Google-Politico Event Elicits Serious and Jocular Moments and Two Really Helpful Press People

Readers: Note hole in right thigh of blue jeans. The Politico-Google event at the Newseum Monday afternoon was a classy, serene, cerebral event minus the rocker chic dress code of at least one reporter (ahem, GQ's Ana Marie Cox) who showed up to the suited event in ripped jeans and a T-shirt - her signature attire (she appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" Sunday in a Spider Man T-shirt). A hoard of media attendees in pant suits, dresses and ties, showed up to the event. The press list initially had the feel of a top clearance CIA document. The shaggy, long brown-haired Google guy behind the desk (Unhelpful Google Guy #1) said Google didn't really show reporters press lists, not even reporters who cover the press and who had, themselves, signed in. He snapped up the list and kept it under the card table for safe keeping. The Google guy above him, however, (a clean-cut chap nicknamed Helpful Google Guy #2) saw the benefit of revealing the list and showed it to me. HGG #2 explained that not all reporters inside the event had come to actually cover the event, some had come just come to listen. (Duly noted.) In some cases we were unable to read the handwriting of the reporter, but we do have the publications and networks that signed in. Politico's Mike Allen interviewed White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod and GOP Strategist Ed Gillespie. His interview style: extremely direct with an occasional outburst of lightheartedness. Axelrod took several questions on the subject of his weight and his recent 25-pound loss that began with a parasite. Even after questioning him relentlessly on when he and others will leave the White House, Axelrod said, "I'm not here to make announcements on personnel," but said he's likely to leave in the spring. Gillespie dinged the NYT, saying, "I read the Daily Kos today to see what will be in the NY Times tomorrow." The List: CNN's Stacia Deshishku, National Review's Robert Costa, HuffPost's Sam Stein, ABC7's Rebecca Cooper, Politico's Keach Hagey, C-SPAN, Fox News, and Sirius XM POTUS, More pictures after the jump...Photo credit: FishbowlDC's Matt Dornic

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Google-Politico Event Elicits Serious and Jocular Moments and Two Really Helpful Press People

Betsy Rothstein

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Betsy Rothstein