GOOD THURSDAY MORNING. FIRST IN PLAYBOOK -- Jason Kander, the Democratic candidate challenging Roy Blunt for his Missouri Senate seat, is out with a provocative new ad. It shows Kander putting together an AR-15 rifle blindfolded while discussing his military history, views on the Second Amendment and support of background checks. THE MONEY LINE: At the end, he takes his blindfold off and says, “I approve this message, because I’d like to see Senator Blunt do this” -- referring to his assembling a gun blindfolded http://bit.ly/2ca9McP The NRA has been running ads against Kander (http://bit.ly/2cHjacr). Recent polling shows Blunt with a lead.
There are 54 days until Election Day, and just 11 days until the presidential debate at Hofstra University.
HILLARY IS BACK -- Hillary Clinton is back on the trail today in Greensboro, and she’ll be in Washington tonight for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Gala at the convention center.
-- COMING ATTRACTIONS -- Jen Palmieri previews Clinton’s upcoming Greensboro speech: “One upside to Hillary Clinton’s break from the trail was having time to sharpen the final argument she will present to voters in these closing weeks … [Clinton’s] remarks will focus on what has been at the core of who Hillary Clinton is as a person and the mission of her campaign - how we lift up our children and families and make sure that every child has the chance to live up to their God given potential. Our campaign readily admits that running against a candidate as controversial as Donald Trump means it is harder to be heard on what you aspire for the country’s future and it is incumbent on us to work harder to make sure voters hear that vision.”
HAPPENING TODAY -- Donald Trump is speaking to the New York Economic Club at the Waldorf Astoria before heading to Laconia, New Hampshire. Trump is hosting an event tomorrow at his new hotel in Washington. Mike Pence is fundraising in New York. Tim Kaine is campaigning in Portsmouth and Exeter, New Hampshire. The Donald Trump Congressional Caucus is meeting this morning at 8:30 a.m. at 430 1st Street, S.E.
Paul Ryan has a press conference this morning. He said last week that he doesn’t really want to answer for everything Donald Trump has to say.
BULLETIN -- From Rachael Bade: “House Freedom Caucus Chairman Jim Jordan and Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte have reached a tentative compromise to postpone a vote to impeach the IRS commissioner, sources familiar with the talks told POLITICO. Under the terms of the emerging deal, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen would testify before the Judiciary panel next Wednesday, and any impeachment vote would likely be postponed until after the November election rather than take place on Thursday, the sources said.” http://politi.co/2cQ0GU8
DAILY DONALD -- “Trump: ‘Do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?’” by Eli Stokols in Canton, Ohio: “After seeding the conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton is in failing health, Donald Trump has been judiciously avoiding the topic of her bout with pneumonia. But before a raucous crowd here Wednesday night, he veered off the teleprompter several times — and, at one point, tiptoed right up to the topic his advisers have urged him to avoid as he riffed about the rigors of campaigning the way he does. ‘You think this is easy? In this beautiful room that is 122 degrees,’ Trump said, even though the arena was notably chillier — a number of people wore jackets — than his usual venues. ‘It is hot and it is always hot when I perform, because the crowds are so big, these rooms were not designed for this kind of crowd.’ ‘I don’t know folks, do you think Hillary could stand up here for an hour?’” http://politi.co/2cx5rTz
--“Doctor for Hillary Clinton Declares Her Healthy, Fit to Serve,” by WSJ’s Peter Nicholas and Michael Bender: “Hillary Clinton’s campaign on Wednesday released additional medical information about the Democratic presidential nominee, as the health and fitness of the two major-party candidates remained a central focus of the race. A two-page note by Mrs. Clinton’s doctor aimed to reassure voters she is in good overall health coming off a pneumonia diagnosis and a near-collapse over the weekend while she was getting into her vehicle. In the letter, her physician pronounced her healthy and ‘fit to serve as president.’
