September 28, 2016 | No Comments
BULLETIN from the NYT: “Shimon Peres, one of the last surviving pillars of Israel’s founding generation, who did more than anyone to build up his country’s formidable military might, then worked as hard to establish a lasting peace with Israel’s Arab neighbors, died on Wednesday in a Tel Aviv area hospital. He was 93.” http://nyti.ms/2cBJC89
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israeli Foreign Ministry: Obama, Clintons, pope and Prince Charles to attend Shimon Peres’ funeral. Funeral is Friday.
— Clyde Haberman, Jerusalem bureau chief for the NYT from 1991 to 1995, narrates a video about Peres and his legacy http://nyti.ms/2cUsN4p
Good Wednesday morning. We have a brand-new post-debate poll that confirms Hillary Clinton got a small bump over Donald Trump from her performance. Clinton is up THREE POINTS among likely voters in the POLITICO/Morning Consult poll of the four-way race for president. Before the debate Trump was up ONE POINT. JUST NINE PERCENT of respondents said the debate changed their mind about who to vote for.
Here are some other key findings of the poll, which was conducted online Monday and Tuesday among 1,253 likely voters with a margin of error of three points.
—LESTER HOLT WAS SEEN AS FAIR. 42% of respondents said Holt was impartial. 27% said he was more favorable to Clinton and 2% said he favored Trump.
—CLINTON WAS THE WINNER. This tracks with practically all other reputable public polling: 49% say Clinton won and 26% say Trump won. 18% of Republicans say Clinton won.
—VOTERS WERE RIVETED. 72% of likely voters watched the debate, and 55% of those viewers watched the whole 95-minute affair. Half of those polled said they would watch the debate again.
—Crosstabs http://bit.ly/2d9fDSy … http://bit.ly/2djWjjX
EXCITING NEWS — This is the beginning of an exclusive polling partnership between POLITICO and Morning Consult. The goal here is simple: We want to make sure Playbook readers know what matters, and what the public thinks — and quickly. Morning Consult is on the cutting edge of online polling, and they turn around their data fast. This is the future of public-opinion surveying. Sure, we’ll do some horserace polling, but the majority of our collaborative work will be topic-based polls — who’s up, who’s down, what matters to the public and does the country even care about Washington’s most recent obsession. We want to make sure you understand what ACTUALLY matters as you start your day. We’ll be doing these polls all year, not just during election season. Stay tuned — and let us know if you have questions, thoughts or suggestions.
41 DAYS until Election Day (http://bit.ly/2d5U8Ge). SIX days until the vice presidential debate in Farmville, Virginia. REMINDER: The government shuts down the day after tomorrow — Friday — and neither the House nor the Senate has passed a stopgap funding bill. Here’s the latest from Ben Weyl, Seung Min Kim and John Bresnahan http://politi.co/2djLtu9
CONTINGENCY PLANNING — Republican operatives are already starting to game out how they’ll counteract Donald Trump’s poor debate performance — especially in tight Senate races. While no one is pushing the panic button yet, one veteran Republican who is involved in several battleground Senate races told Playbook, “If the next two debates are anything like the first, then down-ballot Republicans will have no choice but to shift messages and emphasize their ability to keep a Clinton White House in check.”
SIREN — ARIZONA REPUBLIC BREAKS TRADITION, ENDORSES CLINTON — “Endorsement: Hillary Clinton is the only choice to move America ahead”: “Since The Arizona Republic began publication in 1890, we have never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president. Never. This reflects a deep philosophical appreciation for conservative ideals and Republican principles. This year is different. The 2016 Republican candidate is not conservative and he is not qualified.” http://bit.ly/2diN7wf … A1 BANNER: “A historic endorsement: CLINTON” — Front page http://politi.co/2dsr3nR
FOR TV BOOKERS — Former longtime Republican Virginia Sen. JOHN WARNER is announcing his endorsement of Hillary Clinton today in Alexandria. It’s happening at 9:15 a.m. at Charles Houston Recreation Center, 901 Wythe St., Alexandria.
