First lady, Daughters Greet Their First White House Christmas Tree

WASHINGTON - The White House is open for Christmas.

A day after celebrating Thanksgiving, first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha received the official White House Christmas tree: an 18 1/2-foot Douglas fir delivered from a farm in Shepherdstown, W.Va., by traditional horse-drawn carriage.

Growers Eric and Gloria Sundback officially presented the tree to the Obamas on Friday.

It's the fourth time one of their trees has become the official White House tree.

"It's big enough for Sasha to climb in, I think," Sundback joked after the Obamas walked from the North Portico of the White House to the driveway where the tree was tied up and lying in the carriage, pulled up the driveway from Pennsylvania Avenue by a pair of Belgian draft horses with red Christmas bows tied to their tails. A sign affixed to the side of the carriage said "White House Christmas Tree 2009."

"We're excited," Mrs. Obama told the Sundbacks.

Asked by reporters whether the tree was the biggest she ever had, the first lady said: "Yeah, I think this wins."

The 12-foot-wide tree is destined for the oval-shaped Blue Room on the State Floor of the White House, where scores of volunteers will decorate it. The tree is the star attraction of Christmas at the White House, and will be oohed and aahed over by the thousands of people who will stream through in December for holiday parties and public tours of the executive mansion.

Oprah's coming to capture the magic
Much of this activity will be captured in a holiday special that brings together Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama.

ABC announced that it will air "Christmas at the White House: An Oprah Primetime Special" on Sunday, Dec. 13, at 10 p.m. The show will feature an interview with President Obama, a conversation with the first couple and a tour of the White House. The special also will go behind the scenes as staffers prepare the White House for the holiday season.

The special marks the first time Winfrey has interviewed Obama since he took office. Winfrey, who had never before endorsed a presidential candidate, was a strong supporter of Obama during his presidential campaign, stumping for him in key states.

This year's official White House tree, which the Sundbacks planted in 1996, was hand-picked on Oct. 20 on a visit to the Sundback's farm by retired Rear Adm. Stephen Rochon, the White House chief usher, and Dale Haney, superintendent of the White House grounds.

A tradition started by Jacqueline Kennedy
It was cut down on Wednesday. Besides the official tree, more than a dozen smaller trees from the Sundback farm will decorate other rooms in the White House, including the Oval Office.

The Sundbacks, both in their 80s, earned the honor by winning the National Christmas Tree Association's national contest this year for the fourth time. A tree from the winner's farm is then chosen as the official White House tree, an annual tradition that dates to 1966.

Their trees were displayed twice when Ronald Reagan held office and once under Jimmy Carter.

The Sundbacks have grown Christmas trees since 1956 and were thrilled by the opportunity to meet their fourth first lady.

Robert Knudsen / AP First lady Jacqueline Kennedy put the White House tree in the Blue Room so tourists could see it for the first time in 1961. This photo of President John F. Kennedy and his wife was taken in 1962.

"Absolutely wonderful," Sundback told reporters after he and his wife emerged from the White House after some chit-chat with Mrs. Obama over hot apple cider and Christmas cookies. "Talk about a thrill," added Gloria Sundback.

Benjamin Harrison was the first president to put a Christmas tree inside the mansion in 1889, according to the White House. In 1961, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy put the official White House tree in the Blue Room so tourists could see it.

Next Thursday, the Obamas will flip a switch to light the National Christmas Tree, a living Colorado blue spruce located on the Ellipse, just south of the White House.

This story contains information from The Associated Press and Reuters.

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Ho-Ho-Ho White House Christmas Tree Arrives

Jason Reed / Reuters

The official White House Christmas tree arrived by horse-drawn cart at the White House on Friday. The Douglas fir tree is destined for the Blue Room, where scores of volunteers will decorate it. Oprah will go behind the scenes

Party at 1600: White House State Dinner to be HUGE

Steven Spielberg will be among the guests and Jennifer Hudson will perform.

Some Do's and Don'ts for the Most Anticipated Social Event of the Year

By KAREN TRAVERS

The state dinner tonight at the White House, the first of the Obama administration, is the hottest ticket in town and the most highly anticipated social event of the year.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have been active hosts since moving into the White House in January, but tonight's state dinner, in honor of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is the ultimate invitation and the result of months of planning by hundreds of staffers, including the first lady herself.

Fewer than 400 lucky guests received the official invitation.

Photo/State Dining Room Circa 1977

A White House state dinner, thrown in honor of a visiting dignitary or head of state, is "bigger than the biggest wedding," said former White House chef Walter Scheib, who served during the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations.

Scheib said a state dinner is more than a just meal and requires the choreography of a Broadway show.

"Maybe the only thing bigger than a state dinner is a royal wedding," said Scheib, who knows from experience, estimating that he helped prepare and serve 35 to 40 state or official dinners during his 11 years at the White House.