“Under pressure to reveal more about his health, Donald Trump’s campaign initially said it would publicly release more medical details. Instead, the Republican nominee on Wednesday provided a written summary of a recent physical exam to TV doctor Mehmet Oz during a taping of his show, which is to air” today. http://on.wsj.com/2d27j9f
DR. OZ/TRUMP CLIPS http://bit.ly/2cQ1N6m … http://bit.ly/2d07Sxw
ENDORSEMENT WATCH -- UNION LEADER passes on endorsing the Republican candidate for the first time in 100 years -- “An Editorial -- Joseph W. McQuaid, Publisher: A better choice for President (No need to hold your nose) -- “Voters leaning toward Trump are understandably fed up with the status quo, of which Clinton is a prime example. But they kid themselves if they think Trump isn’t pretty much a part of that status quo as well, or that he is in any way qualified to competently lead this nation. The man is a liar, a bully, a buffoon. He denigrates any individual or group that displeases him. He has dishonored military veterans and their families, made fun of the physically frail, and changed political views almost as often as he has changed wives. Americans are being told that we have to choose the lesser of two evils. No, we don’t.” http://bit.ly/2cxdcbX … Front page, with endorsement banner http://politi.co/2cxl8dq
HILLARY ON LINE 1 -- Hillary Clinton called into a fundraiser at the Albright Stonebridge Group’s offices last night to address a crowd of 150 supporters. Madeleine Albright and John Podesta spoke. The hosts, who had to give $25,000, were Dan and Aviva Rosenthal, Ambassador Tony Harrington, Susan Berger, Ray Vickery and Bob Kyle.
SPOTTED: Bush Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Carol Browner, Madeleine Albright, Linda Moore, Liz Bowyer, Julie Mason, Mona Sutphen, Paige Reefe, Chris Condini, Michael Warren, Peter O’Keefe, Debbie Berger.
INSTANT CLASSIC -- BEN TERRIS profiles Harry Reid in Las Vegas, “‘I hate palm trees’: The sentimental journey of Harry Reid”: “The SUV meandered through a quiet middle-class neighborhood until it reached Harry Reid’s former home, a pleasant one-story ranch house with a terra-cotta roof, pink flowers out front and a swimming pool in the back. The Senate minority leader remained in his seat, flipping the window up and down to take it all in. ‘My wife wanted to make sure I told you: This house is crap,’ he said. ‘When we lived there, it was really nice. You’ll see, they ruined our house.’ He’d raised his young children here, took baths in an enormous tub, installed custom-made beveled glass windows. Not bad for a kid who grew up in a desert shack made of railroad ties. But eventually the time came to move on. ‘I sold it,’ said Reid (D-Nev.). ‘I think it’s a home for old people.’” http://wapo.st/2c9Itj3
CONTENTIOUS INTERVIEW ALERT-- “Ivanka Trump on Her Father’s New Child Care and Maternity Leave Policy,” by Cosmopolitan’s Prachi Gupta -- GUPTA: “OK, so when it comes to same-sex—” TRUMP: “So it’s meant to benefit, whether it's in same-sex marriages as well, to benefit the mother who has given birth to the child if they have legal married status under the tax code.” GUPTA: “Well, what about gay couples, where both partners are men?” TRUMP: “The policy is fleshed out online, so you can go see all the elements of it. But the original intention of the plan is to help mothers in recovery in the immediate aftermath of childbirth.” GUPTA: “So I just want to be clear that, for same-sex adoption, where the two parents are both men, they would not be receiving special leave for that because they don't need to recover or anything?”
