What Obama's Remodel Really Needed

A look at the president's new digs

(NEWSER) - While President Obama was off vacationing in Martha's Vineyard, his iconic office got its first makeover since George W. Bush left town. Viewers can see the new Oval Office in his speech tonight. Highlights, from USA Today :

• The rug, donated by a Michigan carpet manufacturer, has historical quotes around the border, including “The Arc of the Moral Universe is Long, But it Bends Towards Justice” from Martin Luther King and “No Problem of Human Destiny is Beyond Human Beings” from John F. Kennedy. (Update: The rug is a little off on the MLK quote. Read here .)
• The walls were decorated with hand-made striped wallpaper from Amagansett, New York.

Both politicians deflect blame in their ivory towers: Maureen Dowd

(NEWSER) - “I, I’m so in love with you,” President Obama sang at the Apollo this week. But Maureen Dowd heard only a rare expressive moment from a man "who came to Washington on a wave of euphoria" and "has had a presidency with all the joy of a root canal," she writes in the New York Times . Who's to blame? Dowd points a finger at Obama for being too aloof, introverted, and divorced from "the touchy-feely-gritty parts of politics." More»

Couple was in town for film premiere

(NEWSER) - Just another day in the life of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: The super-couple was spotted yesterday in the Oval Office, having a little chat with President Obama. They were in town for a screening of Jolie's directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, at the Holocaust museum, the AP notes. A White House deputy press secretary tells the New York Post that they spoke about "[Angelina's] work to raise the profile of preventing mass atrocities and combating sexual violence against women." More»

White House releases new family photo

(NEWSER) - The first family has a new portrait: President and Michelle Obama posed with daughters Sasha, 10, and Malia, 13, in the Oval Office for the new photo, snapped by White House photographer Pete Souza, notes People . Last time around, in 2009, Annie Leibovitz did the honors. Click here to see that one. The new one is now in the White House Flickr feed here . More»

Maureen Dowd loves the election-year match-up

(NEWSER) - With Newt Gingrich surging in the polls and kicking butt in debates , Maureen Dowd is dreaming of a Gingrich/Obama match-up: "The Drama Queen versus No Drama Obama," she writes in the New York Times . "The apocalyptic prophet versus the ambiguous president." The conflict would be "fascinating," especially because President Obama "usually faded away on stage during his primary debates" and Gingrich revived his campaign with "confident debate performances against pitiful foes." More»