In the great tradition of Friday afternoon document dumps, the Obama Administration has released the first batch of White House visitor logs.
TPMDC has the details on the new policy and the politics of the release. Full coverage is here.
But we want your help sifting through the records, which are in full here.
See anything interesting?
Put it in the comments, or email us.

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calchala
October 30, 2009 5:13 PM
Alan Greenspan visited Peter Orzag, Larry Summers and Bryan Jung
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Justin Elliott
October 30, 2009 6:02 PM in reply to calchala
yeah, good one. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/10/alan-greenspan-dropped-by-obama-white-house-six-times.php
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Docb
October 31, 2009 12:32 PM in reply to calchala
Tell me why is it that this is of upmost interest when the people who write the legislation are the ones to be monitored..The President signs -or not- what they write...Check on the visits Congress gets and who they employ...
Waste of time unless nefarious beings are looking to bash the Whitehouse---which would be fox and friends..in that case they would be more inclined to make it up than report it!
This president said he would be open to ALL ideas and has proved it..but he makes up his own mind to the discomfort of many who brand him as moving too fast or too slow depending on their own agenda..
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Maritza
October 30, 2009 5:15 PM
Cheney also has a Friday evening dump. His FBI interview is now online.
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aikbay
October 30, 2009 5:34 PM
Uh oh the teabagger/birther crowd are gonna need some smelling salts - Jeremiah Wright was there on 3/24 and Malik Shabazz was there on 7/25. See, he is a scaryblackmuslim after all.
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ATL Dem
October 30, 2009 5:46 PM in reply to aikbay
From the WH blog:
A lot of people visit the White House, up to 100,000 each month, with many of those folks coming to tour the buildings. Given this large amount of data, the records we are publishing today include a few “false positives” – names that make you think of a well-known person, but are actually someone else. In September, requests were submitted for the names of some famous or controversial figures (for example Michael Jordan, William Ayers, Michael Moore, Jeremiah Wright, Robert Kelly ("R. Kelly"), and Malik Shabazz). The well-known individuals with those names never actually came to the White House. Nevertheless, we were asked for those names and so we have included records for those individuals who were here and share the same names.
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Dorn76
October 31, 2009 1:09 AM in reply to aikbay
Did you read the post?
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TheRealFish
October 31, 2009 4:15 PM in reply to aikbay
You don't think they'll fly into a frenzy with the 3-4 entries for George Soros???? I already smell the flinty odor wafting from Drudge, NewsNetDaily, Beck and O'Reilly for that one alone.
Especially Beck. He will see some floating E-waves connecting Soros with the umpteen visits by the head of the new ACORN-like target, SEIU, and will build at least a half-dozen shows centered on the Da Vinci-like-code of that secret plot to pervert our bodily juices.
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Scotty B
November 17, 2009 12:53 AM in reply to TheRealFish
Sounds like someone is worried that Beck is right. Is there a problem with telling it the way it is? Being honest, candid, with an open agenda? Something we have not seen from our government for an extremely long time...
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plasmastate
October 30, 2009 5:41 PM
Like Mike. If I could be like Mike. Oh, I wanna be I wanna be I wanna be....
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dal
October 30, 2009 6:06 PM
this is actually hella fun to dig through... but I can't really figure out what data set it is - what's the universe? I mean, we know Henry Louis Gates Jr. and James Crowley paid a visit... but they're not on the list... without a sense of who's in and who's out, its hard to draw many conclusions... you can definitely find questions here, though...
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dal
October 30, 2009 6:10 PM in reply to dal
oooohhh... I see what the universe is: all that have been requested by FOIA *and* all since 9/15
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Captain Obvious
October 30, 2009 7:04 PM
well, so far I see "Billy" Clinton has been to the WH once, Hillary twice. Bill Ayers has been there twice OH NOEZ a domestic terrorist is in the WH as much as the secretary of state! Cass Sunstien of the torture apologist fame has been there 9 times.