TRUMP: “Well, those are your words, not mine. [Laughs.] Those are your words. The plan, right now, is focusing on mothers, whether they be in same-sex marriages or not.” GUPTA: “OK, I just wanted to make sure I understood. In 2004, Donald Trump said that pregnancy is an inconvenient thing for a business. It's surprising to see this policy from him today. Can you talk a little bit about those comments, and perhaps what has changed?” TRUMP: “So I think that you have a lot of negativity in these questions, and I think my father has put forth a very comprehensive and really revolutionary plan to deal with a lot of issues. So I don't know how useful it is to spend too much time with you on this if you're going to make a comment like that.” http://bit.ly/2cfLZvy
POLLS ON POLLS ON POLLS -- CNN/ORC FLORIDA: Donald Trump 47, Hillary Clinton 44. CNN/ORC OHIO Donald Trump 46, Hillary Clinton 41. http://cnn.it/2cXdCwl. MONMOUTH NEVADA: Donald Trump 44, Hillary Clinton 42. http://bit.ly/2cyQyl7
--CBS/NYT poll -- out this morning -- Hillary Clinton 46, Donald Trump 44. NYT: “With less than eight weeks before Election Day, Donald J. Trump and Hillary Clinton are locked in a tight contest, with both candidates still struggling to win the confidence of their respective bases, the latest New York Times/CBS News poll finds. Mrs. Clinton, the Democratic nominee, has the support of 46 percent of likely voters nationwide, to 44 percent for Mr. Trump, the Republican, including those who said they were leaning toward a candidate. Looking more broadly at all registered voters, Mrs. Clinton holds a wider edge, 46 to 41 percent.” http://nyti.ms/2cz0Qlr
TIM MILLER lays it out on Twitter. If Trump doesn’t win Pennsylvania, he really would have a tough time winning the White House
Here is an exercise for everyone who thinks Trump is making a comeback. pic.twitter.com/utf08yvDQJ
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) September 14, 2016
TOP TWEETS -- @Yamiche: “.@realDonaldTrump: ‘So many of my friends who are black say, “You are the least racist person.”’ ...@alexburnsNYT in response: “Trying hard to imagine the circumstances where a black person would say this to a white person they’re friends with” … @KatyTurNBC: “On exercise: Trump said his campaigning was his exercise. That him ‘moving his hands around when he was speaking’ was a work out.”
LAST HURRAH -- “Bill’s glitzy birthday bash raises money for Clinton Foundation: The Clintons are planning to distance themselves from foundation if Hillary is elected, but first they’re holding one last fundraising party Friday,” by Ken Vogel and Gabe Debenedetti: “Even as the Clintons are touting plans to distance themselves from their foundation and limit its fundraising if Hillary Clinton is elected president, they’re planning one last glitzy fundraising bash on Friday to belatedly celebrate Bill Clinton’s 70th birthday [which was Aug 19].
“The fundraiser is being held at the Rainbow Room, a fine-dining restaurant on the 65th floor of a Manhattan skyscraper. Plans called for performances by Wynton Marsalis, Jon Bon Jovi and Barbra Streisand, according to people briefed on the planning. They said that major donors are being asked to give $250,000 to be listed as a chair for the party, $100,000 to be listed a co-chair and $50,000 to be listed as a vice-chair. Hillary Clinton, who is recovering from a highly scrutinized case of pneumonia, is not planning to attend the party ...
“Foundation officials also would not say how much money has been raised for the Rainbow Room fundraiser or from whom. But they pointed out that former President Clinton had parties marking past milestone birthdays that also doubled as fundraisers for his foundation, which raised $12.6 million from his 60th birthday bash, and said everyone set to attend Friday’s party was aware that it was a fundraiser for the foundation.” http://politi.co/2cKgskJ
-- GUIDESTAR, the premier non-profit foundation site, provides “A Brief Analysis of the Clinton and Trump Foundations” http://bit.ly/2ctp4wp
-- “Bill Clinton is no longer the closer: Democrats say the former president is not the campaign surrogate he used to be,” by Annie Karni: “The value of the Obamas as surrogates also rises because they are scarce commodities on the campaign trail. Bill Clinton, by contrast, is an easier get, with a weaker case to make: He has traveled to more than 40 states and territories, and headlined more than 400 public events for his wife this year. ‘When you see Bill Clinton, the first thing you think of is not Hillary, it’s not tomorrow — it’s the former president and yesterday,’ said [a] DNC member. ... [T]here is a growing distance between Clinton’s presidency and the electorate, and unlike eight years ago, he’s no longer the last Democrat to sit in the Oval Office. The last time he ran for office was 20 years ago, which means anyone younger than 38 never even cast a vote for him.” http://politi.co/2d21CIn
DRUDGE banner, linking to the story: “YESTERDAY”
