Obamas Check Out White House

(AP) - President-elect Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, have arrived at the White House for a visit, his first since last week's landslide election victory. President Bush and first lady Laura Bush were at the North Portico of the White House to greet the Obamas on a sunny fall day with moderate temperatures and colorful but fading autumn leaves. More»

DC's mood lightens as thousands crowd the Mall for inauguration

(NEWSER) - A tell-your-grandchildren moment is happening in DC right now, reports CNN. Barack and Michelle Obama went from church to the White House to meet George and Laura Bush; then they’re on to the Capitol. Hundreds of thousands are gathered, with up to 2 million expected. One local says Washington’s typical cynicism is evaporating: “People are walking lighter, standing taller, and are reaching out to one another.” More»

President-elect told he can't move into official guest house early

(NEWSER) - Washington's hotels are booked solid for January and the Obamas have joined those struggling to find a place to stay, the New York Times reports. The president-elect and his wife had hoped to move into Blair House, the official White House guest house, in time for the girls to start their new school Jan. 5. But the Bush administration has told them it won't be available until January 15—just 5 days before the inauguration. More»

White House social secretary brings marketing savvy to the role

(NEWSER) - The White House is the jewel in the crown of the Obama brand and it’s her job to promote it, White House social secretary Desirée Rogers tells Amy Chozick of the Wall Street Journal. Rogers has taken the event-organizing role to a new level, Chozick writes, and unlike her predecessors, has made herself a powerful presence in the West Wing as well as the East. More»

First family to settle into Hay Adams this weekend so girls can start school Monday

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama, who has mostly avoided the capital since the election, will move his family into a hotel suite this weekend, aides tell the New York Times. The girls will start school Monday and Obama will begin working with the new Congress on his stimulus package. While the Times didn't disclose the mystery hotel, MSNBC reports that it's the Hay Adams, which advertises itself as "as close as you can get to staying at the White House without a personal invitation from the president." More»