06/08/09 I got a call last night from my friend Al Eisele who was enthused about snarkinfested.com and was especially taken with the image I posted of a then Senator Obama at the White House where he was remarkably NOT the center of attention.  I thanked him and reminded him of a photo I took of him with our current President a couple years back.  Al had forgotten about it so I sent it along.

This was taken on 03/09/06 at a party to celebrate the new hq for the Tribune Co. in the old Woodies Building downtown.  Al is telling a joke and I can’t remember if it’s a dirty one but clearly he’s enjoying it as much as his audience.  It’s great to go to an event in Washington with Al. He’s been involved in politics and journalism for so long that he knows everybody. He’s also very curious about people and not shy about introducing himself and asking questions. If Al goes to a party and does not know everyone, he will make a point to know them by the end of the event. And this curiosity does not apply exclusively to the VIPs. Al talks to the waiters and the bartenders and the maids and the taxi drivers and the doormen and the security people, etc.  Al is constantly collecting stories.  He never stops.  It is a skill lacking in a lot of reporters who refuse to leave the newsroom or even talk to strangers for that matter.  They make their living re-working press releases and “covering” events they watch on TV.  Why bother? Where is the fun in that?  Don’t get me started on the vast majority of bloggers – the guys who sit in their underwear all day commenting on what some other blog wrote about what some other blog wrote about what some other blog wrote about an actual event in the real world.  They have as much chance of coming up with an original insight or interview or reporting an unknown fact as a monkey does typing the complete works of Shakespeare. Al Eisele is the real deal.