INSIDE THE CAMPAIGNS -- “How Clinton’s allies are embracing her mistake: ‘The country is actually debating how many of Donald Trump’s supporters are anti-Semitic, racist, sexist,’ one ally says,” by Isaac Dovere and Gabe Debenedetti: “Forget Clinton’s apology for casting half of her opponent’s supporters into a ‘basket of deplorables.’ Now her team is looking to own this. Some of the Democrat’s most vocal supporters say Trump’s decision to repeatedly attack her for this off-the-cuff (although not new) remark has given her supporters and surrogates opportunities to rebut with examples of his racially charged rhetoric and rallies, helping, they hope, to lock down the college-educated women who have been wavering on Clinton but remain uncomfortable with what Trump might represent. And by Election Day, Clinton’s close allies are arguing that this ‘deplorables’ line will be worn by the candidate herself as badge of honor despite the initial wave of Beltway wisdom that condemned it as a mistake.” http://politi.co/2cajDj0
--“Sales of Hillary Clinton’s New Book Are Off to a Slow Start,” by NYT’s Amy Chozick: “Hillary Clinton’s newest book, ‘Stronger Together,’ which provides a policy blueprint for where she hopes to take the country if she is elected president, sold just 2,912 copies in its first week on sale, according to Nielsen BookScan. ... [T]he sales figure ... firmly makes the book what the publishing industry would consider a flop. First-week sales typically account for around a third of the total sold ... By comparison, Mrs. Clinton’s 2014 memoir, ‘Hard Choices,’ which also fell short of expectations, sold more than 85,000 copies in its first week.” http://nyti.ms/2cPfcM5
NEW 43 BOOK! -- “George W. Bush paintings book coming in 2017,” by AP’s Hillel Italie: “The next book from former President George W. Bush will be more about pictures than words. ‘Portraits of Courage: A Commander in Chief’s Tribute to America’s Warriors’ will feature 66 oil paintings and a four-panel mural by Bush of military veterans and those in active service, the Crown Publishing Group told The Associated Press on Wednesday. The book is scheduled to come out Feb. 28, 2017, and will include an introduction by Bush and forewords by former first lady Laura Bush and by Gen. Peter Pace, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff … The book will be released in two editions: a $35 hardcover and a $250 ‘deluxe’ volume, cloth-bound and signed by Bush … No financial numbers were disclosed. Bush was represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who has also handled book deals for President Barack Obama and 2016 Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton.” http://yhoo.it/2cLgDMU
GROUND GAME -- “Pro-Trump super PAC acts as candidate stand-in on bus tour,” by AP’s Julie Bykowicz in Lake Mary, Florida: “The tour bus features a giant photo of a waving, smiling Donald Trump, but the person who steps off it is actor Jon Voight. He’s trailed by conservative radio stars and strategists for a super political action committee. Great America PAC is rolling through battleground states, opening offices and registering voters. In a presidential race where the Republican candidate has paid little attention to the ground game, this outside group has decided the best way to support him is to take such matters into its own hands.” http://apne.ws/2cyLOfp
--“Koch network plans shift in focus from TV to ground game in October,” by Kevin Robillard: “The Koch brothers’ powerful network of conservative groups plans to stop airing television ads in early October and instead focus on get-out-the-vote efforts targeting 5 million persuadable voters in the final weeks of the 2016 Senate elections, network officials said Wednesday. The groups, which include Freedom Partners Action Fund, Americans for Prosperity and the LIBRE Initiative, will zero in on voters in Senate swing states who typically lean Republican but aren’t sure whether they will vote in 2016, as well as voters who are undecided in the presidential race and leaning towards the Republican Senate candidate in their states.” For pros: http://politico.pro/2cgfEVt
DEEP DIVE – ALEC MACGILLIS in the N.Y. Times Magazine: “How Republicans Lost Their Best Shot at the Hispanic Vote: Three years ago, the G.O.P.-led House was close to reaching a compromise on immigration — one that might have neutralized the issue for the 2016 election. This is the inside story of what went wrong”: “But the bill did not pass. And its failure revealed how fully the Republican Party had boxed itself in in Congress — the degree to which it had been paralyzed by its own extremity and tactical logic, and the degree to which this intransigence had produced a cynicism among Democrats that amounted to a self-fulfilling prophecy. In retrospect, Congress left itself open to the rise of someone like Trump, who, with his blend of nativism and anti-Washingtonism, was able to draw on resentment of undocumented immigrants themselves and resentment of Washington’s inability to come up with a solution for the problem.” http://nyti.ms/2cGqgxS
HILL WATCH -- “Myanmar’s Leader Has a Longtime Champion in Mitch McConnell,” by NYT’s Jennifer Steinhauer: “As Myanmar’s pro-democracy figure and government leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, makes her way through Washington’s power centers this week, one face is particularly familiar: Senator Mitch McConnell, who has been watching her for decades, usually at great remove. Mr. McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has spent nearly three decades trying to promote democracy in the country formerly known as Burma, about which he once lamented, ‘I have never spent more time on an issue and made less difference.’...
