last night from Honolulu, the president also was gearing up for a political fight next month with Republicans over raising the U.S. debt limit. In his weekly radio address, which was taped from Hawaii and aired yesterday, the president reiterated a warning that he will not negotiate with Republicans over borrowing authority.

Former Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, 66, is expected to be named as soon as tomorrow as Obama’s choice to be the nation’s next defense secretary, according to a person familiar with the cabinet-selection process.

The president is to meet with Karzai on Jan. 11. As the U.S. war in Afghanistan winds down, Karzai is visiting Washington to discuss concerns including the size of U.S. troop levels in his country after 2014 and the future U.S. financial commitment.

Obama has yet to name a new head of the Central Intelligence Agency. John Brennan, the president’s counterterrorism chief, is said to be among the leading candidates. Other pending announcements include a replacement for Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner, and may include a new chief of staff if Jack Lew is named as Geithner’s replacement.

In December, the president announced his choice of Massachusetts Senator John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as secretary of state.

Obama originally was set to spend two weeks in Hawaii, where he was born and raised, to recharge following his re- election campaign and work on the Jan. 21 address he is to deliver for his second-term inauguration.

That plan was interrupted when the congressional standoff over how to prevent automatic tax hikes and spending cuts from going into effect beginning Jan. 1 forced him to cut short his trip on Dec. 26. Obama, who arrived in Hawaii on Dec. 22, to returned to Washington and then, after Congress passed a budget deal late Jan. 1, flew back to Hawaii for another four days.

During the second part of his Hawaii trip, Obama took his daughters bowling, ate shave ice with his daughters, golfed, and dined out with his wife and friends.

Obama on Jan. 2 signed the law raising income-tax rates on couples to 39.6 percent for annual income above $450,000 while extending tax cuts for lower incomes and delaying automatic spending cuts until March 1.

Markets rallied in response to the agreement, even as Obama and congressional Republicans are poised for a new fight over the U.S. government’s debt ceiling.

The U.S. reached its $16.4 trillion legal debt limit on Dec. 31, and the Treasury Department began using extraordinary measures to finance the government. It will exhaust that avenue as early as mid-February, the Congressional Budget Office says.

In the radio address, Obama said, “One thing I will not compromise over is whether or not Congress should pay the tab for a bill they’ve already racked up.

“If Congress refuses to give the United States the ability to pay its bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy could be catastrophic.”

Obama said rich Americans and companies should pay more taxes beyond the fiscal cliff accord as part of a balanced approach with spending cuts.

“The last time Congress threatened this course of action, our entire economy suffered for it,” the president said in the address from Hawaii.

Original post is Obama Home from the Holidays: Hard New Year’s Nights Ahead by Political Capital.

Photograph by Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images

President Barack Obama listens to President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto of Mexico during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Nov. 27, 2012.

Chief executives from some of the biggest U.S. corporations descend on Washington to meet with President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to urge agreement on addressing the fiscal cliff, Bloomberg reports.

Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner will meet with Frank Blake of Home Depot Inc.; Joe Echeverria of Deloitte LLP; Ken Frazier of Merck and Co. Inc.; Muhtar Kent of Coca-Cola Co.; Terry Lundgren of Macy’s Inc.; Marissa Mayer, president of Yahoo!; Douglas Oberhelman of Caterpillar Inc.; Ian Read of Pfizer Inc., Brian Roberts of Comcast Corp.; Ed Rust of State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.; Arne Sorenson of Marriott International Inc.; Randall Stephenson of AT&T Inc.; and Patricia Woertz of Archer-Daniels Midland Co.

Before that meeting, Boehner will hold a CEO confab of his own with  Thomas Wilson of Allstate Corp., David Cote of Honeywell International Inc., Mark Bertolini of Aetna Inc. and others.

Meanwhile, Joseph Kennedy, CEO of Pandora Media Inc., will tell a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on music licensing that his company, the biggest online radio service, is subject to an “astonishingly high royalty burden” that Congress should takes steps to fix, according to his prepared remarks.

Also today, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist discusses tax policy and politics at the Newseum. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus holds a news conference on immigration reform at the U.S. Capitol. And the Federal Reserve releases its “Beige Book” regional economic survey, published two weeks before each Federal Open Market Committee meeting on interest rates.

Original post is Washington Daybook: CEO City by Political Capital.

President Barack Obama takes his lobbying of executives public today when he meets at the White House with the heads of General Electric, Ford, Honeywell and American Express to ask them to back his plan to impose higher taxes on the wealthy to cut the deficit and avert going over the so-called fiscal cliff. He’ll also hold his first press conference since his re-election.

It’s decision day in Congress, with House and Senate Republicans and Democrats choosing their leaders for the 113th Congress. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi announces whether she plans to relinquish her post, while independent Senator-elect Angus King of Maine decides which party he’ll caucus with.

Senior FBI officials are expected to brief the House and Senate Intelligence Committees on their handling of the Petraeus investigation, ABC News reported. Officials are expected to lay out how the case was developed and argue that there were no politics involved. The case is so critical that FBI Director Robert Mueller may attend to defend the bureau, according to the report.

