Shedding a Silent Tear for BarneyCam

Mood: Still Enamoured

Bad news for Obama: his web team, comprised largely of Mac-toting elitists, spent all day throwing their mocha lattes in assistants' faces and shrieking, "Is this FOAM on my latte?!?! I can't work under these conditions!!!" I'm inclined to overlook their hissy fit, because whitehouse.gov looks wayyyy better than it did under #43, but it's missing the entire reason I visited under Dubya: the kids' section, complete with ridiculous videos of Barney and Miss Beazley (Co-First Puppies under President Bush) possibly scripted and videotaped by Bush himself (yes, that bad).

I just spent 20 minutes looking for BarneyCam videos, and they are ALL GONE, replaced with notes that say things like, "Hope, change, this is my domain now! Xoxoxo, President O." I'm actually very sad about the removal of BarneyCam (here's a summary of a recent installment). It was the point of light in an otherwise bleak administration. In one episode, Dubya attempted to blame everything that went wrong with his administration on Barney. The common refrain was, "Where's Barney?!" and the video ended with a heartwarming President-to-puppy moment in which Bush offered Barney advice about not shirking duties when other people are relying on you. Other highlights included Karl Rove festooned in Christmas lights, looking for Barney to help get him untangled. Not kidding.

Oh, here we go, courtesy of HuffPo (first video). Alls I gots to say is - perfect 10s all around?! Wtf. This smacks of favoritism. While I'm sure Barney is an extremely talented dog, he lacks opposable thumbs, and I don't think he actually decorated the White House at all. Will the Bush Administration NEVER STOP LYING TO US?! I hope President Obama removes all traces of President Bush from our foreign and domestic policy as thoroughly as he removed BarneyCam from whitehouse.gov.

Things slowed down a bit today. Obama spent the day:

• saving the endangered gray wolf. Conservatives questioned Obama's motives, wondered if this will have any bearing on the as-yet unannounced First Puppy appointment. (DK)
• getting rid of torture. Yay, America passes China! John Kerry says we're ready to "lead by our example" again. (NYT)
• ending secret prisons overseas. ACLU gets excited, tells everyone to thank the President; someone finally remembers the Geneva Conventions!
• being a late Christmas present to my ovaries with his unabashed pro-choiceness. Happiest anniversary Roe v. Wade has had in while.
• being immortalized in various forms, including but not limited to my sister's IKEA teddy bear, which she has named Bearry Obearma (Credit Grab '09: at my suggestion). Chapped lips? Embrace the "audacity of flavor" with Obalma, which comes in Red, White, and Blueberry. There is a Joe Biden flavor in - I kid you not - Ham and Cheese Sandwich. Yum, democracy. Obama tats are apparently also de rigueur amongst the hardcore fans/the very impulsive with little fear of needles and or taste. My favorite in the slew of tacky Obama merchandise: the Obama Chia.

Grow your very own green, eco-friendly Barack OChia today! Available in determined and happy.

Haters on Amazon are deriding the product as racist, in poor taste, and a step backwards for the country. I think it's the ultimate in eco-patriotism, and am tempted to order one. Every little green tendril springing from my Chia Obama's head is a tendril of hope curling around my heart.

Other haters are mad at Michelle Obama for not wearing a black designer on Inauguration Day. Chill, guys. I'm sure everyone will get their turn. J.Crew has a shoutout to the Obamas on their home page - as they should. Apparently their servers were overloaded yesterday by the massive onslaught of preteens looking to copy Sasha and Malia's inaugural look.

Also, re: President Obama, Rush Limbaugh continues to keep it classy.

President Obama's First Full Day In Office

Mood: Optimistic/Elated

So far, President Barack Obama is quite possibly the BEST PRESIDENT AMERICA HAS EVER HAD. He has accomplished more in one day than many presidents accomplished in their entire terms, including:

• issuing an exec order that would close the US Detention Center at Guantanamo Bay in the next year (CBS)
  
• being sworn in a second time (thereby joining an exclusive club that includes the likes of Calvin Coolidge and Chester Arthur... *swoon*), because Chief Justice Roberts flubbed it idiot-style the first time
  
• making many important phone calls to leaders in the Middle East, including President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel, King Abdullah of Jordan and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. I haven't seen a transcript of the phone calls yet, but I think we'll all know who to thank tomorrow when peace in the Middle East is announced. (BBC)
  

Always thinking of the people, he also made the time to pose for this picture (Time), thereby enriching my collection of pictures of attractive men in positions of hotness.

Other Obama-related news: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was finally confirmed today, after our dear old chum John Cornyn held things up yesterday, just in case anyone was worried he would try to be cooperative.

All in all, good first day. However, I am still anxiously awaiting the most important appointment of all: America's First Puppy.

Portugese Water Hound, one of the top contenders for this crucial cabinet spot. Qualifications include adorableness and hypoallerginecness. However, PWH has deep ties to Portugal. Portugal is currently a US ally, but opponents of the appointment argue this could cause a conflict of interest for the First Puppy.