Washingtonienne Resurfaces!In our excitement over nubile, young Spitzer hooker Ashley Alexandra Dupre, we completely forgot about that other politician-probed prostitute that captivated America’s hearts and loins not so long ago: Jessica Cutler, who gained notoriety by writing about the anal preferences of Washington muckety-mucks on her blog, Washingtonienne, back in 2004. But now she’s back.
intel
Can’t Keep a Rudy Giuliani Down, No Matter How Much You Wish You CouldYou know that one Rudy, the one you couldn’t help but love for his unshaking belief in his cause and his dogged persistence in the face of adversity? Loved that movie. Anyway, the other one is considering a run for the occupied governor’s seat.
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Weary Electorate Warming to John McCainMcCain’s crossover appeal and “maverick” image are likely the perfect antidote to the star power of the Democratic candidates.
TMI Index for Politicians: Some Scandalous Details Are Best Left UnknownIt’s been a rough couple of weeks for anyone who likes their news served modestly. From Paterson’s girls to McGreevey’s wings, politicians are on overshare overdrive, and Americans are suffering. It’s time to chart the moments when titillation turns to revulsion.
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Media Panel Stretches Blog Metaphors, Blows Kisses at ObamaAt a NYU Media Talk last night focusing on “Publishing and the Election,” Newsweek’s Jonathan Alter called Thomas Payne “the original blogger.” We bet he didn’t have to deal with unending pajama jokes!
Anderson Cooper Morphs Into an I-Banker Before James Carville’s Very EyesThe flap over Democratic strategist James Carville’s calling New Mexico governor Bill Richardson a “Judas” for his recent endorsement of Barack Obama had people hot and bothered up and down the Beltway and the airwaves yesterday.
intel
How to Be a Scandalite: Don’t Follow Ashley Dupré’s ExampleJust like a brand-new car, Ashley Alexandra Dupré’s earning potential has been steadily decreasing since Eliot Spitzer rolled her off the lot and into the spotlight two weeks ago today.
in other news
Fred Thompson Quietly Goes Back to Acting Like a PoliticianThis election has been going on for so long and has taken us in so many directions that we almost forgot Fred Thompson, the Tennessee senator best known as Arthur Branch on Law & Order, was ever in the race.
Eliot Spitzer: Disgraced Governor, Chronic ExpectoratorThe rapidly deteriorating economy, the five-year anniversary of Iraq, and new governor David Paterson’s seemingly limitless libido all may have distracted you from what’s going on with our fallen former governor. But news is still dribbling out about the Spitzer affair, and perhaps more importantly, so are sexy pictures of hookers!
Is an Ed Koch Sex Scandal Next?Eliot Spitzer slept with hookers. Jim and Dina McGreevey had threesomes with their driver. Governor David Paterson’s list of conquests is starting to look like it could be longer than Wilt Chamberlain’s. And then there’s Ed Koch.
in other news
‘Superclass’ Author David Rothkopf Submits to Our QuestionsThe former Clinton-administration trade official and author of “Superclass: The Global Power Elite and the World They Are Making” talks to Boris Kachka about the election, the economy, and why the elite won’t stop coming to New York City.
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Can Hillary Clinton Win?To do so, the junior senator from New York must make the right pitch, or gain enough momentum, to win over the superdelegates, those now-omnipotent stars of the Democratic party who will have to push one candidate over the top.
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Barack Obama to Receive Perfectly Timed Endorsement by Bill RichardsonAt a moment when race is the hot topic of discussion in the Democratic primary, an endorsement by the Hispanic governor of New Mexico has to be a huge boon for Obama. Especially after pundits were on his back for a comment about “typical white people” yesterday.
Our Governor: Out-Blinded by Previous Pols?So David Paterson isn’t the first blind governor. But he does join a long line of respected (if doomed) vision-impaired politicians. A brief historical list.
OMG, Is Joe Bruno Going to Be Our Next Governor?By now, four days into Governor David Paterson’s reign, one thing is clear: He never thought he was actually going to be governor. The loosey-goosey (and juicy!) way he’s blended his personal and professional affairs don’t reflect the kind of care and caution that most people who expect close scrutiny would have used. If this goes on, will Joe Bruno use it to his advantage?
