Opinion: Tom Hanks gifts espresso machine to poor slobs in White House press corps, again

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Six years ago, Tom Hanks was in Washington to make a movie when he stopped by the White House press room. Stunned that the motley representatives of the Fourth Estate were drinking coffee brewed by a vending machine, the actor took pity on the reporters, cameramen and photographers who frequent the place at all hours of the night and day.

So he bought them an espresso machine with a note saying, “I hope this machine will make the 24 hour cycle of news a bit more pleasant. Add water, insert pod, press button and report. All good things. Tom Hanks.”

Then last month, in town for President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama‘s private White House screening of the HBO series “The Pacific,” Hanks stopped in with his friend director Steven Spielberg to visit his machine in the crowded, cluttered, messy rooms that the White House press corps calls home.

“Let me see what I can do for the poor slobs in the Fourth estate here,” Hanks said, picking up the dirty coffee filter. “You know you are supposed to clean this after every use!” We’re just trying to combat sleep deprivation.”

So Monday he sent a new one, a “super deluxe” version of the same machine, complete with a fancy new espresso cup set. Betcha they won’t clean this one either.

-- Johanna Neuman

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