Anita McBride, chief of staff to former first lady Laura Bush, said the pressure is on.

"This is the standard by which all future state dinners and officials dinners will be judged," she said. full story

Real Transparency in the White House..Full List of Salaries..this would have never happened with Bush

Who makes bank at the White House
Thu Jul 2, 3:50 pm ET
yahoo news
In the spirit of transparency, the Obama Administration posted on its White House blog a detailed list of who makes what at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

According to the WhiteHouse.gov blog, every administration since 1995 has been required to "deliver a report to Congress listing the title and salary of every White House Office employee." In January, in one of his first acts as president, Obama announced that he was freezing the salaries of employees who made more than $100,000 a year, saying, "Families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington."

It may be a government job, but a gig in the White House isn't so bad: The highest earners take home $172,200, while at the low end, staff assistants get $36,000. The big winner, however, is David Marcozzi, the Director of Public Health Policy, who earns $192,934 a year.

The $172,200 Club: This exclusive club includes Obama's top aides, such as Senior Advisers David Axelrod and Valerie Jarrett, Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, press secretary Robert Gibbs and Jon "Favs" Favreau, Obama's head speechwriter.

Other notable salaries:

— $102,000 Reggie Love, the president's personal aide and "body man," who was named the Hottest White House Employee according to a Huffington Post poll, barely edging out "Favs."

— $113,000 Desiree Rogers, who is on every D.C. socialite's speed-dial, was tapped to be the White House social secretary, charged with coordinating every social event held by the White House. The stylish Chicagoan pals around with Anna Wintour and was the subject of an extensive Vogue magazine feature.

— $84,000 Catherine Lelyveld, press secretary to First Lady Michelle Obama, hails from the Windy City as well, and served as Mrs. Obama's communication director during the presidential campaign.

— $36,000 That's how much Darienne Page, the White House receptionist, or "ROTUS" takes home annually. In a recent New York Times profile, Obama introduced Page as "the receptionist of the entire United States." Before serving in the Obama White House, Page served as an Army sergeant in Iraq under George W. Bush.

Joe Biden takes in $227,300 as the vice president of the United States, while Obama earns $400,000 a year, far less than the $2.6 million he earned in 2008 as a presidential candidate and author.
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Out With The Former, In With The New

No moving trucks needed for Bushes on Inauguration Day

From Elaine QuijanoCNN
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- On Inauguration Day, there's one scene at the White House that won't be playing out exactly as it has during past transitions: the traditional moving of the outgoing first family's belongings.

President Bush walks out of the White House Oval Office on January 10.

Anita McBride, chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, tells CNN that the Bushes have moved almost all of their belongings out of the White House ahead of schedule.
"There won't be ... the moving trucks for the Bushes coming here," McBride said, adding, "The only things really left for President and Mrs. Bush are their personal belongings and luggage that they'll take that day."
McBride said Mrs. Bush directed residence staff early -- in the summer of 2008 -- to prepare the White House for the personal transition.
"It's probably the librarian in her," McBride said of Mrs. Bush, a former librarian. "Maybe we've got a bit of a Dewey Decimal system of move-out process, but that certainly made it easier for the residence staff, and they very much appreciate it," McBride said.
The actual clearing out of the Bushes' belongings began over the summer, McBride says, when many items were packed and taken to Crawford, Texas. Then, during the Christmas holiday, the Bushes moved their personal things out of Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland, according to McBride.
That means on Inauguration Day, while President Bush and Mrs. Bush, along with President-elect Obama and his family, are at the Capitol, staff in the White House residence will have more time to unpack and prepare the Obamas' personal belongings.
"They have rehearsed this over the last few weeks, everyone has their marching orders, it will be all hands on deck," said McBride.
"The residence staff will be here that morning, and they know what their jobs are when the moving truck for the Obamas' move-in arrives," she said, adding, "Their things will be unpacked, and their clothes will be in their rightful place, and whatever furniture that they may have selected from the White House furniture collection will be in the place that they want it to be."

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Prez elect says Only smokin' in the White House will be...the Jazz music!

President elect, Barack Obama, photographed riding a ferry to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii

Barack Obama pledges not to smoke in White House

BY Michael McAuliff DAILY NEWS WASHINGTON BUREAU

The jazz will be smoking, but the President won't be in the Obama White House. The President-elect declared Sunday that he would make the First Family's home the "people's house" and open it up for science seminars, kids groups and music - specifically classical and jazz.

There won't be any hipsters lighting up while blowing their horns, however, said Obama, who has been struggling to ditch his own cigarette habit. The soon-to-be quitter in chief told NBC's "Meet The Press" that he will abide by the smoke-free rules of the White House, even if it's tough.

For the full story click this link: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2008/12/07/2008-12-07_barack_obama_pledges_not_to_smoke_in_whi.html