EARLY YESTERDAY morning, two rows of removal trucks drew up on the Ellipse next to the White House, one for George Bush and his family, and the other for Barack Obama. During the five hours from the moment Bush left for his successor’s inauguration to Obama’s arrival at the White House as president in the afternoon, all the Bush family’s belongings had been moved out and the Obamas’ were installed.
Among the items moved into the private apartments on the second floor was a Nintendo Wii, which Mr Obama gave his daughters Malia (10) and Sasha (7) for Christmas. The return of a family with young children to the White House has thrilled Washington, recalling the presidency of John F Kennedy, when children Caroline and John-John brought a rumbustious energy to the 132-room presidential mansion.
The new president’s selection of a pet dog for his daughters has drawn more attention than most of his cabinet appointments and Obama has been flooded with suggestions about which breeds are most compatible with Malia’s fur allergy. The choice has, apparently, been narrowed down to either a labradoodle or a Portuguese water hound, both of which shed less fur than most other breeds.
“We’re now going to start looking at shelters to see when one of those dogs might come up,” Obama said last week. “We’re closing in on it. This has been tougher than finding a commerce secretary.”
First Lady Michelle Obama has made clear that she wants the children to have as relaxed a life as possible within the limitations placed on the presidential family by the secret service and Obama’s official duties.
"We get to be together under the one roof – having dinners together," she told CBS' 60 Minuteslast year. "I envision the kids coming home from school and being able to run across the way to the Oval Office and see their dad before they start their homework."
The children have already started school at Sidwell Friends, a $40,000-a-year private school that has educated many children of Washington’s powerful families, including Chelsea Clinton and Albert Gore III, son of former vice-president Al Gore.
A Harvard-educated lawyer who was her husband’s first boss at a Chicago law firm, Michelle Obama has yet to outline her vision of her public role as First Lady, although she has promised to reach out to families in Washington’s poorer districts, many of which are only a mile or two from the White House.
“I will work daily on the issues closest to my heart: helping working women and families, particularly military families,” she wrote.
“But, as my girls reminded me in Denver, even as First Lady, my No 1 job is still to be Mom. At 7 and 10, our daughters are young. My first priority will be to ensure they stay grounded and healthy, with normal childhoods – including homework, chores, dance, and soccer.”
Michelle Obama will have help, not only from the domestic staff but from her mother, Marian Robinson (71) who is moving into the White House to look after Malia and Sasha. Robinson, who took care of the girls in Chicago when their parents were campaigning, is said to value her independence and she has yet to commit to making her move to Washington permanent.
One of Michelle Obama’s first tasks will be to redecorate the White House living quarters and she has hired Santa Monica designer Michael Smith to oversee the makeover. “The family’s casual style, their interest in featuring 20th century American artists and utilising affordable brands and products will serve as our guide as we make the residence feel like their home,” Smith said.
Obama is expected to install a basketball court (the White House already has a swimming pool, tennis courts and a bowling alley) and he has vowed to remove the flat screen television from the historic Lincoln Bedroom.
“You have all these mementos of Abraham Lincoln, but you have this flat-screen TV in there,” Obama said. “That didn’t seem to me to be appropriate. You should read when you’re in the Lincoln Bedroom. Re-read the Gettysburg Address. Don’t watch TV.”
Obama has decided to retain White House chef Cristeta Comerford, although the menu may change and the in-house medical team may be expanded to include a paediatrician.
The new First Lady is expected to be the most stylish White House occupant since Jackie Kennedy and struggling US designers hope she will operate as a one-woman stimulus package for the American fashion industry.
Tall, thin and athletic, Michelle Obama wears clothes well and she has already acted as a powerful advertisement for her favourite designers, including Maria Pinto, Thakoon Panichgul and Jason Wu. The First Lady is not always clad in high fashion, however, but also favours affordable clothes from mass-market brands such as HM and J Crew, which are available in every mall in America.