–WaPo scoop by John Wagner: “Warner’s decision not to support his party’s nominee, Donald Trump, is intended to send a signal in the five-term senator’s battleground home state and beyond that mainstream, security-minded Republicans should side with Clinton.” http://wapo.st/2djK1YD
WHAT ELIZABETH WARREN IS READING — “Wells Fargo Claws Back Millions From CEO After Scandal,” by WSJ’s Emily Glazer: “Wells Fargo & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive John Stumpf will forfeit $41 million for the bank’s burgeoning sales scandal, marking one of the biggest rebukes to the head of a major U.S. financial institution. The bank’s board moved to rescind pay for Mr. Stumpf and former community-banking head Carrie Tolstedt ahead of a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee Thursday. Wells Fargo’s board said Ms. Tolstedt, who oversaw retail banking during bad behavior there, will forfeit unvested equity awards valued at $19 million. The board said she won’t exercise ‘outstanding options’ during an investigation into the bank’s sales practices. Ms. Tolstedt has also left the bank, earlier than her planned Dec. 31 retirement.
“Clawbacks, or their absence, became a big focus of a Senate Banking Committee hearing last week into the bank’s sales tactics, which earlier resulted in a $185 million fine and regulatory action. During his appearance before that panel, Mr. Stumpf and the bank were roundly criticized for firing 5,300 employees over five years, yet taking no action against top executives. As many as two million accounts were opened using fictitious or unauthorized information.” http://on.wsj.com/2cyNodu
–Note for the banking lobby: Wells Fargo’s decision to take action before the House hearing is unlikely to stop lawmakers from trying to skewer the financial services giant Thursday. But the bigger problem for the industry is this just plays into the broader feeling that the system is rigged and any goodwill banks have tried to win back in Washington since the financial crisis could be lost.
HAPPENING TODAY: Donald Trump is in Council Bluffs, Iowa, for an afternoon rally at the Mid America Center Convention Center and then goes to Waukesha, Wisconsin, for a 6 p.m. event. Mike Pence is holding a rally at Leetonia High School in Leetonia, Ohio.
–Hillary Clinton is campaigning in New Hampshire with Bernie Sanders. The topic: college affordability. Tim Kaine is in Northern Virginia. Anne Holton is in East Lansing and Grand Rapids, Michigan. Chelsea Clinton is in Greenville and Asheville. Michelle Obama is in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
FROM FOGGY BOTTOM: “Today, Secretary of State John Kerry will deliver a speech on the Trans-Pacific Partnership at 11:00 a.m. at the Wilson Center where he will make a strong national security case for the trade agreement. He will focus on how TPP would impact our economic standing at home and abroad, our strategic interests in the Asia Pacific, and our diplomatic leadership around the world.”
BARACK OBAMA is welcoming Kyle Busch to the White House to congratulate him on winning the Sprint Cup series championship. He’ll then travel to Fort Lee, Virginia, for a CNN town hall on military and foreign policy issues with Jake Tapper. He’ll also speak to service members.
WHAT TAPPER IS THINKING — We spoke to Jake Tapper last night and he gave us a sneak peek at what his 9 p.m. CNN town hall with President Obama will look like. He expects to open the event with a few questions on the news of the day and “commander-in chief” issues. But he told us he sees his role to “facilitate an opportunity for service members and veterans” to talk about what they care about and what matters to them. Jake got the idea for this event after he wrote his book “The Outpost: An Untold Story of Valor.” During an interview with Obama for that book, Tapper asked the president two questions from members of the military. “This is an opportunity to do that on a grander scale,” Tapper said. Expect to see questions from active-duty military, those affected by the VA system and Gold Star wives.
TRUMP LASHES OUT — NYT A1, “After a Disappointing Debate, Trump Goes on the Attack,” by Alex Burns and Nick Corasaniti: “Donald J. Trump lashed out on Tuesday in the aftermath of a disappointing first debate with Hillary Clinton, scolding the moderator, criticizing a beauty pageant winner for her physique and raising the prospect of an all-out attack on Bill Clinton’s marital infidelities in the final stretch of the campaign. Having worked assiduously in recent weeks to cultivate a more disciplined demeanor on the campaign trail, Mr. Trump cast aside that approach on Tuesday morning. As Mrs. Clinton embarked on an ebullient campaign swing through North Carolina, aiming to press her newfound advantage, Mr. Trump vented his grievances in full public view.
