White House

They say Martin O'Malley has designs on the White House. And he seems to have made himself at home there one night this week. Maryland's governor and his Irish rock band O'Malley's March scored a pretty big there Tuesday night, getting to play as part of a White House celebration for Irish Prime Minister Edna Kenny. (This after two shows Saturday night at Baltimore's Creative Alliance.) As the Sun's John Fritze reported earlier, O'Malley and his band set up in the stately East Room in front of about 200 people in green ties and shawls.

From Liz Atwood:No matter who wins the presidential election, one thing is clear: We won't have the same thrill we had four years ago of watching young children move into the White House. Remember the commentary on the clothes Sasha and Malia wore on Inauguration Day? And then there was the speculation over what schools the girls would attend.  We waited anxiously to see what kind of dog the family would choose. When, after months of speculation and secrecy, the Obamas selected a Portuguese Water Dog, the photographers were there to snap pictures of him romping on the lawn.

After a two-year hiatus, the Navy football team was back at the White House on Friday to accept the Commander in Chief's trophy from President Obama in a ceremony held in the East Room. The Midshipmen had won the trophy - which is presented to the winner of the series among the three service academies - seven consecutive times beginning in 2003, but that record streak ended when Air Force claimed it in 2010 and 2011. Navy has won the trophy 13 times in all. "This never gets old," Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo said.

WASHINGTON -- On the day when his Republican colleagues anointed him speaker of the House, Rep. Newt Gingrich was blistered by President Clinton's top aide yesterday as a "smear and innuendo" artist whose attacks on the White House staff Sunday were "totally reckless.""The time has come when he has to understand that he has to stop behaving like an out-of-control radio talk-show host and begin behaving like the speaker of the House of Representatives," said Leon E. Panetta, the White House chief of staff.

Eighty-three percent of SUNDIAL callers, or 380 out of 453, say there should be full disclosure of White House spending. Against full disclosure are 73 callers, 16 percent.Of 448 callers, 350, or 78 percent, say they think taxpayers are paying for President Bush's political travels. Ninety-eight callers, 21 percent, disagree."It's Your Call" represents a sampling of opinions from certain segments of the community, but it is not balanced demographically, as a scientific public opinion poll would be.

As Sherman Adams proved during the Eisenhower era, even the flintiest of New Englanders can succumb to the allure of the White House ego trip. The victim this time is the president's chief of staff, John Sununu, who has taken 77 flights on Air Force jets at a cost to the taxpayers of half a million dollars in pursuit of official and not-so-official matters.The first thing to understand about this inside-the-beltway scandal is that someone (perhaps even someone in the White House) had to rat on Mr. Sununu, who proudly is not one of Washington's more lovable characters.

There surely was considerable consternation among President Clinton's Secret Service entourage over the apparent ease with which a deranged man bent on suicide managed to crash his two-seat training plane on the White House south lawn early Monday morning. Damage to the building was minimal and the president and his family were never in any danger. But the episode has sparked a noisy debate over the adequacy of White House security measures against airborne threats.Investigators are still trying to answer key questions.

The White House Inc., which has grown into a 33-store chain by selling women's clothes of cream, ivory, oatmeal, chalk and other pale hues, is tipping its hat to the other end of the shade spectrum.The Linthicum-based company opened a store last weekend in Del Mar, Calif., that sells only garments and accessories that are black, gray or somewhere in between. A second Black Market boutique will open in Miami next month, giving the company 35 stores.The White House hasn't abandoned white. President Rick Sarmiento believes the country can support as many as 150 White House stores eventually.