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Huckabee Joins McCain in Supporting Obama’s Wright DefenseYesterday and today, Republicans John McCain and Mike Huckabee both stood up for Barack Obama concerning his relationship with controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright. On Morning Joe today, Huckabee candidly said, “Obama handled this about as well as anybody could.” He laid out his argument pretty simply:
“You can’t hold the candidate responsible for everything that people around him may say or do,” Huckabee says. “It’s interesting to me that there are some people on the left who are having to be very uncomfortable with what … Wright said, when they all were all over a Jerry Falwell, or anyone on the right who said things that they found very awkward and uncomfortable, years ago. Many times those were statements lifted out of the context of a larger sermon. Sermons, after all, are rarely written word for word by pastors like Rev. Wright, who are delivering them extemporaneously, and caught up in the emotion of the moment. There are things that sometimes get said, that if you put them on paper and looked at them in print, you’d say ‘Well, I didn’t mean to say it quite like that.’”
Whoa, that sounds like a pretty firm defense.
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Who Are David Paterson’s Girls?As with the Spitzer scandal, the news cycle for David Paterson’s affairs has now moved onto the lucky ladies in question. Although Our Lady of Indignation Andrea Peyser names the new Governor’s trysts as “too many to count,” there’s still only one woman who’s an official notch on the motel-room bedpost, and a second who, while perhaps totally innocent of any hanky panky, still sounds a bit sketchy. But given what we do know, who are the ladies to whom David turned to during his dark, jealous hours of marital misery?
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After the Speech: Obama’s Six-Point Plan for Sustaining MomentumRecently, as he’s faced sustained media skepticism for the first time, Barack Obama has been more than just defensive: He’s been besieged and slightly peevish at times. But on Tuesday, he accomplished the near-impossible by making the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s inflammatory remarks seem like just a prelude to the big, conversation-starting speech on race Obama wanted to offer the nation all along. He also achieved something else his skittish supporters had worried he might not again: He won the day’s news cycle. Tuesday’s speech was Obama’s attempt to reclaim not only the high ground, but also the initiative.
The question now is this: How does he keep it up? Here are six answers.
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Barack Obama’s Speech Fails to Unite America … Over His SpeechYesterday we compared Barack Obama’s Philadelphia address on race in America to Mitt Romney’s recent last-ditch speech on faith. But as the New York Times points out, it’s really more like JFK’s 1960 speech on religion. It came at a time when Democrats, and probably even Republicans, were bored with the current political dialogue and thirsting for some honesty and something new to talk about. Indeed, yesterday and last night, hordes of people were writing and discussing. The overarching question: Will it matter? Will it change the course of Obama’s candidacy? Will it change the course of America? A lot of that is up to the press, not the people. But even the editorial boards of The Wall Street Journal, the Times and the New York Post professed not to know what the effects would be.
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Chris Smith: Are Voters Ready for Civil Rights Redux?Senator Barack Obama gave a brave, powerful, important speech yesterday in Philadelphia, but he was forced to deliver it by the greatest crisis of his candidacy: the furor created by the incendiary remarks of his former Chicago pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright.
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Jesse Jackson Touts Obama’s ‘Clear Vision’Jesse Jackson has, up until now, been somewhat muted in his support of Barack Obama. Likewise, Obama has kept him at arm’s length, even though the former Democratic presidential candidate is a pledged advocate. But today, just after Barack Obama made a speech attempting to lift the lid off and expose the simmering pot of American racial tension, Jackson suddenly emerged exuberant.
“I thought [the speech] was a culmination of tough-minded, tender-hearted and a clear vision,” Jackson told the Huffington Post. “It really was warm, filling, captive, reconciling and comprehensive and it displayed real true grit. He was forthright not evasive and used it as a teaching moment in American history: America’s struggle to overcome its past and become a more perfect union. And once he made the case about the past and the complexities of Reverend Wright’s life or [Geraldine] Ferraro’s for that matter, he made the case that we are here now, but this time we will go forward by hope and not backwards by fear.”
Jackson added that he thought “American saw an even deeper and more profound view” of Obama today. What he may mean is that Americans saw Obama, finally, as a large step in the long climb toward civil rights in the country. It was a role Obama had been reluctant to adopt, but it seems as though he’s finally accepted it.
Jesse Jackson: Obama Just Turned Crisis Into Opportunity [HuffPo]
Earlier: Jesse Jackson Does Not Give ‘Free Advice’ To Barack Obama
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Barack Obama’s Speech on Race in America Is Honest, BrutalBarack Obama just finished his big address on race and politics in Philadelphia. This was a big one for him, as he’s been forced to address many racially charged issues in the past week because of his friendship and affiliation with the controversial Reverend Jeremiah Wright. Wright is Obama’s pastor and officiated his wedding with Michelle Obama. He’s also blamed the United States for 9/11, the AIDS virus, and “creating a racist society.” In the lull before the Pennsylvania primary on April 22, this has become the main political plotline of the Democratic contest. Today, he addressed these issues and the broader scale of racial tension in America. It was strikingly reminiscent of Mitt Romney’s much-touted “Faith in America” address. Beginning with a discussion of the Declaration of Independence and a nod to Obama’s mixed heritage, it honestly bared the anger and confusion (and roots thereof) that black and white people still face in America today. Some highlights:
• “For as long as I live I will never forget that in no other country on earth is my story even possible,” he explained, referencing the slave ancestry in his wife and daughter’s heritage.