Also today, a House panel holds a hearing on meningitis deaths while Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials discuss Basel III rules before the Senate Banking Committee. And the Bipartisan U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission issues its annual report, calling China ‘‘the most threatening actor in cyberspace’’ as the country’s intelligence agencies and hackers use increasingly sophisticated techniques to gain access to U.S. military and defense contractor computers, according to a draft. The report, mandated by Congress, will probably recommend specific penalties to blunt China’s encroachment.

With assistance from Jim O’Connell

Original post is Washington Daybook: The Art of Lobbying by Political Capital.

Photograph by Tracy A. Woodward/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Van Zandt at Nationals Park.

Born to Run — that’s both the title of a 1975 smash hit by Bruce Springsteen and an apt description of former President Bill Clinton. Both men take to the campaign trail today in support of President Barack Obama’s bid for another term with less than three weeks to go before Election Day.

The Boss will speak at a rally with Clinton in Parma, Ohio, then, in some kind of runaway American dream, he’ll run out to another event in Ames, Iowa, while Clinton discusses dreams and visions at a rally in Wintersville, Ohio.

The highways may be jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive, so Obama will fly to New York today to tape an appearance on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” which will be broadcast tonight on Comedy Central. Later, he and Republican challenger Mitt Romney will attend the Alfred E. Smith dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, a light-hearted event where candidates show their humorous side to raise money for the poor of the Catholic Archdiocese of New York.

Back in Washington, Security and Exchange Commission officials speak at a securities enforcement forum. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner chairs a closed meeting of the Financial Stability Oversight Council at the U.S. Treasury. And EADS North America reveals the results of a flight demonstration for the U.S. Army’s Armed Aerial Scout program, showcasing an armed version of the Lakota helicopter.

Also today, lawmakers probing a meningitis outbreak are focusing on why a pharmacy linked to the infections didn’t receive greater scrutiny when potential regulatory violations were found six years ago. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano participates in the “Great ShakeOut” earthquake drill. And the Commerce Department announces whether it will begin an investigation to determine if Chinese plywood producers are selling their goods in the U.S. below cost.

But till then tramps like us, baby, we were born to run.

Original post is Washington Daybook: Born to Run by Political Capital.

Photograph by Jewel Samad/AFP via GettyImages

Dolls depicting President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney at a gift shop at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport on Oct. 14, 2012.

President Barack Obama travels to Williamsburg, the colonial capital of Virginia that’s become a living museum, hoping that history doesn’t repeat itself as he prepares for tomorrow’s second presidential debate.

Doubts raised by his first subdued performance, paired with tightening polls and a fresh burst of enthusiasm for challenger Mitt Romney, have ignited Democratic concerns that the advantage is moving to the Republicans.

With early voting taking place in competitive states and the Nov. 6 Election Day just over 3 weeks away, Obama must go on the offensive, laying out clear contrasts with Romney and making the kind of personal connection with voters that helped him win four years ago, Bloomberg News reported today, citing Democratic strategists.

Reports due today to the Federal Election Commission may show how much Romney’s momentum has benefitted campaign coffers. Congressional candidates and political action committees will file their quarterly spending reports to the agency, as will Romney Victory, the joint fundraising committee for the Romney campaign, the Republican National Committee and state parties.

Obama may get a lift from economic reports due out today. Retail sales probably rose in September for a third month as demand for automobiles improved and discounters benefitted from a final rush of back-to-school shopping, economists said before a Commerce Department report.

Also today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce releases the first international index of energy security risk. The Center for Strategic and International Studies presents a report on the largest defense budgets in Asia, focusing on China, India, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. And Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner attends a private dinner in honor of former President Bill Clinton and poet Maya Angelou hosted by the Embassy of Kuwait.

Historical records and access to them will be discussed as military hearings resume in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in the case of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The weeklong hearings include consideration of a challenge by media organizations to a government motion that statements made by the defendants should be considered “presumptively classified.”

Julianna Goldman and Lisa Lerer assisted on this report.

Original post is Washington Daybook: History Repeating by Political Capital.

Photograph by Emma Fidel/Bloomberg

Protesters outside of Edward DeMarco’s house.

A few dozen people picketed outside Edward DeMarco’s house this evening to protest what they say is his unfair treatment of their own homes.

DeMarco, acting director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, didn’t show during the 1 and 1/2 hour gathering on his lawn in Silver Spring, Maryland. The protestors, who call themselves the Fannie Freddie Fighters, told stories of going through foreclosures with a megaphone and chanted, “Banks got bailed out, we got sold out,” and, “Ed DeMarco we’re coming for you.”

DeMarco’s agency oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he has recently come under fire from homeowners and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner alike for refusing to allow principal reductions on delinquent mortgages. New York Times columnist Paul Krugman called for DeMarco’s firing in July.

Protesters, who ranged in age and ethnicity, said they hoped DeMarco would reduce principals on mortgages, be replaced, or both.

