CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Valerie Jarrett, a senior adviser to President Obama, had completed a monotonously on-message performance Tuesday morning - no slip-ups, no leaks, and no accidental news-making.
Capturing the scene at the Democratic National Convention.
Then TMZ struck.
As Ms. Jarrett, flanked by Secret Service and young staffers expertly rushing her away from reporters with outstretched recorders, exited a Bloomberg breakfast panel, a reporter from the celebrity-stalking Web site shouted out the most surprising question of the morning, hand-held video camera at the ready.
< p>“Who do you think would portray President Obama better in a movie - Will Smith or Drake?†asked Colin Drummond, the TMZ reporter.Ms. Jarrett smiled politely and ducked into her waiting S.U.V., much like TMZ's usual targets, though they are more typically dashing from the Chateau Marmont at night than a Bloomberg “insider†breakfast at the Democratic National Convention.
But TMZ's arrival in Charlotte shows, yet again, the full celebritization of the president's party, just four year's after Senator John McCain of Arizona called Mr. Obama “the biggest celebrity in the world.â€
Mr. Drummond said he had been picking up tips from restaurants and hotels downtown, and so far he had spotted Will.i.am, Jeff Bridges, and Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York.
“He's everywhere,†he said, referring to Mr. Schumer, before adding, more philosophically: “But he's good. He speaks. He'll talk.â€
