French monarchs used to reward their favorites by admitting them into the bathroom for private moments. The Clinton White House hasn't yet ascended to that level, but it is still interesting to see which journalists are favored with invitations to state dinners. For example, on February 5, Newsweek's Eleanor Clift and Time's Margaret Carlson were invited to the White House dinner in honor of Tony Blair. This presumably allowed them to spend even more time working on the president's defense with Clinton aide Sidney Blumenthal and all-purpose flaks James Carville and Harry Thomason, who were also guests at the affair.
Still, there were lots of unhappy journalists as several courtiers every bit as loyal as Clift and Carlson were shockingly omitted from the invitee list; particularly upset, say sources close to Blumenthal, were Al Hunt, Frank Rich, Joe Conason, Jane Mayer, and most of the staff of CNN (fondly known in Washington these days as the Clinton News Network). Just as one member of the president's cabinet is always required to stay away from the State of the Union address for reasons of succession, NPR's Nina Totenberg was reportedly excluded from the dinner so that she would be able to defend the president on Nightline that evening.