“Their relationship, which was fostered with phone calls and other correspondence over the years, grew closer in 2012 when Mr. McConnell visited her in Yangon, and Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi visited him in Kentucky later during her first visit to the United States.” http://nyti.ms/2cL2Rwe
COVERS DU JOUR -- Bloomberg Businessweek’s new issue called “The Electorate” is “a special issue devoted to American voters—their anxieties, their frustrations, and their hopes. In the final months before this unprecedented presidential election, Businessweek turned to reams of data and ... categorizes Americans using five common divisions: Red state or blue state; old or young; rich or not-rich; white or minority; and male or female. Then, the divisions are rearranged in every possible combination, showing 242 different Americas — each represented once in the pages of the issue, through data, photographs, and interviews.” Live at 8 a.m. http://buswk.co/electorateissue ... The cover. http://politi.co/2cyPOJE
--This week’s TIME cover story “explores how the changing landscape of late night TV has triggered an extreme makeover of political satire, which is now more pointed, more passionate and often more partisan than ever before.” See the cover. http://bit.ly/2c9iLuV ... www.time.com/latenight
WASHINGTON INC. – Svoboda Capital Partners, Chicago-based private equity firm, has taken a stake in the digital marketing agency Bully Pulpit Interactive. At the same time, BPI, the largest Democratic digital marketer, is acquiring The Incite Agency, a strategic communications shop that was started in 2013 by Obama alumni Robert Gibbs and Ben LaBolt. (Gibbs later left for McDonald’s.) Democratic operative Erik Smith, founder of Blue Engine Message and Media, was also involved in the deal. BPI declined to disclose the terms of the deal. LaBolt will become a partner at BPI. Ann Marie Habershaw, BPI’s chief operating officer, will lead the integration of both the firms. Release: http://bit.ly/2cp5JdI …Andrew Bleeker and Ben LaBolt’s Medium post: http://bit.ly/2cyHYTz
BEYOND THE BELTWAY – “JP Morgan Chase and Bloomberg Philanthropies [on Wednesday] joined ... Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Labor Secretary Tom Perez in Denver to announce a multi-million dollar youth skills initiative. Writing in the Denver Post, Jamie Dimon, Mike Bloomberg and Hickenlooper said: ‘Less than one in four students entering high school today will obtain a college degree or post-secondary credential. Yet, college or formal training beyond high school is needed for nearly nine out of 10 good, well-paying jobs. This $9.5 million business-led initiative will prepare high school students for careers that both have growth potential and pay a good wage … By working together, we are developing a scalable model that will become a gold standard for apprenticeship systems across the U.S.’” http://dpo.st/2coCixF
MEDIAWATCH -- “ABC News’ live voter listening tour, ‘Step Right Up,’ heads to the Utica Coffee Club at the Pioneer Restaurant in rural Utica, Ohio, to break down Trump’s latest visit, Hillary’s health scare and the tightening 2016 race over fresh eggs, crispy bacon and rich dark mugs of joe. LIVE on Facebook & ABC News Digital from 8-9a … ABC road warriors MaryAlice Parks & Gary Westphalen -- producers on chief White House correspondent Jonathan Karl’s reporting team -- are logging more than 800 miles in Ohio this week, taking their innovative carnival wheel attraction to county fairs, college campuses and coffee clubs to start conversations with Ohio voters. … They’ll be spinning the ABC question wheel with folks at ‘Dirty Franks’ hot dog shop in downtown Columbus. On Friday, they take the show to Hocking County Fair.” The wheel http://bit.ly/2cyUja5
-- “We’re suing the IRS for audits of Donald Trump’s tax returns,” by Vice’s Jason Leopold: “This week, VICE News filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit in US District Court in Washington, DC against the IRS demanding that the agency turn over all audits of Trump’s tax returns from 2002 onward. ... We [also] asked the FBI to disclose all documents, if any exist, mentioning or referring to that [Second Amendment] statement. We also asked for all records referring to another inflammatory comment Trump made on July 27 in which he called upon Russia to track down ‘30,000 emails [from Clinton's server] that are missing.’” http://bit.ly/2cWB1O6
--“FOX News co-presidents Jack Abernethy and Bill Shine have signed new multi-year contracts, announced Rupert Murdoch, Executive Chairman of 21st Century Fox and Executive Chairman of FOX News & FOX Business Network.” http://bit.ly/2cJJVhy
TV TONIGHT – Bill O’Reilly interviews Oliver Stone about his new movie “Snowden”
TODAY ON THE HILL -- Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) is hosting a press conference today at 3 p.m. at the House Triangle “with a number of prominent Lost Boys and Lost Girls of Sudan.”