132 of 481, or 27% were not there to see a specific person. The top visitees were , POTUS (98), FLOTUS (1), PO&FLOTUS (9), VPOTUS (3), Office Visitors (69), Tina Chen (22), Max Doebler (19), Larry Summers (13), Rahm Emanuel (11), Valerie Jarrett (9). The three people to visit Biden were Franken, Daschle, and Kim Gandy.
The top visitors were William Smith (27), Andrew Stern (21), John Podesta (17), Kim Gandy (15), William White (13), Tom Daschle (10), Cass Sunstein, Michael Moore, and Nancy Keenan (8), David Strauss, Timothy Ryan, David Oreilly, Edward Kennedy, Jeffrey Jones, Paul Smith, Philip Lamarche, Richard Trumka, Ralph Smith, Risala Vizomourey, and Steve Gunderson (7), James Dimon, Jesse Jackson, and John Sullivan (6), Alan Greenspan, Anthony Podesta, Edward Yingling, John Roberts, Linda Lipsen, William Graham, Dick Durbin, Michael Jordan and Stephen Williams (5), ... Oprah (2)
There was a mayor's meeting with the POTUS on 2/20 with 3 mayors, Richard Daley (Chicago), Mark Mallory (Cincinatti) and Bill White (Houston).
The description of the visit is blank in 56% of records. Tours is the top desription by far with over 65 or 14%. Bank CEO meeting (9), Speech (8), Congressional Luau (15), then a bunch of twosies and onsies, like Poetry Reading (2), Super Bowl Party (2), St. Patty's Day (6), Cocktail Party (3).
For the 98 meetings with POTUS, the top descriptions: Blank (16), Meeting with Bank CEOs (9), Speech (8), Event around SCOTUS, and St. Patrick's Reception Guests (6), Announcement of Flagship Initiative to Guarantee Loans to Small Business, Meeting ref:Housing, Mayor Meeting, and OPL Coctail Party (3), the rest are ones and twos.
Where were these 481 meetings? Six in the Oval Office, 110 West Wing, 74 Residence, 48 Eastroom, 19 Southlawn.
I just crashed my Open Office messing with my pivot tables, so that's all for now.
Overall, this doesn't tell ya much, transparency is sometimes just a word. I don't see any real value to the American people of producing this list. It's hard to believe this is a complete list, because certainly Rahm was in the meetings with POTUS, and Axlerod too, and surely the VP, but you can't tell.
It was nice to see the Union Presidents in the WH so much, maybe they can get EFCA passed with cardcheck. I doubt it.
As the employer of the President - we after all are the ones who pay their salaries - I want a much more detailed accounting of what he is doing on my time. I have to provide much more information about what projects I am working on, and what progress I made, what steps are next, and what the due dates are need to be approved.
Why is it that my employees have much better health insurance than me, again??? Oh well, have a great OPL Cocktail party -like night everybody on TPM. Wear a costume if you are cool.
I am going to wear a "transparent" costume, you know one with a mask, body suit, burka, cape, and jacket with a hood.
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wanderindiana
October 30, 2009 11:50 PM in reply to Captain Obvious
Risala Vizomourey?
Google this name and there is one hit, pointing back to your comment.
Google "Risala" and you get some interesting stuff about Islam/Muslim scriptures and/or messengers/prophets.
Google "Vizomourey" and again there is one hit, pointing back here.
Now, try Googling "Risa Lavizzo-Mourey" and see what you get.
Based on this one example should I question the accuracy of these records?
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wanderindiana
October 30, 2009 11:58 PM in reply to wanderindiana
Okay I just looked with my own eyes, and Captain Obvious for some reason came up with that "Risala" concoction when writing a comment. The Captain is in error, not the WH.
The logs show the correct spelling of Risa Lavizza-Mourey -- they are accurate.
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wanderindiana
October 30, 2009 11:59 PM in reply to wanderindiana
And I misspelled it. Shame on me.
One more time, for accuracy: Risa Lavizzo-Mourey.
