Posted on 12/31/2008 4:59:06 PM PST by bruinbirdman
Barack Obama is to move to Washington this weekend but will be forced to stay in a hotel after President George W. Bush said an official residence was "not available".
The Obama family are bidding farewell to Chicago and moving to the American capital shortly after their Hawaii holiday ends on Thursday because daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, seven, are due to start school.
Mr Obama had requested to stay at Blair House, opposite the White House, but was told by the Bush administration it was booked up for farewell "receptions and gatherings" and was "not available" until January 15, five days before the inauguration.
The Obamas have chosen to stay at the Hay Adams hotel. One of Washington’s most prestigious addresses, it opened in 1928 on the site where John Hay, President Abraham Lincoln’s personal secretary, once lived.
Built in Italian Renaissance style, it is a favourite stop for visiting foreign dignitaries, Gulf princes and pop stars. The presidential suite in the penthouse normally sells for $2,500 to $5,000 a night.
Its master bedroom overlooks the White House and Lafayette Park and there is a gas-lit corner fireplace in the sitting room.
Although there was no room at the inn for the Obamas, Mr Bush has invited the president-elect to a lunch next Wednesday when they will be joined by former presidents, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter.
The Obama daughters will be attending the private school Sidwell Friends, favoured by Washington's power elite and was chosen by the Clintons for their daughter Chelsea, then 12, in 1993.
Mr Obama has always spent the minimum time possible in Washington. He his wife Michelle initially planned to move the family there when he became a Senator in 2005 and looked at houses in Chevy Chase, Maryland in the well-to-do
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
Ah, what’s wrong with the appartment he’s been using while he was a Senator?
With former presidents attending but not 41, I wonder how his health and Barbara’s are holding up—and wish them well.
He is to o fin special for that now.
He is to o fin special for that now.
Huh!?!?!? I thought the Rezko-assisted housing was going to remain the 'Midwest White House' during the reign of The One.
You had to know there would be no room at the inn for the messiah's family.
BOO! HOO!
the Hay Adams hotel is bad?
Forced? Who's FORCING him and what's the method of force?
“.....there is a gas-lit corner fireplace in the sitting room....”
Um........sounds a little trailer-park-ish.
JMHO
Damn it. They stole my zinger. Sort of.
It's not as comfy as the manger in Bethlehem--- but it'll do for now...
When was he ever in need of an apartment as a Senator? He didn’t spend any time in town anyway.
Poor baby...
Life is hard
The Hay-Adams isn’t over a block and a half from the Blair House, and its not like Obama has to pay for it out of pocket anyway.
Perfect for the Chicago Flash.
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