White House Press Secretary

Latest news on white house press secretary

Washington's elite abuzz as Obamas settle on a school

At last it's official. One of the gravest and most consequential decisions Barack Obama will make in his presidency - as least as far as a small and highly privileged segment of Washington is concerned - has been taken. Obama and his wife, Michelle, have decided where their two girls will go to school.In a city where social status is conferred by proximity to political power, the Obamas' decision on where to educate their two daughters, Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, had assumed outsize importance - in no small part because of the potential social opportunities it offers to Washington's elite and wealthy parents.Washingtonians are used to the quadrennial changing of the political guard, but there is a special excitement this time around about the incoming First Family. It has been decades since there were children this young in the White House, and there has never been an African-American family there at all. The decision on schools is the first in a trail of clues as to what sort of town Obama's Washington will be, to be followed in due course by solemn announcements of the family's choice of puppy, chef and sport of choice at the White House, as well as what church the family will attend. On schools, the Obamas have made the predictable choice: Sidwell Friends School. The Quaker-founded school is liberal with a strong green orientation, and has an excellent academic reputation. The population is about 1,000, and 39 per cent of pupils describe themselves as being of colour.'A number of great schools were considered,' said Michelle Obama's spokesman, Katie McCormick Lelyveld. 'In the end, the Obamas selected the school that was the best fit for what their daughters need.' So that's one key element of the transition decided. Obama's cabinet also took on greater shape yesterday. Timothy Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, is to be Treasury Secretary. Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico who served as Energy Secretary under Bill Clinton, is to take commerce and Hillary Clinton is expected to be formally confirmed as Secretary of State following the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday. Obama announced last night that close aide Robert Gibbs would be White House press secretary with Ellen Moran serving as director of communications. The Obamas' deliberations on schooling had been closely followed in Washington, where there was keen appreciation for the potential benefits of a presidential connection. The morning after his election, Obama had been photographed dropping his children off at school in Chicago - fuelling anticipation about the possibility of befriending the President or First Lady on the school run when the family move to the capital. There are other potential points of connection: Sasha and Malia, when they start at school in Washington, might want to invite some of their new friends to the White House.Sidwell has a long connection with money and the political elite. It is the alma mater of President Nixon's eldest daughter Tricia Nixon Cox, Chelsea Clinton and Al Gore III, the son of the former Vice-President. The three granddaughters of the Vice-President-elect, Joe Biden, are at the school. A number of former Hillary Clinton aides send their children there, including her pollster, Mark Penn. The journalist Bob Woodward sends his child there. And some are not shy of using these connections.One leading Democratic fundraiser and hostess in Washington had her granddaughter, who is at Sidwell and is about the age of the Obamas' eldest daughter, write a letter to Malia praising the school - which Malia then passed to her mother. In contrast to what might happen in Britain, there has been little debate about whether the Obamas would choose a private or a state school, and they are unlikely to face much criticism for choosing to pay fees. Tuition starts at more than $28,000 a year. The last presidential child to attend public (state) school was Amy Carter, in the 1970s, and she was the first for more than 70 years. Photos show her scurrying into the school yard with a newspaper over her face, trying to shield herself from photographers.The city's mayor, Adrian Fenty, had urged the Obamas to consider sending their children to a public school because of the message it would send other parents in Washington. The mayor sends his own twin sons to a private school.With that decision out of the way, the conversation in Washington yesterday turned to the Obamas' choice of church. Here they have to navigate not only class but race, because the choice could also reawaken the controversy over Obama's former pastor, the Rev Jeremiah Wright, at his church in Chicago. Sally Quinn, the self-appointed arbiter of the capital's social scene, has also weighed in on the subject, with a piece in yesterday's Washington Post recommending the National Cathedral, which is Episcopalian. The Obamas might want to listen to Quinn, wife of the former Washington Post editor, Ben Bradlee: she famously felt snubbed by the Clintons when they arrived in Washington and Hillary did not jump at an invitation to be introduced to her social set. Quinn spent the next eight years cavilling about how the Clintons lacked class. Now, where will the Obama girls do ballet?Obama White HouseBarack ObamaUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