“Sounding weary and impatient as he called into a Fox News program, Mr. Trump criticized Lester Holt, the NBC News anchor, for asking ‘unfair questions’ during the debate Monday evening, and speculated that someone might have tampered with his microphone. Mr. Trump repeated his charge that Mrs. Clinton lacked the ‘stamina’ to be president, a claim critics have described as sexist, and suggested that in the future he might raise Mr. Clinton’s past indiscretions.” http://nyti.ms/2cKvisl
TRUMP TRANSITION CHAIR WATCH — CHRIS CHRISTIE on his monthly radio show “Ask the Governor” on NJ’s 101.5 last night: “I knew nothing about the lane realignments before they happened, I knew nothing about the lane realignments as they were happening, I had nothing to do with the planning of it, I had no, nothing to do with authorizing it and we sit here now, nearly three years later and there has not been one scintilla of evidence to contradict what I just said.” 2-min. video http://bit.ly/2djFllG
—CHRISTIE trial update, from the Star-Ledger’s Ted Sherman and Matt Arco in Newark: “The prosecution’s star witness in the Bridgegate scandal claimed Gov. Chris Christie was told of the traffic jams at the George Washington Bridge in the midst of the gridlock in Fort Lee in September 2013, and laughed when he heard about it. At the same time, David Wildstein, who pleaded guilty to federal crimes associated with the scandal and is now cooperating with the government, testified that not only was Christie aware of the lane shutdowns as they were occurring — so was David Samson, the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as were other members of Christie’s closest inner circle.” http://bit.ly/2cBSZ7J
N.Y. POST wood, “EATING HIS WORDS — Christie ‘lied, laughed’ about Bridgegate” with an unflattering pic of Christie http://nyp.st/2dr8eNJ
WHAT TRUMP TOWER IS READING — “Secret money to boost Trump,” by Ken Vogel and Alex Isenstadt in Melbourne, Florida: “One of the top funders of the #NeverTrump movement is now using his name and connections to raise big money to help elect Donald Trump, but he’s telling fellow mega-donors that they can write huge checks without having their names disclosed. Todd Ricketts, whose family owns the Chicago Cubs, has raised $30 million for a pair of pro-Trump groups and has discussed a $70 million goal before Election Day, according to three Republican fundraisers familiar with the effort.
“They and others in GOP finance circles say Ricketts is making a particular effort to win over donors who want to help Trump but are leery of having their names publicly associated with the polarizing Republican nominee. Ricketts’ pitch to these donors focuses on the fact that one of the pro-Trump groups he’s fronting can accept unlimited checks while keeping its donors’ names secret.” http://politi.co/2dr1q2i
— “[Mike] Ditka, Todd Ricketts sign on for Ivanka Trump fundraiser in Chicago” – Chicago Tribune: “Republican presidential contender Donald Trump holds a fundraising luncheon in the southwest suburbs Wednesday, and daughter Ivanka has added a fundraising reception the same night in Chicago. Unlike the GOP nominee’s high-dollar event at the Bolingbrook Golf Club, the Ivanka Trump event at the home of entrepreneur Bill Farley and wife Shelley features several Illinois top Republicans as host.” http://trib.in/2d3eSuK
—“Trump considers biggest donation yet to his own campaign: The nominee might self-fund an ad blitz after his shaky debate leaves GOP uneasy,” by Ken Vogel and Alex Isenstadt: “While Trump’s campaign has experienced a surge in small-dollar fundraising this month that could make an infusion of personal cash unnecessary, major Republican donors are nervous after a rocky first debate against Hillary Clinton and could ramp up pressure on their nominee to invest in the air war.” http://politi.co/2d91ftj
PHILIPPE REINES’ email to Hillary supporters, with the subject line “Did you see last night?!?!”: “[W]hile Donald Trump thinks ‘prep’ is a four letter word, Secretary Clinton approached the debate with the seriousness it deserved. … But I wasn’t the least bit surprised — because I had the unique opportunity to play Donald in practice sessions and debate her myself. (I admit it’s one of the more unusual roles I’ve had, requiring me to dig deep to find my inner tantrum-throwing five year-old child, schoolyard bully — and someone flat out temperamentally unfit to have his finger anywhere near the nuclear button.) And since she had the best seat in the house to witness Donald’s mean-spirited and unhinged meltdown, she even managed to have some fun up there!!!! (I’ve also become exclamation point happy!!!)”