• He exclusively referred to Reverend Wright as his “former pastor.” He also conceded that he had heard him sermonize controversial ideas but compared it to the many Americans who have heard similar things from their own priests, rabbis, and religious leaders. He called Wright’s opinion “a profoundly distorted view of this country.”
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Florida Says No to Revote, Michigan ConfusedWith the news yesterday that Florida is putting the kibosh on a Democratic-primary revote, the state has solidified its reputation as the place where votes go to die. A statement from Florida’s Democratic chairwoman, Karen Thurman, read, “We researched every potential alternative process — from caucuses to county conventions to mail-in elections — but no plan could come anywhere close to being viable in Florida.” Meanwhile, Michigan Democrats are also trying to make some kind of revote possible, but the logistics are complicated and the candidates themselves are dubious. Hillary Clinton would like to seat the delegates from the original vote even though Barack Obama wasn’t even on the ballot. And Obama doesn’t need the risk of losing Michigan while actually on the ballot or the few extra delegates he could gain from winning. Pundits — dissect!
in other news
Odds That the McGreevey Threesomes Actually Happened: Two to OneWell, the Post really dropped the ball on the whole David Paterson affair story (their version of the tale was devoid of quotes from the new governor, and filled with the line “the Post has learned” without the polite “from the Daily News” after it), but man, are they on top of the McGreevey threesome story. “IT WAS 3-MENDOUS” blares their headline. (All the News could come up with was “McOrgy.” Lame.) Andrea Peyser called the series of trysts between Jim McGreevey, Dina Matos McGreevey, and limo driver Teddy Pedersen as “T.G.I. Friday’s Three-For All.” Shrieks Peyser:
The couple frequently enjoyed dinner a trois, before retiring to lick leftover spicy Buffalo wing sauce and chive-immersed sour cream from Pedersen’s body. Lord knows what they did with the fried mozzarella sticks.
Come on, Andrea — you know exactly what they did with them. If you didn’t have such a vivid imagination for the tawdry and disgusting, you’d be out slicing oranges in Prospect Park with the rest of the soccer moms. Anyway, the best part of today’s updates on the McNage à trois was that the former governor was quick to confirm the sexual encounters, just as his estranged wife immediately denied them. The problem with having sex with more than one person at a time, you see, is that suddenly it’s not your word against his. It’s your word against his and the cute limo driver’s*. And that, like most situations involving sex and mozzarella sticks, is an uncomfortable situation in which to find yourself.
Matos McGreevey denies threesomes; Jim McGreevey confirms aide’s account [NYDN]
MCG: IT WAS 3-MENDOUS SEX [NYP]
*Did anyone else notice that Ted Pedersen is 29 now, which means that he was 20ish when these affairs took place before 2001. Wow. Go-Go Gadget McGreeveys!
it just happened
David Paterson Had an Affair! But It’s Okay Because His Wife Loves Him. And We Do Too!We’re just going to say it: Our new governor rocks the house. Only moments after he shouted down the halls of the capital: “I am David Paterson and I am the governor of New York State!” he admitted to the Daily News that he had an affair for several years of his marriage. And that’s not all: His wife, Michelle, also was unfaithful. Turns out the two had a rocky period in their marriage where they both looked elsewhere for comfort, but they decided to give it another go and try marriage counseling. It worked, and now they are a happy couple again. So happy, in fact, that they addressed the issue during Paterson’s first moments as governor. (Hey, he did admit he had “a different kind of marriage.”) But you know the best part? Both Paterson’s affair and his later reconciliation with his wife took place at a Days Inn in Manhattan. And we thought nothing could top the Mayflower Hotel and T.G.I. Friday’s! This is amazing. We’re turning into France.
