by Mark Silva
Black picnic tables and big white tents are rolled out on the South Lawn of the White House today for the annual congressional picnic.
And the White House has drawn a star chef for the Gulf Coast-themed cookout tonight: New Orleans chef Paul Prudhomme. The chef has hauled hundreds of pounds of shrimp and seafood from the Gulf for the event, which will include blackened redfish.
This is a bipartisan picnic, of course, so Democrats and Republicans must stand for the music of Tony Snow’s garage band.
Last year, White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten’s band played this party. But this year, with the gumbo king serving up seafood, it’s the flute-playing press secretary’s night on the congressional stage.
Snow, asked today what song his band will be leading with, said they’d sort that out “at the sound check.” The party also was moved up a half-hour, with heavy rain threatened.
They could play Stormy Monday, but this is Tuesday.