What Will Change Look Like in White House Décor?

Dec 18, 2008 - By PENELOPE GREEN EVER since Mary Todd Lincoln overshot the White House decorating budget by $6,700 (a third of her $20,000 appropriation), infuriating her husband and delighting a press corps that had already turned against her, the redecoration of the president’s house has been a public relations minefield. Some new administrations tiptoe through it unscathed; others are less nimble, and bombs explode. “It’s an old maxim that you can build a billion-dollar highway that’s the biggest pork barrel in the world and no one will say anything,” said William Seale, a White House historian, “but if you’re in public office and you try and change your desk, you’re going to end up on the front page. - 5 Comments

Who makes bank at the White House

Jul 02, 2009 - 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." - 13 Comments

NYT: White House unbuttons dress code

Jan 29, 2009 - By Sheryl Gay Stolberg The New York Times updated 4:19 a.m. CT, Thurs., Jan. 29, 2009 WASHINGTON - The capital flew into a bit of a tizzy when, on his first full day in the White House, President Obama was photographed in the Oval Office without his suit jacket. - 6 Comments

Cramer Takes on the White House, Frank Rich and Jon Stewart

Mar 09, 2009 - Posted March 09, 2009 Cramer Takes on the White House, Frank Rich and Jon Stewart By Jim Cramer Suddenly, bloggers, opinion people, columnists and, yes, pundits who haven't paid attention to anything I have been saying or writing for the past 18 months are all over me. Suddenly, I find myself in the center of a firestorm over Obama's economic policies, taking enfilading fire from the "liberal" media (from serious columnist Frank Rich to entertainer Jon Stewart) while being defended by Rush Limbaugh, the standard-bearer for the Republicans. I'm uncomfortable being in the crosshairs of columnists and comedians I enjoy, and I find the embrace of Rush Limbaugh most certainly strange if not antithetical to many of my viewpoints. - 0 Comments