“My wife Lucinda and I are fighting to save our home,” said John Vinje, a U.S. Air Force veteran from Minnesota. “We’re here to hopefully convince Mr. DeMarco to do the right thing and save millions of homeowners and leave them in their homes.”

Antonio Ennis, a rapper and protest organizer who led the Fannie Freddie Fighters in chants, said he didn’t hesitate to bring protesters to bankers’ or bureaucrats’ homes because “they don’t have any hesitation coming to our homes.”

DeMarco’s own home is modest and brick, and was an odd backdrop for the brightly-colored Occupy school bus that brought some of the group to the Maryland suburb of Washington, D.C.. The protesters, who live around the country, drove to DeMarco’s house from Washington, where they gathered at Fannie Mae’s national headquarters this morning. The turnout there numbered more than 100, and five protesters were arrested, WTOP radio station reported.

“These people make up for in enthusiasm what we lack in numbers,” Vinje said while nodding toward the crowd, which included a handful of young children and one protester wearing a giant vampire head.

After reading the group’s version of a pink slip addressed to DeMarco entitled “Notice of Termination of Employment,” the crowd sat down for a “pizza party” on the lawn. When they’d finished, they were careful to take their boxes and other trash with them.

“I don’t lead people to homes to be disrespectful or scare their children or anything like that, that’s not what it’s about,” Ennis said. “And that’s why I don’t want people leaving trash and making it like we came here to deface the neighborhood.”

Original post is Homeowners Protest Fannie, Freddie at DeMarco’s House by Political Capital.

Photograph by Amir Narimani/document IRAN/Bloomberg

A poster of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, next to a balloon with a nuclear logo during a rally marking the 28th anniversary of the Islamic revolution in Tehran.

It’s a day of watchfulness in Washington. President Barack Obama is promising to keep an eye on Iran and its nuclear program, the Environmental Protection Agency is scrutinizing Chevron Corp.’s environmental practices and former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt will talk about how best to watch over companies that manage investments.

Obama addresses the United Nations General Assembly, where he’ll pledge that the U.S. is committed to keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and say that the time for diplomacy “is not unlimited,” according to speech excerpts released by the White House. Later, he’ll follow Mitt Romney to the stage to discuss good governance at the Clinton Global Initiative conference, also in New York. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will appear on a panel at the Clinton event.

The National Federation of Independent Business and the National Association of Manufacturers release a survey on election-year business climate in the U.S. And today is the deadline for Representative Todd Akin to petition  Missouri state courts to remove him from the ballot for the U.S. Senate. Akin has been under pressure from within the Republican party to quit the race against Democratic incumbent Senator Claire McCaskill because of his controversial remarks on abortion last month.

The EPA is investigating Chevron’s Richmond, California refinery after officials determined pollution controls were bypassed, Bloomberg News reported today. The International Monetary Fund releases portions of Global Financial Stability Report. And Harvey Pitt, who served as chairman of the SEC from 2001 to 2003 and is now CEO of Kalorama Partners LLC, speaks on investment regulation at the Cato Institute.

Also today, former Secretary of State Colin Powell and former NATO Secretary General Javier Solana discuss the U.S. and EU response to Arab Spring, and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski discusses broadband expansion at a Vox Media event.

Original post is Washington Daybook: Watchfulness by Political Capital.

President Barack Obama’s economic advisers have argued over everything from the size of the stimulus package to prop trading at the biggest banks.

But there’s another topic they debate after hours: Was that ball in or out?

Of the original Treasury tennis mafia — Timothy Geithner, Gene Sperling, and Alan Krueger — two now have top jobs at the White House. Sperling is the director of the National Economic Council. Krueger is Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. When Larry Summers, Obama’s first NEC director, left, Geithner only consolidated his power.

But Summers, eager for a game of tennis and interested in the Federal Reserve Chairmanship, could come back to Washington. Not that the deal needs to be sweetened, but the Fed has its own court.

Here’s a guide to the exclusive tennis courts of DC.

Original post is 30-Love in Undisclosed Locations by Political Capital.

Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

Timothy Geithner, U.S. treasury secretary and trustee of Social Security and Medicare trust funds.

Spotted at last night’s Jackson Browne concert at Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia:

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner.

Browne, 63, a liberal singer-songwriter, is known for 1970s hits, including “The Pretender” and “Running on Empty,” and his political activism, ranging from “No Nukes” to acoustic performances at “Occupy Wall Street” protests last year in New York and D.C.

Geithner, 50, is former president of the New York Federal Reserve. In an interview with Charlie Rose yesterday, taped before the concert, Geithner was asked to defend criticism that “you bailed out Wall Street, but you didn’t bail out Main Street.”

Geithner pushed back, saying that he was protecting “the average American from the failures in the failing financial system” and that “to have let it burn would have been much more damaging to Main Street.”

Geithner also told Rose he was “deeply offended” by criticism that he was too friendly to banks because of his time at the New York Fed.

His office, however, declined to say which Browne tunes the Treasury secretary favors most.

Original post is Tim Geithner Sees Jackson Browne: Occupying Wolf Trap by Political Capital.