NEXT UP: ST. LOUIS — “Clinton team preps for Trump’s Bill attack: GOP sees risk as Donald threatens to throw Bill’s affairs in Hillary’s face,” by Isaac Dovere, Eli Stokols and Gabe Debenedetti: “Democrats would love Donald Trump to talk about sex. And it looks as if he will. As threats emanated from Trump Tower on Tuesday that the Republican nominee was preparing to name-check Bill Clinton’s mistresses — alleged or otherwise — Hillary Clinton’s aides and allies huddled hopefully in Brooklyn, eager for another opportunity to expose their opponent’s thin skin and rile up the female voters both campaigns need for the win.” http://politi.co/2dqTcXZ
THE MAP — “The Clinton Campaign Has a Millennial Math Problem,” by Bloomberg’s Steve Yaccino and Sasha Issenberg: “[New Hampshire] has a substantial pool of voters who choose not to join a party. Among them are 35,717 independents who voted in the 2016 Democratic primary but didn’t vote in 2008 — a good indicator of the type of Sanders backer who might not be compelled by party loyalty to rally behind the woman who beat him for the nomination.” http://bloom.bg/2dqx7O4
COMING ATTRACTIONS — “The most dangerous conspiracy theory of 2016,” by Darren Samuelsohn: “In a presidential campaign consumed by conspiracy theories, the most dangerous one looming over these final six weeks isn’t about President Barack Obama’s birthplace or whether Hillary Clinton is sick with more than pneumonia. It’s the suggestion that the election itself won’t be on the up and up. Donald Trump and his allies are directly fueling the fire. The Republican who launched his political career on the wings of the birther movement has been sounding the alarm since summer that the results in battleground states – from Ohio to Florida – will be fixed so he’ll lose.” http://politi.co/2cBODNQ
NEW EDITION OF POLITICO’s AGENDA — “The Future of Money.” POLITICO looks at the fintech industry, a burgeoning force in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Danny Vinik on if Washington can control high-tech lending, Zach Warmbrodt on high-frequency trading and Colin Wilhelm on the war over bank charters. Read all the stories here http://politi.co/2cAReCS
HAPPENING THIS MORNING — Jake and Anna will sit down for a chat this morning with theSkimm co-founders and co-CEOs Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisberg at Twitter’s D.C. office. October is National Women’s Small Business Month, and Zakin and Weisberg recently were named to Fortune’s 40 under 40 list. Just this week, it became public that the New York Times invested in theSkimm. Join in on the conversation on Twitter at #POLITICOSkimm.
MEDIAWATCH —“Cable news’ election-year haul could reach $2.5 billion,” by Hadas Gold and Alex Weprin: “According to data from media and communications data firm SNL Kagan … the three major cable news networks are set to make nearly $2 billion in ad revenues, and the three main business networks are set to add another $458 million in ad revenue from just the 2016 calendar year.” http://politi.co/2cUO0eh
–“Debate breaks record as most-watched in U.S. history,” by CNN’s Brian Stelter: “According to Nielsen, the debate averaged a total of 84 million viewers across 13 of the TV channels that carried it live. Many millions also watched the debate via live streams on the web. … People who watched the debate at parties, bars, restaurants, and offices were not counted. Neither were C-SPAN viewers. … Contrary to some speculation, there was not a big drop-off after the first 30 minutes of the 98-minute debate. The vast majority of viewers kept watching until the very end, a fact that the Clinton campaign celebrated on Tuesday.” http://cnnmon.ie/2dewFPh
–per Google: Monday’s “debate marked the largest political live stream of all time and was one of the biggest live streams in YouTube history. This record-breaking political stream garnered nearly 2 million live concurrent viewers and 3 million live watch hours across the six news organizations that streamed the debate on YouTube.” http://bit.ly/2dyJ8Nn
–“[S]earch interest in ‘register to vote’ in Spanish surged by 2,200x in the last week.”
TV TONIGHT — “MSNBC’s Chris Matthews will host a Hardball College Tour featuring the Libertarian ticket, former Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld” tonight at 7 p.m. at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.