Gov. Paterson admits to sex with other woman for years [NYDN]
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DMX Can’t Believe Anybody Would Have a Name As Ridiculous As ‘Barack’Rapper DMX has seen his share of gangs, hard drugs, and prison bars, but please, reporters, don’t try telling him crap like there’s some black guy out there named Barack Obama running for president. The Dark Man X seemed unfazed by a female candidate, but a Barack? “What the fuck is a Barack?!” he demanded during a recent Q&A with hip-hop mag XXL. “Where he from, Africa?” DMX admitted he’s not following the race and suggested that “no one person is directly affected by [whoever is] president” anyway. But seriously: “Your momma ain’t name you no damn Barack!” The Yonkers-born DMX knows something about baby names, after all; his kids are named Xavier, Tocoma, Shawn, Javon Micai Wayne, and Praise Mary Ella. The XXL interviewer futilely tried to pursue the topic, even trying to convince the politically apathetic rapper that the possibility of a black president is a big deal, but eventually gave up with a halfhearted, “Well, Barack has a good chance of winning so that might be something.” Thoughts, DMX? “Good for him, good for him.” —Jennifer Chen
photo op
David Paterson Is Sworn In as Governor, Promises Good Times AheadGovernor David Paterson was just sworn in and gave his first address as head of the state. And boy, was he excited. It was hard not to get giddy for him, even though he took about ten minutes to introduce everybody that came to see the event (Hillary Clinton! Chuck Schumer! The governors of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts! (The last of whom is also black!) Mayor Bloomberg! Paterson’s stepdaughter! Yaaaaay!). Every dignitary in the audience seemed to be wearing at least one piece of ridiculous green flair, which added a comical air to the proceedings. Paterson allowed himself only one swipe at Spitzer, saying: “[My wife] Michelle and I have a different kind of marriage,” before pausing for laughs. His speech was centered upon the theme of moving forward “in spite of obstacles and regardless of circumstance.” He also challenged party leaders to work together on issues, unlike in the past. To close his speech, he couldn’t resist a moment of triumph. “Let me reintroduce myself,” he shouted. “I am David Paterson, and I am the governor of New York State.” We wondered whether it was too much, but then, as the standing ovation stretched toward two minutes long, we realized it wasn’t. This guy is going to be fun.
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Barack Obama Runs But Can’t Hide From Reverend Wright
The good news for Barack Obama: The latest Democratic race-based scandal comes during a five-week lull between primaries, so it may not actually result in any tangible loss until the April 22 Pennsylvania contest. The bad news: It might be something people still remember on April 22. Obama is feeling the heat right now for several particularly inflammatory statements made by his former pastor, the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, which have recently received renewed scrutiny in the media. Obama has come out against Wright’s remarks and dropped him from the campaign, but questions surrounding the closeness of their relationship and Obama’s knowledge of Wright’s more provocative statements continue unabated. How damaging to Obama will this controversy become? And are we committing guilt by association, or guilt by … guilt?
white men with money
Spitzer–Mortgage Industry ConnectionAmid all the vengeful glee on Wall Street, the Ashleymania, and the coverage that has accompanied Spitzer’s fall, one aspect of the story has been underexplored, according to journalist Greg Palast: Could the Lonesome Gov’s fall have had something to do with the Fed’s $200 billion bailout of the subprime-mortgage industry, which Spitzer conspicuously opposed and which coincidentally occurred on the same day as his resignation? It was a federal investigation which uncovered Spitzer, Palast points out, and his outing could be seen as unusual.
Senator David Vitter, Republican of Louisiana, paid Washington DC prostitutes to put him in diapers (ewww!), yet the Senator was not exposed by the US prosecutors busting the pimp-ring that pampered him. Naming and shaming and ruining Spitzer — rarely done in these cases — was made at the ‘discretion’ of Bush’s Justice Department.
Palast, a cult hero in underground journalism circles (he’s the winner of six “Project Censored” awards), doesn’t really unload any evidence as much as speculate at sinister motives, but it’s interesting, and better than watching Ashley’s maddeningly chaste dance moves on some scrub’s cell-phone camera. —Josh Ozersky
Eliot’s Mess [Greg Palast]
Predatory Lenders’ Partner in Crime [WP]
21 questions
Former Hillary Clinton Intern Keli Goff Thinks Chris Rock Should Be PresidentName: Keli Goff
Age: 28
Job: Political pundit, author of Party Crashing: How the Hip-Hop Generation Declared Political Independence, out this week from Basic Books.
Neighborhood: Lower East Side
Who’s your favorite New Yorker, living or dead, real or fictional?
Jackie O. The First Lady, not the rapper.
What’s the best meal you’ve eaten in New York
French fries at Bette, followed by cheesecake at Veniero’s.
In one sentence, what do you actually do all day in your job?
