All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Some people noticed that many reporters rose from their seats last Friday when President Obama unexpectedly entered the White House briefing room, but the same courtesy was not always extended in the past when President Bush would make an appearance.

Comparison videos were even posted on YouTube.

It’s a long-standing practice for reporters to rise when the president enters the East Room for a news conference, but that hasn’t been the case in the briefing room.

I checked with two colleagues who served as senior wire service reporters during the Bush Presidency and who, in matters of press protocol, the rest of us followed.

“The briefing room is always a more informal place,” says Steve Holland of Reuters.

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As President Obama walked Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to his limousine after their two-hour meeting in the Oval Office Saturday, the leaders passed the latest addition to the White House landscape: the “Supersized Rainbow Castle” play set installed for the Obama daughters.

Displaying the discipline one expects of chiefs of state, both leaders resisted the temptation to try out the swings, the rock wall, or the super scoop slide or to climb the rope ladder into the tented clubhouse on top.

However, it appeared from his gestures that Mr. Obama was talking to Lula about the 13-by-27 foot play set built of cedar and redwood. And his pride in the little playground became evident a few moments later.

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From CBS News producer Jamie Farnsworth in Kailua, Hawaii:

It’s a panic only a few journalists feel and it hits like a ton of bricks—President-elect Barack Obama is on the move and he is not with his traveling press corps.

Nineteen journalists flew on the Obama-chartered flight from Chicago to Honolulu, a few more flew commercially and met up in Hawaii. A core group of journalists representing each of the major newspapers, wire services and TV networks combine resources and are called the traveling press corps of the president-elect. Their main job is to follow the Obama's every move and report back to their respective news entities.

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