DES MOINES, IA.—Color, bold face names and other social notes from the Iowa Democratic Party Jefferson Jackson dinner.
*Hillaryland and Clinton White House alums included: Lisa Caputo, Clinton’s former press secretary when she was First Lady; former Clinton White House social secretary Ann Stock; former Clinton Treasury official Roger Altman .
*Meeting for the first time. Though they worked in Chicago’s City Hall together some 20 years ago, they met Saturday night on the floor of the Veterans Memorial Auditorium: Clinton campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle and Valerie Jarrett, an advisor to the Obama campaign and Obama confidant.
*Clinton Chicago pals drove out to Iowa, some stopping to canvass in Iowa along the way:Bill Brandt; J.B. Pritzker (seated at the table with Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland); Betsy Ebeling; former Clinton White House alum Lynn Cutler; state Rep. Jack Franks; Kevin O’Keefe. They displayed very cool Iowans for Hillary megaphones with the slogan “Holler for change”
*Obama folk in from Chicago, besides Jarrett; Bill Daley, the former Clinton Commere secretay and mayoral brother; Howard Learner, who advises Obama on renewable energy policy.
*So I’m chatting with a few political pros and someone mentions that David Wilhelm is in the hall and wondered who he is with. Wilhelm used to be based in Chicago and was Bill Clinton’s first campaign manager, later the Democratic National Committee chief. Wilhelm is with Sen. Joe Biden (D-Del.).
*Campaign honchos around included Mandy Grunwald, Mark Daley, and Mark Penn for Clinton; David Axelrod, Steve Hildebrand, Bill Burton, Tommy Vietor for Obama; Jim Jordan for Dodd; Johnathan Prince, Joe Trippi, Mark Kornblau for Edwards.
*Michelle Obama chatted with Clinton for awhile when everyone gathered on the stage at the end.
Lynn Sweet is a columnist and the Washington Bureau Chief for the
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