Obama will shape house he lives in, too

[babylonsister]

Obama will shape house he lives in, too
By ANDREW GLASS ST

White House

Presidents shape the White House's architecture for future residents.
Photo: AP



Nearly every president from John Adams to George W. Bush has shaped not just policy while in the White House but also the White House itself — from creating an exercise suite to building the West Wing and the Oval Office.

Come Jan. 20, when President-elect Barack Obama and his family assume a four-year lease on the executive mansion, they will no doubt begin to build a legacy of their own for future lodgers to enjoy.

“Presidents will do what they will,” said William Bushong, historian of the nonprofit White House Historical Association. Nevertheless, Bushong added, “it would be a lot more difficult today than it once was to arbitrarily modify public areas.

“The family living quarters are a different matter,” he said, noting that presidents can use an allowance from Congress for household expenses to redecorate the 132-room mansion, which features 16 guest rooms and 35 bathrooms.

Although a weakened economy could curb their tastes, the Obamas might follow in the footsteps of first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, who spent nearly $400,000 on redecorating soon after moving in.

Clinton opted not to use the $50,000 appropriated by Congress for the renovation project. Led by Kaki Hockersmith, an interior designer from Little Rock, Ark., the work was instead financed by private donations to the White House Historical Association, and much of the fabric and other materials for the curtains were donated by manufacturers.

The three White House kitchens, meanwhile, have catered to their own share of different tastes. With five full-time chefs, the main kitchen is able to serve as many as 140 dinner guests and prepare hors d’oeuvres for more than 1,000 visitors. For late-night snacks, the first family also has access to a modest serving pantry in the living quarters.

Yet for all the conveniences, privacy is often a scarce commodity.

more...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1108/15334.html

[backscatter712]

1. The White House chefs might have their work cut out for them.

Bush ate nothing but BLTs, cheeseburgers, grilled cheese sandwiches and peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches. He literally ate like a four-year-old.

I imagine that Obama's gonna have a far more sophisticated palate, and the chefs are gonna have to do some real cooking now.

[skooooo]

3. Are you serious?

I bet he ate a lot of steak, but other than that...I can believe it.

[backscatter712]

4. That's all he had for lunch...

those four sandwiches, always served on white bread, with a side of mustard and a pickle spear.

I think he might have had different things for dinner, but some of his chefs were pretty unhappy. Allegedly, he was a prick about his lunch too. He'd order one of the four sandwiches, the cooks would make it up for him, then when they served him, he'd change his mind, send it back and have a different sandwich. So they'd have all four sandwiches prepared for him every day to anticipate Bush's douchebaggery.

[Arugula Latte]

7. Oh, isn't that just perfect? Isn't that just what you'd expect from that willful little prick?

He has the mentality of an ill-tempered four year old, and he has the culinary taste as well, apparently.

Pathetic.

[NYC Liberal]

25. Yep, read this:

http://nymag.com/daily/food/2007/02/another_bush_cook_tells_all.html

[cali]

5. The White House chefs also did state dinners and

tons of other sophisticated entertaining. I don't think there'll be a problem no matter how sophisticated Obama's palate is.

[babylonsister]

11. More proof of the dim one's lack of curiosity. nt

[backscatter712]

14. Incurious George indeed. n/t

[Coexist]

15. I'll bet they are thrilled to be using their skills again.

[skooooo]

2. The fun part of getting a new president..

I always kind of like hearing how they decorate the room, what changes they make, and meaningless little tidbits like this when we get a new President. It will be fun to keep track of Obama lifestyle stories over the next few months.

:-)

[complain jane]

6. I never gave a crap about any of this before

Now I find it really interesting.

Finally, a cool, fun, thoughtful, intelligent, respectful, interesting and dignified president and first family :)

[Arugula Latte]

8. I was mildly interested for the first Clinton term....During the past eight years,

I've purposely tuned out anything having to do with the trivial side of the White House. I found it all so depressing.

Now I realize what it must have felt like for people who lived through the Kennedy Camelot years.

[skooooo]

10. Yep! Fun fun!

[babylonsister]

12. Yes! I like the details-this will be great fun as it unfolds.

To see the girls occasionally will be nice, too. So many positives. :)

[jwirr]

9. I wonder what Michelle will concentrate on during her tenure as First Lady?

[democrattotheend]

13. I saw a button on CafePress a while ago that I wasn't sure what to think of

It said "don't worry, it will still stay white on the outside". I wasn't sure what to think about it, but it was on my mind as I went to the White House lawn to yell and scream with everyone on Tuesday night, and I thought of it just now when you posted this article.

[babylonsister]

16. You were at the wh on Tuesday night? Whoa! Did you share

somewhere how it went and you felt? Do you have a thread? That sounds very cool.

And 'wh' WILL be capitalized come January.

[democrattotheend]

17. I'm still trying to put my feelings into words

Struggling for some reason...I still haven't gotten used to hearing Obama referred to as the "president-elect". I still feel like it's a good dream that I am going to wake up from. Did we really win Ohio and Florida? And Indiana, for crying out loud?

[babylonsister]

18. Yep, and PA! Did you see this? Good thumbnail...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x236034

[democrattotheend]

19. PA I can believe, because Kerry and Gore won it, although I still can't believe the margin

For the past couple years, I've been trying to figure out what changed and made people so anti-Bush and anti-Republican. Not because it isn't well deserved, but because it was always obvious to me how bad they were. What was it that made everyone else finally wake up when they did not see it to begin with?

[Patiod]

26. Katrina

That was the tipping point

We here knew it, but that's when everyone else woke up.

[TeamJordan23]

20. He needs to get a hoops court in the back. nm

[charlie and algernon]

24. There's already a tennis court, I'm sure they could put in a basketball court next to it

[Barack_America]

21. Funny. I've actually spent the evening looking at "The White House Museum" site.

Really fascinating stuff.

I'd never looked at the White House floor plan before.

[eshfemme]

22. I'm watching that White House documentary airing on C-Span in Dec!

I was already going to watch it but now I'll definitely watch it because it's going to be about Barack's future home!!!

[babylonsister]

23. But will anything be known about the Obamas in Dec? I don't know. nt