I write and talk about politics.
party lines
Fred Armisen Performs in ‘Honeyface’Lorne Michaels took some heat for picking Venezuelan-Japanese cast member Fred Armisen to play Barack Obama when Saturday Night Live returned to the air at the end of February, but Armisen himself isn’t having any trouble with it. “I just want to have fun,” he said at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony on March 10. “I like wearing outfits and doing things.” So how does he turn himself into the country’s potentially first black president? “It’s really quick,” Armisen said. “There’s shading on my eyebrows and plastic behind my ears. And there’s a little bit of something called Honey, a honey color, that is something I would wear when I play Prince.” About the perception that “Weekend Update” favors Hillary Clinton, Armisen’s response was similar to what SNL writer Jim Downey told today’s Times: “I think they’re not favoring anyone,” he said. “The pieces are more making fun of the media than anything else. It’s all about the jokes.” —Bennett Marcus
Related: SNL Searches for A Fauxbama
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Kristen Is Rich
Last night, Ashley Alexandra Dupré, a.k.a. “Kristen,” told the New York Times she was worried about paying her rent in the fancy Flatiron district building in which she lives. But in fact, in the less than 24 hours since that interview took place, Dupre’s personal wealth has increased considerably. The two songs on her Amie Street profile, which each cost 98 cents, have reportedly been downloaded more than two million times, and according to that site’s business model, Dupré should receive 70 percent of the total profit. Plus! Playboy and Penthouse are both reportedly interested in setting up photo shoots. “We’ve already discussed some options,” Penthouse publisher Diane Silberstein tells Radar, adding that they’d pay in the “high six figures.” Book publishers, however, are dragging their feet. “I don’t think it’s worth anything,” HarperCollins publisher Jonathan Burnham tells Portfolio today, making us want to wrap our hands around his neck and administer a light throttle. “There’s no story there.” Seriously? Does no one remember for instance the best-selling Diary of a Manhattan Call Girl, soon to be an HBO series with Darren Star? Hookers are so hot right now.
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David Paterson: ‘The Only Whores I Know Are Lobbyists’
David Paterson just gave his first public address since Eliot Spitzer’s resignation yesterday. He made noises about “getting back to work” and the budget, talked about being black and blind, indicated he wasn’t planning any major changes to his predecessors more controversial policies, and became the first human being in government to express sympathy for Spitzer himself. “My heart goes out to Eliot Spitzer, his wife Silda, his daughters,” he said. “I know what he’s gone through this week. In my heart, I think he’s suffered enough.” Paterson also displayed a rather awesome sense of humor. “Just so we don’t have to go through this whole resignation thing again,” one ballsy reporter asked, “have you ever patronized a prostitute?” Patterson thought for a minute. “Only the lobbyists,” he said.
New York Newspapers Tanking More Slowly Than Papers ElsewhereMEDIA
• Of the top twenty American newspapers, the circulation of New York ones suffered less than others over the past few years. [Mixed Media/Portfolio]
• We hear … that gossip Website Jossip.com is up for sale. [NYP]
• And that ESPN The Magazine is beefing up its fashion coverage. [WWD]
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Geraldine Ferraro Does Not Go Gently Into the NightAmerica’s first female vice-presidential candidate, Geraldine Ferraro, has resigned from Hillary Clinton’s campaign in disgrace after she said that Obama “would not be in this position” if he were a white man. Except, according to her, there’s no disgrace at all. In fact, she’s owed an apology. After a liberal blog and media feeding frenzy over her comments, she stepped down from her position on the finance committee — but she refused to apologize for the flap. “If anybody is going to apologize,” she said defiantly, “They should apologize to me for calling me a racist.” She said she’s stepping down only so the campaign can move past this issue. Obama himself stopped short of calling her racist, but Hillary aggressively attacked her. “I rejected what she said and I certainly do repudiate it.” She rejects and repudiates? She’s making sure all her bases are covered. She’s also putting Ferraro in the same box as Louis Farrakhan. Ouch!
Ferraro Quits But Offers No Apologies [Campaign 08/Nation]
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Eliot Spitzer’s ‘Kristen’ Somehow Much More Adorable Than AnticipatedWe’re not really sure what we expected from “Kristen,” but when we learned that she was a fresh-faced, seemingly earnest 22-year-old, we realized it wasn’t that. We sort of thought the Emperor’s Club prostitute that brought down Governor Eliot Spitzer would be some over-made-up 35-year-old with pounds worth of hair extensions and a laugh that sounded like a whinny. But the real “Kristen,” a.k.a. Ashley Youmans, is nothing like that. In fact, we kind of like her. Here’s what we learned about her, starting last night with a big report in the Times:
• She’s from the Jersey Shore, and left when she was 17. And she comes from a “broken home.”
• She lives in the Flatiron district. [Ed: That explains everything! And nothing.]
• She’s an aspiring singer-songwriter. Her demo, which the Times says uses “dated slang,” can be found on her still-live MySpace page.