Oval Office

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Obama to Moneyball Scribe: What It's Like to Be Prez

Author got unusually extensive access for Vanity Fair piece on leadership

(Newser) - President Obama's working wardrobe is sparse, a collection of similar blue and gray suits. "I'm trying to pare down decisions," he explains. "I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make....

Brad, Angelina Score Oval Office Huddle

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...

White House Releases New Family Portrait of Barack Michelle, Malia, and Sasha Obama
 Obamas Get New Portrait 
Dec 15, 2011 12:28 PM CST

Obamas Get New Portrait

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...

Phew: Secret Service Ensures Obama Isn't Locked Out

.... again

(Newser) - Last time President Obama returned from a few days away from home, he had a little bit of trouble getting back into the White House because the door was locked. (Click to see the video destined for GOP commercials.) Last night, an AP photographer snapped a Secret Service agent...

What Obama's Remodel Really Needed
 What Obama's 
 Remodel Really 
 Needed 

MAUREEN DOWD
Sep 1, 2010 2:28 PM CDT

What Obama's Remodel Really Needed

NYT scribe isn't so hot on the president's office makeover

(Newser) - Well, Obama's got himself a fancy new "redecorated man cave" (aka Oval Office) in the middle of the recession, gripes Maureen Dowd, in the latest "tone-deaf" move out of the communication-handicapped White House. "It might have been wise, given America’s slough of despond, to hark back...

Obama: 'Operation Iraqi Freedom Is Over'
 Obama: 'Operation 
 Iraqi Freedom Is Over' 
speech excerpts
Aug 31, 2010 5:41 PM CDT

Obama: 'Operation Iraqi Freedom Is Over'

It's not just in Iraq's interest, 'it is in our own'

(Newser) - Midnight has passed in Iraq, marking the official end of US combat operations. A few hours before President Obama's prime-time address on the subject (8pm EST), the White House has released excerpts. No big surprises here, and no clue as to whether Obama will mention George W. Bush (the two...

Obama Redecorates Oval Office

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
...

Obama Gulf Speech 'Too Professorial'

10th-grade level speech too high for target audience, language guru says

(Newser) - President Obama's Oval Office address on the Gulf disaster was a misfire because it went over the heads of much of its target audience, according to language guru Paul Payack. Obama's sentences were too long and complex, making him sound aloof, out of touch, and professorial, said Payack, whose company...

Measured Speech Short on Energy Specifics
 Obama Oil Speech Bombs 
quick takes
Jun 16, 2010 7:57 AM CDT

Obama Oil Speech Bombs

Too vague to put teeth into battle for alternative energy

(Newser) - President Obama's Oval Office address last night drew tepid-to-furious reviews, especially on the push for clean energy:
  • Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, MSNBC: The two onetime Obama fans ripped into the president almost immediately for "what they perceived as a lack of leadership and direction, and, especially in Matthews’ case,
...

Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay'
 Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay' 
Jun 15, 2010 7:35 PM CDT

Obama: 'We Will Make BP Pay'

He accuses company of 'recklessness'

(Newser) - President Obama accused BP of "recklessness" in the first Oval Office address of his presidency tonight and swore not to rest until the company has paid for the damage it has caused to lives, businesses, and shorelines. He announced that he had asked former Mississippi Gov. Ray Mabus to...

Obama Should Channel Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter
Obama Should Channel Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter
opinion
Jun 15, 2010 2:43 PM CDT

Obama Should Channel Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter

President can learn from his forebears for his speech tonight

(Newser) - Expectations are running high for President Obama's Oval Office speech tonight. James Fallows of the Atlantic proposes three presidential examples with which to evaluate it:
  • Himself: Obama has proven he knows how to use a big speech to "shift political momentum" and introduce long-term thinking about a policy problem.
...

Obama to Demand Billions From BP in 1st Oval Office Speech

Prez wants all oil industry workers compensated

(Newser) - In his first-ever Oval Office speech tomorrow night, President Obama will demand that BP hand over billions of dollars to an independent mediator who will handle the claims of people and businesses affected by the Gulf oil spill. The White House hasn't named a sum, but House Dems asked BP...

Sasha in Oval Office Evokes John-John

Photo of youngest Obama visiting Dad echoes Camelot image

(Newser) - A new photo released by the White House shows Sasha Obama sneaking up on her dad from behind an Oval Office couch—recalling an iconic image of John Kennedy Jr. hiding under his dad’s desk in 1963. That picture became part of the Kennedy family’s "‘Camelot’...

Obamas Will Pick Up Tab for White House Renovations

First family turns down $100K in public cash

(Newser) - Barack and Michelle Obama won’t be using the $100,000 in taxpayer cash the first family is allotted for White House renovations, New York magazine reports. Instead, they’ll fund their fix-up out of their own pockets. Which may be a good political investment, since they’ve hired Michael...

Turns Out, Bush Didn't Always Wear His Jacket

After Obama is ripped by ex-White House official, HuffPo digs up photos of informal Dubya

(Newser) - After a former White House staffer ripped Barack Obama for being under-dressed in the Oval Office, where President Bush required a suit and tie, the Huffington Post has photos of Bush jacketless in, you guessed it, the Oval Office. “There should be a dress code of respect,” Andrew...

In Obama's White House, Informality Rules

New prez jettisons Bush's insistence on jacket and tie

(Newser) - When George W. Bush was in charge, no one was allowed to enter the Oval Office without a suit and tie—and 43 even demanded business attire on weekends. Barack Obama's White House is a more casual place, where even the president himself works in shirtsleeves, the New York Times...

It's Straight to Work for No. 44
 It's Straight to Work for No. 44 
Jan 21, 2009 10:31 AM CST

It's Straight to Work for No. 44

8:35 start later than Bush's usual kickoff, but Obama was out kinda late

(Newser) - Barack Obama kicked off day one as president by entering the Oval Office at 8:35am, later, notes the Christian Science Monitor, than his predecessor typically did—though perhaps not that late considering his night of parties stretched until 1am. Obama spent 10 minutes alone, reading a note in an...

Bush Leaves Customary Oval Office Note for Obama

Continuing a tradition begun by Reagan, Bush pens encouragement to his successor

(Newser) - Continuing a White House ritual begun by Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush left a note in the Oval Office for President-elect Barack Obama, wishing him well as he takes the reins of the executive branch. The White House declined to provide specific details of the message, saying only that Bush...

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