HAPPENING TONIGHT – “Life is My Movie Entertainment will debut its new feature length documentary Incarcerating US with a world premiere screening event and panel ... [which] will feature experts on criminal justice reform and be held at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C.” Luiza Savage is moderating and Rep. Bobby Scott is among the participants. RSVP http://bit.ly/2c8Vmyx ... Trailer http://bit.ly/2clIkKm
STEPHEN COLBERT will interview Michelle Obama on Sept. 20. Obama is there to promote “Let Girls Learn,” an initiative aimed at helping adolescent girls stay in school.
THE NEW GILDED AGE – “Gold Toilet,” by The New Yorker’s Calvin Tomkins: “This week, in a small rest room about two-thirds of the way up the spiral, the Guggenheim installed the first work of his un-retirement: a celestially glowing, fully functional, eighteen-karat solid-gold toilet. When the work goes public on Friday, a uniformed guard will be standing by the door to answer questions, and also, shall we say, to discourage souvenir takers. A discreet label on the wall outside provides the title, ‘America.’” http://bit.ly/2coxO4X
The Playbook Interview: Chef David Burke
Jose Andres quite famously pulled out of Donald Trump’s hotel after a string of controversial remarks. David Burke stepped in to open a BLT Prime. The critically acclaimed chef, who competed on two seasons of “Top Chef Masters,” is the brains behind the restaurant opening Friday in Donald Trump’s Trump International Hotel, just blocks from the White House. Burke has known the real estate magnate since the 1980s and even had a “millionaire’s meatloaf” on his menu in Bloomingdale’s in New Jersey in honor of Trump. So far, there’s no plan for meatloaf to become a regular feature on BLT Prime’s menu, Burke said. “We’re gearing the menu to what the BLT brand offers and what the David Burke brand offers and we’re melding those two together,” he said.
Burke wouldn’t talk about who he is voting for in November. “I don’t think I’m going to be off that day,” he joked, adding: “I don’t know. I’d rather not talk about any of that now.” But he did discuss the impact of opening a restaurant for a presidential candidate and said he’s not worried about any business backlash. Burke also weighed in on the D.C. restaurant scene. Excerpts:
It’s business as usual: “It doesn’t dawn on me every minute of the day that I’m opening a restaurant for a presidential candidate. I know of Mr. Trump’s business activity and I know the brand. I don’t look at him as so much of a political candidate as I do as a business person at this stage knowing him since the early 80s.”
Doesn’t expect Trump’s politics to negatively affect reservations: “Things are moving along quite nicely … I don’t think so. I haven’t felt anything. I live in New Jersey and I’m in New York all the time and I go to Trump’s hotel for breakfast or his restaurant. I don’t feel any of that impact on the dining scene in those restaurants. I don’t think I’ll feel it, or experience any.”
D.C. food scene has moved beyond suits and ties: “I always put D.C. in the basket of more about uptight steakhouses, dining room seatings, Congress, and now as well as cities like Nashville, Charleston and Boston, D.C. has a nice mix of the suit and tie crowd as well as the hipster crowd.”
BLT Prime is going local: “What people don’t know — myself included as a chef — the bounty that surrounds them. We had an Amish farmer in our kitchen yesterday and we’re going to be working with Virginia farmers and local seafood guys and we’re going to be getting meat from Shenandoah Valley, so there is a lot of good stuff that I didn’t realize would be part of our menu that we are incorporating.”
SPOTTED: New York Times Magazine’s Mark Leibovich at Peet’s Coffee at 17th and L streets … The Daily Show’s Hasan Minhaj walking out of Union Station -- he performed at AU last night … former Sen. John Warner waiting for a flight at DCA “passing the time thumbing through John Grisham’s ‘Rogue Lawyer.’”
