Obama lunched with political writers on day of Afghan speech

(Via Memeorandum) President Obama lunched today with foreign policy writers before his Afghan speech. They were instructed to keep it hush until after the speech, according to Politico.

There were some attendees today who write extensively on foreign policy, such as Joe Klein (Time), Fareed Zakaria (Newsweek/ CNN), and Tom Friedman (NY Times).

But it wasn’t the only time that the White House reached out to leading opinion-makers before Obama outlined the administration’s strategy at West Point. As I reported earlier, senior administration officials held a background briefing with nearly a dozen top writers and pundits, including Ron Brownstein, Eugene Robinson, Al Hunt and Judy Woodruff.

Over the the course of 2009, the Obama White House has proven to be much more proactive than their immediate predecessor in making the administration’s case on important domestic and international issues with small groups of political columnists, analysts, and editorial writers.

Do you think he was trying to butter them up before they report on his speech?

As Obama answered questions, White House stewards served the president and his guests a three-course meal featuring a well-cooked Chesapeake striped bass and mango sorbet. There was wine, too, but no one imbibed. …

I didn’t see any names from National Review, The American Spectator, or any other right-of-center publications.

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