London G20: Stories from the file

Worker bees in the hive: The WHPC London hotel filing center.

Today in the White House briefing we discovered the impish side of administration economists, when Michael Froman, deputy national security advisor for international economic affairs, referred the G20 machinations as “G-ometry.” A pun! Whatever next? It’s nothin’ but a G-thing, Froman. And yes, — the “sausage king of Chicago” jokes are plentiful, but only within a certain demographic.

Ed Henry! Are you…..blogging??!!

The big three networks are all bigfooting into London this week to anchor their nightly newscasts from the G20 economic summit. Way to get those ratings up! No Katie Couric sightings yet, but we’re on it. CNN has two correspondents covering the Obama trip, and NBC also sent two. Come on, catfights!

In the meantime, the White House and State Department are pretty good at restricting access to the press filing centers at the hotel, but sometimes the riff-raff slips through. Today’s uncanny visitor was a ghost of White House trips past:

Former Bush administration press office staffer Pete Seat!

Since leaving the White House, Pete has been writing a column in the Times of Northwest Indiana and launched a blog — lately on the subject of “Journeys without George,” which is a first-name impertinence that would not have been tolerated during his days with the Bush administration.

He was in London being a tourist, he said.

Here we see Katie Hogan of the Obama press office giving Pete the old heave-ho.

Actually they seemed friendly. Pete left under his own steam.

Cover girl! You bettah work.