SNEAK PEAK – The upcoming Sunday NYT Mag has an exclusive interview and profile of Marilyn Mosby, the State’s Attorney for Baltimore, written by Wil Hylton. “After famously charging the four police officers involved in the death of Freddie Gray, Mosby has seen everything slowly fall apart, including the four cases against the officers, her political future and even her marriage. Mosby gives Hylton incredible, exclusive access and is incredibly unguarded while on the record resulting in a phenomenally long and intimate profile.” http://nyti.ms/2d91LY9
FUTURECAST — NYT A10, “Elon Musk’s Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond,” by Ken Chang: “Mr. Musk estimated it would cost $10 billion to develop the rocket, and he said the first passengers to Mars could take off as soon as 2024 if the plans went off without a hitch … Each of the SpaceX vehicles would take 100 passengers on the journey to Mars, with trips planned every 26 months, when Earth and Mars pass close to each other. Tickets per person might cost $500,000 at first, and drop to about a third of that later on … To establish a self-sustaining Mars civilization of a million people would take 10,000 flights, with many more to ferry equipment and supplies.” http://nyti.ms/2djlLcI
DESSERT — “The Word ‘America’ Spelled Wrong on Trump’s D.C. Hotel Menu,” by The Daily Beast’s Peter Slattery: “Make ‘Amerrica’ Great Again? Debate-themed menus at the Benjamin Bar & Lounge, the lobby bar of Donald Trump’s new Trump International Hotel Washington D.C., spelled the word ‘America’ wrong. Specifically, if you ordered the ‘Benjamin beer silver bucket,’ priced at $100 per person, you would be treated to ‘unlimited Amerrica beer.’” http://thebea.st/2d3hx7L
SPOTTED — Justice Elena Kagan dining last night at Ghibellina on 14th Street … Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan in first class from JFK to DCA late Tuesday morning. C-SPAN’s Steve Scully, who was the backup moderator for Monday night’s debate, was in coach on the same flight.
—SPOTTED on the Acela train 1 p.m. from New York to D.C. yesterday in “a perfect representation of the stereotypical Acela passenger load”: Molly Ball, Sam Stein, Reid Epstein, Shane Goldmacher, Sahil Kapur, Eli Stokols, Ethan Hawke … STATE VISIT — Laena Fallon!
VARIETY’S NEW NEW YORK POWER — PLAYBOOKERS well represented! — Savannah Guthrie … Ben Smith … Chris Licht … David Rhodes … Brian Stelter. http://bit.ly/2dhQV4o
TODAY AT WASHINGTON IDEAS — Lonnie Bunch, Anthony Fauci, Sen Lindsey Graham, Education Sec. Anthony Foxx, Energy Sec. Ernest Moniz, GE CEO Jeff Immelt, CIA Director John Brennan, DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson, David Rubenstein, and Labor Sec. Tom Perez are among the speakers today at the Washington Ideas Forum hosted by The Atlantic and the Aspen Ideas Institute at the Harman Center for the Arts. http://theatln.tc/2d5RPTh
OUT AND ABOUT – Kitty Kelley hosted a book party last night at her Georgetown home for New Yorker staff writer Jeffrey Toobin for his new book “American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes and Trial of Patty Hearst.” Toobin told the crowd that he wrote much of “The Nine” in a small house next to Kitty’s main residence, which counts Justice William Brennan as one of the previous owners. Brennan worked on writing his opinion for New York Times Co. v. Sullivan there. Toobin also said that until he researched and wrote the book, he didn’t realize how “crazy” the 1970s were, with many domestic bombings and many airplane hijackings. $18.27 on Amazon http://amzn.to/2djy3lD
SPOTTED: Sens. Chris Coons (Del.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), and Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), White House Counsel Neil Eggleston, Joanne Kenen, Josh Gerstein, Neal Katyal, Jane Mayer and Bill Hamilton, Scott Simon, Nick Schmidle, Amy McIntosh, retired D.C. Circuit Judge Patricia Wald, Robert Wilson.
—“Peet’s Coffee CEO Dave Burwick hosted an opening party for Peet’s newest D.C. location in Georgetown last night. Guests got a sneak peek at the new store on the corner of M and 33rd St. NW. Besides Peet’s coffee drinks and delicacies, guests indulged on mini cupcakes provided by Peet’s new neighbor, Georgetown Cupcake. Most popular drink at the Peet’s coffee bar with this crowd? Traditional cappuccino.” Pics by Ben Droz http://bit.ly/2cKp4bP … http://bit.ly/2dr1Zt4
SPOTTED: Mayor Muriel Bowser, David Bell, Heather Podesta, Steve Clemons, Eric Scherwin, Poppy MacDonald, Alexis Williams, Kimball Stroud, Erica Payne, Shari Yost, Ben Chang, Erin McPike, Marissa Mitrovich, Jamie Stiehm, John Arundel, Ali Rogin, Jonathan Kott, Jessie Niewold, Rebecca Cooper, President of Einstein Bagels Sarah Spiegel, CEO of Caribou Coffee Mark Tattersfield and Jerry Baldwin, the co-founder of Starbucks.
