Yesterday evening we attended a meet-and-greet for Jen Psaki,

[Abolishinist]

who is on a national book tour promoting “Say More”, which was released last week. The event was hosted by Christine Forester, who in 2008 was listed by U.S. News and World Report as the second-largest “bundler” of contributions to the campaign of presidential candidate Barack Obama. We’ve been to a number of political events held by her and to make it even better, we live just down the street so it’s a 2 minute walk.

In the video Christine is on the left, and the person walking over is Katie McCormick Lelyveld, who was Michelle Obama’s press secretary during the first four years of the Obama presidency and she and Jen are close friends.

What to say about Jen, her rate of speech is quicker than most, and there were never any pauses or ‘duhs’ or ‘uhs’, very vibrant and upbeat. Most of her talk was not about “inside politics” but more on how she has managed to strike a work-life balance, which is apparently the overall theme of her book.

I have a signed copy of "Say More" and look forward to reading it!

[CrispyQ]

1. On ums & ahs & speaking quickly, that take practice.

Also, she has a sharp mind & knows her stuff.

[Abolishinist]

2. That this ability is noticeable to me makes me wonder if

because I pick up on this, is it unusual in the main, or is there something else going on as well. We also saw Pete Buttigieg at her house several years ago and the same thing, although I picked up on this earlier watching him doing interviews.

That's not saying that those who talk slower and take little breaks are any less able, and as you say, it probably does take some practice, but it is an interesting 'feature'. I've always enjoyed listening to a good auctioneer as well, so there's that.

[Mr.Bill]

3. I am secretly

madly in love with her. In reality, though, she is way smarter than I am (not to mention much younger), so I will have to settle to admire her from afar.

The story of my life, except for the woman I married.

[Abolishinist]

5. I know the feeling, and let me say, meeting

her in person only adds to it! A few times I was within several feet of her. On the TV I've seen her wearing those way over-sized eyelash extensions, which I don't care for, but not last night. And I found out she was a competitive backstroke swimmer for the William & Mary Tribe athletic team for two years.

I never thought of getting involved in politics when I was younger. Now, I'm thinking it might have been fun to have started out after college in D.C. just to check it out!

[Cha]

4. Wow.. lucky you!

Mahalo so much for this vid and what you had to say about Jen Psaki.

Beautiful scene out of the Window.. I used to live in San Diego.. all over for 15 years.

In so many ways I miss it!

[Abolishinist]

6. Since you're familiar with the area, the view is from La Jolla,

the LJ Beach & Tennis Club is between Christine and Jen, and that is Scripps Pier. We have the same view from our house, but even better as hers is what you see in the video, ours extends much further to the south. Yep, I feel very lucky every day, I never tire of looking out over the ocean! On a clear day we can see all the way up to Saddleback Mountain in Orange County. Plus there is so much to do here, and although I wish it would get a little warmer, I can't complain about the weather.

Here's a pic of the 'snack' table, take a look at the cookies! They are from Girard Gourmet, and the owner in the past has sold a variety of these in her store featuring the 'former'. I can only imagine what some of the tourists think when they see these!

[Cha]

7. Thank you so much, Abolitionist! I thought that

was La Jolla.. one of the places I lived for 5 years. Two blocks from Wind and Sea Beach.. my daughter was born at Scripps hospital.

omg.. Oh that cookie.. lol Good on Girard Gourmet.. I remember that Street!

How Wonderful you met Jen Psaki so close to your home and in such beautiful surroundings.