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Captain Obvious
October 31, 2009 1:26 AM in reply to wanderindiana
Good catch. I put the columns together,and wasn't familiar with that name. You should dispute the accuracy of the list because of what the WH said (see ATL comment upthread). I was wrong, you were right.
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pixeloony
October 30, 2009 8:28 PM
If you use the UIN filter you get visitors by date.
Who visited on Jan. 20?: Ted Kennedy, Jesse Jackson, Dick Durbin, Tom Daschle @9:18 AM. John Podesta @9:13 AM, all for a reception. Also Cecile Richards visited that day.
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Goatboy
October 30, 2009 8:33 PM
Steven A. Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, was at the White House twice: on April 9 for a White House tour and on June 3 to visit Larry Summers and John Holdren (Obama's science and technology advisor). Ballmer was back in Washington, DC on June 2-3 for a computer-industry event, the Business Software Alliance's CEO summit.
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AnswerFrog
October 30, 2009 8:51 PM
People focus too much on the White House where laws get signed. But what about Congress, where bills actually get written?
I'd love to see some records of who Congress has lunch with and meets with. Should include junkets from lobbyists as well.
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Captain Obvious
October 31, 2009 3:12 AM in reply to AnswerFrog
of course! this would be good
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TheRealFish
October 31, 2009 4:06 PM
Whew. Okay, so not a lot there, with all that's there, and I readily admit maybe I mis-read some of the codes. However, there are only two bits in the whole mess I find "interesting" though such interest doesn't illuminate much of anything:
That's all I got... .
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coolwebgossip
October 31, 2009 5:31 PM
There are many more celebs he met with -
I cringe when I see him. He cares too much about celebs...
Also, he gave Jake Gyllenhaal a tour along with Reese Witherspoon. Have u seen the photos?
See
http://www.coolwebgossip.com/celebrity-politics/barack-obama/white-house-voluntarily-releases-list-of-celebrities-who-visited-themobama-invites-more-celebrities-to-the-white-house-denzel-washington-serena-williams-bill-gates-and-oprah-her-fourth-time-chil/
Obama Meets With The Grateful Dead… Obama Meets Brad Pitt… Miley Cyrus to Visit Sasha & Malia Obama… George Clooney Meets Obama… Nick Jonas Meets Barack Obama …Tiger Woods meets Barack Obama … Reese Witherspoon meets Obama – … Stevie Wonder honoured by Obama… Obamas Celebrate Easter with Fergie – … Alice Cooper Joins Obama… Bette Midler, Sheryl Crow Meet Obama-… Dwayne Wade Alonzo Mourning meet Obama… Obama Grills with Bobby Flay … President Obama Ceasers Palace…Brad Paisley performs and hits the President up for a ride on Air Force One… Obama visits the Tonight Show… Obama Lets Tony Hawk Skateboard Through The White House… Obama Visits Harry Potter Set…Obama Meets B.D. Wong…Also See Obama Meets with Miley Cyrus, Jonas Brothers, Nascar Champs…LeBron James…Sidney Poitier..Soccer Team…NBC Entertainment Execs…Tapes Appearance on George Lopez??… Celebrities Join Obama for Fiesta (Eva Longoria, Jimmy Smits, George Lopez etc…etc…)
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chris
November 1, 2009 10:49 PM
There are a bunch of lobbyists on this list. Elmendorf, Podesta, etc..
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donarb
November 2, 2009 10:32 PM
Michael C Moore is most likely the Mississippi Attorney General, there for a Rose Garden signing ceremony on a tobacco bill.
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donarb
November 2, 2009 10:34 PM
Ted Kennedy visited? Isn't he dead? Wait till Fox gets ahold of this info.
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Scotty B
November 17, 2009 12:58 AM
Change... How is it working America? Spend more, keep adding to the deficit, bigger government, more taxes, less freedom. Is it time we take back our country from all of these republican & democrat wackjobs??? How about the "AMERICAN PARTY"???
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