Obama's Golf Game Goes Coed

But it's the golf club's decision: Obama

(NEWSER) - As controversy over the Augusta National Golf Club's men-only policy resurfaces, the White House is taking sides. President Obama "believes women should be admitted," says press secretary Jay Carney. It's "up to the club to decide," but Obama's "personal opinion is that women should be admitted to the club." Meanwhile, a women's rights campaigner who led protests against the club in 2002 is gearing up for a new fight, CNN reports. More»

Nope, says spokesman: event reports, pics are online

(NEWSER) - At the nadir of the economic crisis, the Obama White House held a lavish Alice in Wonderland-themed Halloween costume party, organized by Johnny Depp and Tim Burton and full of Star Wars character. But with unemployment at 10%, the Tea Party at its apex, and the economic downturn still rocking the country, officials feared the 2009 party would look terribly decadent, so kept it a secret, reports the New York Post . “White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans—or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care—that the event was not discussed publicly, and Burton’s and Depp’s contributions went unacknowledged,” alleges Jodi Kantor in her new book, The Obamas . More»

Bill Daley says Congress won't let Obama be a chief executive

(NEWSER) - Roger Simon of Politico has an entertaining interview with White House chief of staff Bill Daley. Some highlights:

• How it's going: “It’s been a brutal three years. It’s been a very, very difficult three years, an incredible three years. And we are doing all this under the overhang of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. F--k! It wasn’t like all this was happening in good times."
• On 'we can't wait': "Both Democrats and Republicans have really made it very difficult for the president to be anything like a chief executive. This has led to a kind of frustration," and to the president's push for the executive branch to do as much as it can without Congress.

Profiles: He's a 'bare-knuckles' whip-cracker—and a disappointment to liberals

(NEWSER) - William Daley has terms like "longtime Democratic operative," "former Clinton secretary of commerce" and "Chicago political scion" thrown about him, but the New York Times takes a closer look at President Obama's new right-hand guy. He's “a bare-knuckles administrator ... someone who not only makes the trains run on time, he makes them run ahead of time,” says a veteran of the foundering Gore campaign Daley was called in to resuscitate. “He quickly brought order to the house. He held people accountable.” More»

Sources say White House press secretary considering 2012 campaign role

(NEWSER) - White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs—who recently told reporters no major administration reshuffle was on the way—is likely to be headed for the exit himself as part of the overhaul, according to Politico. Gibbs is seriously considering stepping aside to work on President Obama's 2012 campaign, although no final decision has been made and administration officials haven't settled on a successor, say sources. More»