The first presidential debate between Barack Obama and John McCain takes place tonight. We wanted to know: if you had the chance, what questions would you ask the candidates?
Tom Brokaw may be anchoring Meet the Press through the November elections, but NBC has left open the question of who’ll be sitting in the chair come Inauguration Day.
Early money was on NBC correspondent David Gregory, but network sources say the stock of NBC political director Chuck Todd is on the rise to replace the legendary Tim Russert.
Todd, who previously was editor of the online tipsheet the Hotline and had little TV experience before joining NBC last year, got a lot of airtime during the extended primary season and developed a big following on the Web on such sites as Chucktoddfacts.com and Vivachucktodd.blogspot.com. Few observers missed the tableau of Brokaw, Brian Williams, and Todd overlooking Barack Obama’s acceptance speech at Denver’s Invesco Field. The buzz: Was this NBC’s future?
Todd would be a host in the mold of Russert: an unflashy shoe-leather journalist who loves the minutiae of politics, knows the numbers and trivia, and lives for the Washington game.
A dark horse in the race: Frank Sesno, who once hosted the CNN Sunday show Late Edition. “He’s serious, sincere, objective, and conveys that everyday-Joe aura that made Russert a draw,” says Michael Turk, who founded a Facebook group to “Draft Frank” for the host position.
This article first appeared in the October 2008 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
With all the rain, bad bailout news, the biggest bank failure ever, and general gloominess hanging over Washington today, we thought we'd kick off the morning with, um, a bowl full of puppies. Happy Friday!
Still no news on what's up with the presidential debate tonight, but if it goes on, here are spots where you can watch it with like-minded folks.
Mayor Adrian Fenty yesterday helped to open Obama's DC headquarters. It's based in a rowhouse on Florida Ave., NW.
A new location of Busboys & Poets is now open in the new City Vista condo building at 5th and K Streets, NW.
Are the fire hydrants in your neighborhood working? Find out with this nifty new map.
Vincent Ricardel talks about his experience photographing legendary Redskins players in this audio slideshow. Scroll down for extended interviews with Redskins players like Art Monk, Dexter Manley and more.
Photographer Vincent Ricardel talks about his behind-the-scenes experiences shooting Redskins legends
In this week’s edition of Washingtoniana—our Thursday feature where we collect your questions about Washington and do some sleuthing to find the answers—we get the facts on the mysterious pillar at Seventh Street and Constitution Avenue, Northwest.
"While waiting at the bus stop at the southwest corner of 7th and Constitution, I’ve often wondered what might be the origins of that (sandstone?) monolith. There’s no sign or any other marker to indicate why it is there. Is it perhaps some remnant of the old B&O railroad station?" - Paul Symborski
Glad you asked, Paul! To find the answer, we put our Googling skills to the test.
Every Thursday, we bring you interviews with noteworthy Washingtonians. This week, we catch up with David Malitz, washingtonpost.com music producer and blogger.
Photograph courtesy of David Malitz.
Name: David Malitz
Age: 28
Occupation: Washingtonpost.com music producer and Post Rock blogger.
Hometown: North Potomac.
Must-have items at all times: I literally do a pat-down every morning before I leave my apartment—wallet, keys, sunglasses, BlackBerry. My equilibrium is seriously thrown off if I’m missing any of those.
Signature drink: Iced grande mocha from Starbucks. I can’t front.
Finish this sentence: “When not working, you can find me . . . . . . at a show or on my couch checking box scores and watching sports.
Holy moly, there’s almost too much going on this weekend! Festivals galore, Oktoberfest beer everywhere you look, a Yacht Rock DJ party, political comedy, and several new museum exhibits are on tap in this weekend’s nightlife guide.
The big political news today is that John McCain has suspended his campaign to go work on the economy—and as a result wants to suspend this Friday's planned debate with Obama. What's going to happen? We're not sure, but if the debate goes on as planned, you can find a bar or party to watch it in our debate-watching guide.
The weather has cooled down noticeably today—and apparently it's gonna rain. Like, a lot. Capital Weather Gang predicts storms through the weekend.
Hopefully, the rain won't affect BikeDC, which returns to town this weekend. It's a 17-mile car-free bike ride along the streets of DC. You can register and get more details here.
