The 14th annual record of notably social individuals from politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.
Enrico and Andrea Cecchi (Photo by Joseph Allen)
A
Mr. and Mrs. JAMES ABDO (Mai)
Mr. and Mrs. WILLIAM ABEL-SMITH (Mimi)
The Honorable and Mrs. TYLER ABELL (Bess)
The Honorable DAVID C. ACHESON
Mr. GLEN ACKERMAN and Mr. ERNESTO SANTALLA
Mr. THEO ADAMSTEIN and Ms. OLVIA DEMETRIOU
The Ritz-Carlton
Photos by Tony Powell
Colin Powell and Henry Kissinger
THE EVENT: The Atlantic Council of the United States honored Adm. Michael Mullen, former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, media mogul Rupert Murdoch and Russian piano virtuoso Evgeny Kissin at its annual awards dinner, after which Kissin gave a performance. THE GUESTS: Colin Powell, Brent Scowcroft, Henry A. Kissinger, Brig. Gen. Jim Jones, former Polish President Aleksander Krasniewski, Russell and Aileen Train, Donatella Flick, Lloyd Hand, Dan and Rhoda Glickman, Arnaud and Alexandra de Borchgrave, Bob Barnett and Rita Braver.
Barack Obama’s melody is new, but Washington’s orchestra of insiders remains the same – Roland Flamini reports on who is trying to
play sweet music to the President-Elect
By Roland Flamini
Illustration by J.C. Suarès
On January 20, President George W. Bush rides into the setting sun, a new sheriff takes over at the White House, and the four-year process that defines democracy in this country starts anew. The “commentariat” – as British Prime Minister Gordon Brown calls them – has told the world endlessly on television, throughout blogdom, and in the mainstream press why this time it’s different. And so it is: but it might be worth noting that in Washington, some things have remained the same.
The traditional power minuet to staff the presidency and the new administration involves, as usual, the Hill, think tanks, universities, and the big law firms. Besides military appointments, the president has legal appointing authority for thousands of jobs, and every chief executive invariably vows to choose the best and the brightest. In reality, filling the jobs gives the new president an opportunity to reward support, and ensure loyalty.
Shortly after the election, the New York Times (and other newspapers for that matter) started running profiles of possible administration appointees being considered by the Obama Transition Team, or hoping to be. Few, if any, lacked previous government, or government-related experience. “Recruiting a new administration causes a significant manpower shift in Washington,” says one Washington observer. “If the party in power remains the same it becomes a matter of musical chairs. The posts vacated by people going to the White House and other branches of the government have to be filled. But when the party in power changes there is no revolving door for those leaving the administration, and the departure can be quite painful.”
In another familiar ritual President-elect Obama has been bombarded with proposals, reports, and studies on policy issues from a whole artillery of specialists, interest groups, and academics. The aim is to try and capture his attention on everything from health to foreign policy before a decision making mechanism locks into place at the White House, and outside input becomes more difficult.
The 13th annual record of notably social personalities from the worlds of politics, diplomacy, business, philanthropy, and the arts.
By Kevin Chaffee
John Pyles and Barbara Harrison
This roster is neither the first, nor will it (inevitably) be the last to single out certain individuals, who, by virtue of birth, rank, wealth or accomplishment, take part in the social life of the nation’s capital. Estimable precursors – drumroll here – include The Green Book,” so-called for its faux green suede cover, which has appeared continuously since 1930; and the Blue Book of Washington, D.C., which ceased publication around 1990 after a century in print. The Social Register, sometimes called the “Black Book,” also contains the names of numerous prominent local figures, many hailing from so-called “blue blood” families, although it merged its thin Washington volume into a much larger 12-city national version back in the 1980s.
A major difference separating Washington Life’s list from the others – apart from having no discernible color – is that we do not publish a “phone book” containing addresses and contact information, much less schools attended, club memberships and yacht listings. Ours is merely an alphabetical nomenclature of people who make a difference by adding immeasurably to their city, and by extension, their country and the world. Another point of contrast is size. Compared to the many thousands of entries contained in other directories past and present, WL’s Social List, currently about 700 names and counting, is relatively small. We do not see the need to include every member of the Congress, Cabinet or Court (i.e., Supreme), much less all those with top jobs listed in the “Plum Book” of political appointments.
Peter Barris, Ted Leonsis, Joe Robert, Thomas Hale Boggs Jr., Walter Isaacson, Tom Friedman David Rubenstein Bob Woodward, Placido Domnigo, Katherine Bradley,
By Ann Geracimos
Some men, and some women, are born with power, to paraphrase the old adage, while others have it thrust upon them. This seldom is the case these days. The majority of people on Washington Life’s selective list of the most powerful have earned their status the hard way. They would be first to admit that a sense of power is in the eyes of the beholder—that projection often is the key to how power is best applied.
Such a concept was part of the infamous list entrepreneur Bill Regardie contrived someyears ago to define the term and its relevance to the Washington scene. His “rules” perversely eliminated anyone drawing a government paycheck, which at canceling theidea that titles automatically confer prestige. (They often do so, but empty suits are all too common a sight among posturing strutters in our public office.) Another Regardierule stated that wealth doesn’t necessarily beget power, which means that many hoping to claim advantages based on inheritance or a talent for acquisitiveness have to prove otherwise. Money is easy; it’s power that is hard — hard to get and relatively easy to lose.
WL Photos WLTV