43 meet 44: Mr Obama goes to Washington

When Barack Obama met George Bush for the first time four years ago, it proved an unhappy encounter. Matters were not helped at the start when a presidential aide squirted sanitiser on George Bush's hands before they shook.Yesterday, the 43rd US president met the man who will be the 44th at the White House again in very different circumstances. This time there was to be no sanitiser and none of the condescension that Obama complained of on the first occasion.Obama was at the White House as president-elect to discuss the transfer of power. He was there too as the fulfilment of the dream of Americans who lived through segregation and the 1960s civil rights movement.Like other African-Americans, he is deeply conscious of the White House's alternative history: built by slaves and staffed by slaves throughout its first 50 years and home of repeated racial slights and snubs that lasted into the 1970s.Obama had spoken beforehand of the potency of his presence on the hallowed grounds, and that was confirmed when the long-awaited image immediately went round the world. Speaking during the campaign, he contemplated further images that will help to suggest that America has entered a new era: his daughters, Malia and Sasha, careering round the White House and playing on its famous lawn.He flew to Washington yesterday morning from Chicago, where he had been since last week's election. A black stretch limousine was waiting for him at the capital's Reagan National airport, something he seldom rode in during the long election campaign, not wanting to be seen as presumptive. A further sign of the presidential trappings that will soon be part of his daily life was the motorcade.He and his wife, Michelle, arrived at the White House 14 minutes early. But Bush and his wife, Laura, had been tipped off and were waiting outside for them. Michelle shook hands first with the first lady, who was uncharacteristically flustered, greeting her with "good morning", though it was almost 2pm.Obama and Bush, determined to put on a show of goodwill, shook hands and gave all the appearance of bonhomie. The four posed for a picture, with Laura pausing briefly to check her colours - rust - against Michelle's bright red.After the fleeting stop for pictures, Obama put his hand on Bush's shoulder, a friendly gesture he also made four years ago, but which on that occasion, he joked, made the security men "uneasy".As presidents and presidents-elect before them had done, the two walked together for the cameras down the length of the colonnade into the Situation Room and the Oval Office, for an hour-long private chat.Afterwards, Obama's team put out a statement, echoed by the White House, saying the meeting had been "productive and friendly", thanking the Bushes for their "gracious hospitality".Meetings in the past between an outgoing and incoming president have amounted to little more than reminiscing, accompanied by a little advice on what to expect as US commander-in-chief. But Obama had promised beforehand it would be "substantive", and the two discussed a second economic stimulus package, which Bush opposes, help for the struggling car industry and for mortgage-holders, as well as Iraq and Afghanistan.As the two chatted in the Oval Office, Laura took Michelle on a tour of the White House living quarters, showing her the bedrooms the Kennedy children had occupied, as had her own daughters, Barbara and Jenna. Michelle, who flew to Washington before her husband to check out schools for her daughters, left the White House early. Obama was escorted out by Bush, the two walking down the path to the motorcade, with Bush pointing out various points of interest.At the airport, Obama had another hour-long meeting at the airport's Fire Station 301 with an unnamed figure. Bush's diary is becoming lighter and lighter as he heads towards retirement to his ranch in Crawford, Texas. He feels misunderstood and is bitter about the criticism he attracted on the campaign trail from Obama and John McCain.Dana Perino, the White House press secretary, provided a glimpse of his feelings at the morning briefing when she told journalists. "President Bush has been involved in politics since the mid-60s, when he watched his father run for Congress. Their whole political life has been about a rough and tumble campaign," she said."This president was not involved in the [2008] campaign, we studiously stayed out of it, even when it was very hard for us sometimes to let attacks go unanswered."The visit by Obama was tough for Bush, having to hand over to a Democrat, Obama's presence a flesh-and-blood repudiation by the electorate of Bush's legacy.What made it even tougher was that it came on the day that Obama recorded the most favourable ratings ever for an incoming president, 75%, while Bush finally broke all records, with the most unfavourable ratings ever, at 24% - lower than either Truman or Nixon.Obama White HouseGeorge BushBarack ObamaUnited Statesguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

ABC's Tapper quoted Boehner's criticism of Emanuel, ignored Graham's praise

During the November 6 broadcast of ABC's World News, senior White House correspondent Jake Tapper reported that the appointment of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-IL) as President-elect Barack Obama's chief of staff "prompted criticism from some Republicans." Tapper then quoted House Minority Leader John Boehner's (R-OH) statement that Emanuel "is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center." However, Tapper did not note that former McCain campaign co-chair Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) praised Emanuel as "a wise choice," saying Emanuel "understands the need to work together." In a November 6 statement, Graham said of Emanuel's appointment: "This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama. "Rahm knows Capitol Hill and has great political skills. He can be a tough partisan but also understands the need to work together. He is well-suited for the position of White House Chief of Staff. "I worked closely with him during the presidential debate negotiations which were completed in record time. When we hit a rough spot, he always looked for a path forward. I consider Rahm to be a friend and colleague. He's tough but fair. Honest, direct, and candid. These qualities will serve President-elect Obama well. "Rahm understands the challenges facing our nation and will, consistent with the agenda set by President-elect Obama, work to find common ground where it exists. I look forward to working with him in his new position and will continue to do everything I can to help find a pathway forward on the difficult problems facing our nation." In contrast to Tapper, during the November 6 broadcast of the CBS Evening News, chief White House correspondent Jim Axelrod reported both Boehner's and Graham's reactions. From the November 6 broadcast of ABC's World News with Charles Gibson: CHARLES GIBSON (anchor): Jake Tapper is again in Chicago tonight. Jake, good evening. TAPPER: Good evening, Charlie. Well, President-elect Obama and Michelle Obama will head to the White House on Monday to visit with President and first lady Bush. But until then, President-elect Obama is focused on building his White House. And today, he made his first official hire: White House chief of staff. [begin video clip] TAPPER: This morning, Illinois Congressman Rahm Emanuel told President-elect Obama he would leave his successful career in the House to be in Obama's White House. EMANUEL: My parents are alive to see their middle son have a choice in his career between being a congressman and being the chief of staff to a historic presidency at a historic time. TAPPER: But the appointment of the sharp-tongued veteran of the Clinton White House has already prompted criticism from some Republicans. House Republican Leader John Boehner today charged Emanuel, quote, "is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington, make politics more civil, and govern from the center." Also likely coming on board: senior campaign adviser Robert Gibbs as White House press secretary and political guru David Axelrod as a senior adviser. From the November 6 broadcast of the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric: AXELROD: Having once sent a dead fish to a political consultant he was angry with, Emanuel is comfortable as an enforcer. He'll also be counted on to reach out to Republicans. While his appointment drew quick criticism from the top Republican in the House, John Boehner -- "This is an ironic choice for a president-elect who has promised to change Washington" -- the reaction of Republican senator and top McCain supporter Lindsey Graham -- "a wise choice. ... Emanuel understands the need to work together" -- is a hopeful sign for Obama. And Emanuel sent his own message to Republicans today, saying, "We often disagree, but I respect their motives. Now is a time for unity. I will do everything in my power to help you stitch together the frayed fabric of our politics."