White House hosted “Alice in Wonderland” party

Was having the Mad Hatter over for a party a bad idea?

A new book reports that the Obama White House hosted an extravagant "Alice in Wonderland" party in the fall of 2009, designed by director Tim Burton and featuring actor Johnny Depp.

In "The Obamas," New York Times correspondent Jodi Kantor writes that the White House decided to downplay the expensive Halloween party over fears of a public backlash, since it was taking place during the height of the recession.

"White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans — or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care — that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton's and Depp's contributions went unacknowledged," Kantor writes.

The party itself was designed by director Tim Burton, who helped transform the East Room and State Dining Room into a "White House Wonderland." More from the book:

"[Burton's] film version was about to be released, and he had turned the room into the Mad Hatter's tea party, with a long table set with antique-looking linens, enormous stuffed animals in chairs, and tiered serving plates with treats like bone-shaped meringue cookies."

"Fruit punch was served in blood vials at the bar. Burton's own Mad Hatter, the actor Johnny Depp, presided over the scene in full costume, standing up on a table to welcome everyone in character."

And though he had nothing to do with "Alice in Wonderland," Star Wars creator George Lucas reportedly sent along an actor playing Chewbacca to attend the party.

That was followed by a magic show for children of White House staff and military families.

White House spokesman Eric Shultz disputed Kantor's take, saying the event was not covered up for fear of public backlash. "This was an event for local school children from the Washington DC area and for hundreds of military families," Shultz said in a statement released to Politico. "If we wanted this event to be a secret, we probably wouldn't have invited the press corps to cover it, release photos of it to Flickr, or post a video from it on the White House website," he said.

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Bachmann ends bid for White House

4 January 2012 Last updated at 13:14 ET

 

Michele Bachmann: "I have no regrets"

Minnesota congresswoman Michele Bachmann has ended her campaign for the White House.

The Tea Party favourite made the announcement in Des Moines, Iowa, where she finished a disappointing sixth in the state's caucuses on Tuesday.

Her withdrawal from the field leaves six other contenders in the presidential race.

They are vying to become the Republican nominee to challenge President Barack Obama for the White House in November.

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney won Iowa's caucuses by a wafer-thin margin over former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum.

There was speculation that Texas Governor Rick Perry, who finished fifth, might also drop out, but he tweeted on Wednesday: "Here we come South Carolina!!!"

The Perry campaign confirmed he would attend a Republican debate on Saturday in New Hampshire.

Mrs Bachmann, 55, told a news conference on Wednesday: "Last night the people of Iowa spoke with a very clear voice and so I have decided to stand aside."

She said she had "no regrets".

Mrs Bachmann did not endorse another candidate, but said: "I believe that we must rally around the person that our country and our party and our people select to be that standard bearer."

She spoke at length about her reasons for entering the race, denouncing President Obama's healthcare reforms as "left-wing social engineering", which "endangered the very future" of the US.

Mrs Bachmann, who pitched for the evangelical Christian vote, was briefly the front-runner back in August. But after fundraising woes and staff departures, she could only win 5% of votes in the state where she was born.

After a nailbiting count Mr Romney was declared the winner in Iowa in the early hours of Wednesday.

He squeaked to victory by just eight votes, with 30,015 ballots (24.55%) against 30,007 for Mr Santorum (24.54%).

Texas congressman Ron Paul, a libertarian-leaning anti-war candidate who has attracted many younger voters, came third with 21.5% of votes.

A record 122,000 straw ballots were cast by Republicans in the largely rural state.

Before his wafer-thin victory, Mr Romney announced another high-profile endorsement, this time from Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 Republican nominee.

The focus now turns to New Hampshire, Mr Romney's political heartland, where a primary election will be held on Tuesday.

Mr Romney's well-financed political machine has snapped up television advertising space in the key swing state of Florida, which holds its primary at the end of this month.

He is already spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on TV ads in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

Meanwhile, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who came fourth in Iowa, set his sights on Mr Romney.

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