POWER PLAYBOOKER -- SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY “will host the third Our Ocean conference [today and tomorrow], in Washington, DC. As in years past, Our Ocean 2016 will bring together heads of state, scientists, business leaders, NGOs, and others to tackle key issues including marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and climate-related impacts on the ocean. ... President Barack Obama and actor and environmental activist Leonardo DiCaprio are expected to speak during the two-day conference.” www.ourocean2016.org
SUNDAY SO FAR:
-- “Fox News Sunday”: George Clooney … John Prendergast. Power player: Lonnie Bunch, Director, National Museum of African American History and Culture. ... Panel: Karl Rove, Lisa Lerer, Monica Crowley, Charles Lane.
MARTY KADY and SUZ REDFEARN celebrate 15 years today.
BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): Angela Grossfeld, sales activation manager at Google (h/t Riva Litman) ... Ryan Collins, CAP’s associate director of gov’t affairs (h/t Patrick Dolan) ... Larry A. Mizel, CEO of MDC Holdings, chairman of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and AIPAC board member, turned 74 (h/t Jewish Insider)
BIRTHDAYS: Sara Taylor Fagan, Bush alum now at DDC Public Affairs and Deep Roots Analytics … John McConnell, speechwriter extraordinaire and the pride of Bayfield, Wis. … Prince Harry is 32 ... Chris Lehmann ... Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.) is 67 … NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik, the pride of Laguna Beach, Calif. ... NYT’s Ashley Parker ... Todd Breasseale, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs ... The Hill’s Ben Kamisar ... Adam Aigner-Treworgy, White House producer for CBS This Morning … Hans Nichols, NBC News incoming Pentagon correspondent … Alana Russo, VP for corporate comms at The CW and an MSNBC alum ... Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) is 57 ...Kirsten Kukowski, alum of RNC, Scott Walker and convention, now a fellow at U Chicago Institute of Politics (h/t Sean Spicer) ... Politico’s Kathryn Wolfe, Eliza Shapiro and Jennifer Miller … Advisory Board’s Alexandra Berg ... Tiffany Haverly, comms director for Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN) and loyal Playbook reader, is 29 (hubby tip: Jordan) ... Betsy Shelton (h/t Teresa Vilmain) ... Sabrina Rush, a staff assistant in Sen. Isakson’s office ... Justin Bryant ... Sandra Alcalá (h/t Jon Haber) ... Jon Gossett, SVP for external relations at the Bipartisan Policy Center (h/t Lee Huber) ... Owen Pataki is 29 … Amy Sisk, a Politico alum now a journalist at Inside Energy (h/t Jody Serrano) … Zara Rahim, an OFA and Uber alum now doing comms for Hillary for America ... Chandler Smith, comms director for the Senate Republican Conference (h/t Jennifer Morris) ...
… Tony Mauro, Supreme Court correspondent for The National Law Journal/Legal Times, is 66 ... Christian Pinkston, world renowned camel whisperer and founding partner of the Pinkston Group, is 48 ... Elizabeth Meyer, senior consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton and a Politico alum … Cat Cheney! … Accuracy in Media chairman Don Irvine ... U.S. Chamber VP Jodi Hanson Bond ... Bryan Doyle … Accuracy in Academia’s Mal Kline ... Kristen Bor … Dave Shott is 5-0 (h/t Keil) ... Bloomberg’s Max Berley is 55 ... CNN’s Ryan Nobles ... Nathan Hurst, C-SPAN producer … FEC’s Jill Moschakis ... Tiffany McGuffee … Allyson Alvare … CNBC’s Ryan Ruggiero … Cole Hanna … Jordan Stoick ... Theola Sacha Labbé ... Michael Ruby ... D.C. realtor Connie Carter ... Katie Thompson ... Neil Makhija is 3-0 ... Marie Arana ... Phillip Nathaniel Wachter ... Mike Lewis ... Phil Zabriskie is 44 ... Wayne Reynolds is 6-0 ... Chip Rodgers ... Todd Olsen ... actor Forrest Compton is 91 ... Norm Crosby is 89 ... Gaylord Perry is 78 ... Tommy Lee Jones is 7-0 ... Oliver Stone is 7-0 ... Dan Marino is 55 ... actor Tom Hardy is 39 (h/ts AP)