— Former Bill Clinton Chief of Staff Mack McLarty and his wife Donna hosted a fundraiser Monday night for former U.S. Sen. Evan Bayh at their home in Embassy Row. SPOTTED: Sens. Mark Warner (Va.) and Joe Donnelly (Ind.), former Sens. Byron Dorgan and Bennett Johnston. Nancy Jacobson, Tamera Luzzatto, Brad Queisser, Jonathan Stahler, Fred Humphries.
TRANSITIONS — “Cardin Names Jessica Lewis as New SFRC Staff Director”: “Jessica is currently the Senior National Security Advisor to Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) … [and previously] worked for Senator and Congressman Robert Menendez and the House Foreign Affairs Committee in senior roles.”
–Josiah Ryan is joining CNN today in NYC as a senior producer of social TV. He previously was at The Blaze.
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Kristin Sosanie, comms for Missouri Dems and a O’Malley and Obama alum … (was Monday): Josie Martin, PhRMA EVP of public affairs
BIRTHDAYS: Edelman’s Steve Schmidt, the pride of North Plainfield, N.J., is 46 … AP’s Andrew Taylor, the pride of Delmar, N.Y. … WashPost’s Emily Heil … Laura Quinn, CEO at Catalist (h/t Jon Haber) … filmmaker Nadia Szold (h/t her proud brother Daniel Lippman) … Scott Mulhauser is 41, celebrating his first birthday in the U.S. since he moved back from China and follows his first seminar (last night) at Georgetown as a GU Institute of Politics and Public Service fellow (h/ts Kara Carscaden and Ben Chang) … Jen O’Malley Dillon, co-founder and partner at Precision Strategies, the jewel of Franklin, Massachusetts, and the pride of Democratic organizers everywhere, celebrating with daughters Mary and Katie and husband Patrick. #GoTeamField (h/ts Ben Becker and Tom Zigo) … Texas Tribune’s Abby Livingston, a Roll Call alum … BuzzFeed legal editor Chris Geidner … Politico alum Gabi Renz … Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla.) is 57 … Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) is 61 … Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) is 59 … Mattingly Messina … Evelyn Erskine, senior comms manager for global philanthropy and engagement at Bloomberg L.P. … Kat Kane, managing editor for content and creative at Hillary for America … Phil Gallo, father of four and rock of Redeemer … Laura Santucci … Reid alumnus Jon Summers, now president of OnPoint Communications … AP alum Jeff Barnard is 66 … Politico’s Patrick D’Silva and Suhani Sanwar … Brian Rogers, SVP of Definers and a McCain alum … LA Times’ Del Wilber (h/t Annie Linskey) … Molly Crosby, associate director of digital fundraising operations at Planned Parenthood and alum of Rising Tide Interactive, Patty Murray and NARAL … Jane Abraham, wife of former DOE Secretary Spence Abraham (h/t Ed Cash) … Zenefits alum Calley Means, CEO of a “Super Secret Startup,” per LinkedIn and a Schmidt protégé … Red Alert Politics editor Ron Meyer (h/t Colby Bermel) …
… Rohan Patel, special assistant to the President and deputy director of intergovernmental affairs (h/t Ali Zaidi) … Richmond Mayoral candidate Levar Stoney’s silver tongued spox, Matt Corridoni, no doubt celebrating with full martinis in each hand (h/ts Carlee and Sean) … Will Thompson, policy analyst at the Charles Group (h/t Hayley Andrews) … Rory Murphy, Sen. Baucus and Ex-Im alum, and a newly-minted member of the Mantana Bar and Squire Patton Boggs (h/t girlfriend Alex Miller) … Joanna Brenner, digital strategy editor at Newsweek … Steve Largent … Darren Grubb, pride of Midland … Katie List … Katie Smith, senior digital editor for USA Today and a Roll Call alum … WashPost multiplatform editor Julie Bone … Steve Largent … Peter Well DiBella, son of Rick and Whitney … Hutchison alum Dave Davis … Kyle Ashby, Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy … Adweek executive editor Tony Case … Melissa Charbonneau, director of comms at FedEx Services-World HQ … Marty Machowsky … Kathy Wagner … Kimberly Butler … Kate Schekells (h/t Teresa Vilmain) … Brent McIntosh, partner at Sullivan and Cromwell and a DOJ alum, is 43 … Carol Stetelman Abshire … Martin Edwin Andersen … Ryan Olsen … Brigitte Bardot is 82 … Janeane Garofalo is 52 … Naomi Watts is 48 (h/ts AP)