“Meet the Press” rolled out the red carpet Wednesday night for its newest acquisition Erika Masonhall. Betsy Fischer, “Meet The Press” Executive Producer, hosted a cocktail reception at her home to introduce Washington TV and political reporters to the program’s new press representative. For some Hill reporters it was a chance to get reacquainted as Masonhall came to NBC from Capitol Hill, where she worked for several years as the communications director to Senator Joe Lieberman.

Masonhall is representing some of NBC News’s biggest franchises including “Meet the Press” and “Nightly News.” “Meet the Press” Moderator David Gregory invited the crowd of reporters and NBC executives to raise their glasses in a toast Mendenhall.

NBC News President Steve Capus, NBC News press team leader Lauren Kapp and the new Washington Bureau Chief Antoine Sanfuentes, chatted with reporters about the latest Washington buzz on a potential government shutdown, the 2012 GOP field and of course, the upcoming book from Mark Leibovich already causing an uproar on the Hill and in journalism circles.

A state visit from team Politico led by Mike Allen, Jonathan Martin, Manu Raju, and Keach Hagey.

Reporting favorites Emily Goodin, Jackie Kucinich (on her way to USA Today) Jeff Zeleny and Paul Kane enjoyed crab cakes, spring rolls and “Meet the Press” cupcakes made by Marla Romash of “Marla’s Magic.”

WHC Insider News Media Antoine Sanfuentes, Betsy Fischer, David Gregory, Emily Goodin, Erika Masonhall, Jackie Kucinich, Jeff Zeleny, Jonathan Martin, Lauren Kapp, Marla Romash, Meet the Press, Mike Allen, NBC, Steve Capus

Mike Allen's Birthday Cake

Politico Playbook Editor Turns 45

Politico’s Mike Allen celebrated his birthday on Wednesday. The h/t goes to the 150+ people who turned out on a cold and damp evening for a man who is what Harry Truman called a rare Washington commodity: a friend.

The cake (candles lit by Austan Goolsbee) — and lapel pins — carried an image knocked off from another president, fitting for the editor of Politico’s Playbook.

Mike Allen Birthday Speech from whcinsider on Vimeo.

(Surprise) Birthday Invite

Hosts John Harris and Ann O’Hanlon, Jim and Autumn VandeHei, Mike Feldman, Betsy Fischer, Jonathan Karl, Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, Hilary Rosen, Jonathan Martin, and Tammy Haddad kept the birthday boy in the dark about the true reason for the party with an invite highlighting 160 days of media coverage.

Check out all the photos from Mike Allen’s birthday party:

Did too much birthday celebration interfere with Allen’s “Morning Joe” appearance the next day? No one’s telling.

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It is always different; the way a White House informs you that you have the President of the United States for an interview. Sometimes it’s a call to warn an important call is coming, and you better agree to the conditions. Often it is four to six people calling to claim credit for making the interview happen. But, as in most things with Obama, this is a drama free process: just an email asking where you can be reached. This email is from Dan Pfeiffer, deputy communications director of the Obama White House, and the cool and collected center of the daily press hub since the beginning of the campaign.

Newsweek, along with everyone else, had a request in to the White House to get more of President Obama’s words on the record. The interview is for Jon Meacham, named Newsweek editor at 29, now just 40. Meacham is a poet-historian and, like Obama, a bestselling author. Pfeiffer’s email advises that we will get our interview and it will be on Air Force One. Despite no video or audio, we were pleased and I reply, “We are in.” There was a quick handover to the operations folks for details of the trip to Phoenix for the President’s commencement address at Arizona State University.

I ask Meacham if he’s ever been on Air Force One, and he said only at the Reagan Library. My only time was during my stint running MSNBC’s 2004 election coverage when 30 Rock was transformed into “Democracy Plaza,” — a piece of an Air Force One plane was part of the plaza-wide exhibition.

Meacham and I meet up with Newsweek star photographer Khue Bui, a White House press corps veteran and delightful campaign trail mate, who will round out the Newsweek Air Force One team. We arrive at Andrews Air Force Base looking like the desk jockeys we are; editors and producers aren’t usually allowed out of their bureaus.

We watch as the entire White House traveling press corps arrives for a security check; however, they’ll be traveling on the press charter plane departing ahead of Air Force One.

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