Obamas: homeless in Washington

The White House,  I presume,  doesn’t take   sub-tenent,  even if he is the President-elect.  They have Blair House,  a guest residence in the WH neighbourhood.  But when Barack Obama sought permission to move in there  from Jan.5  his  request was  turned down by President Bush’s aides,  according to The New York Times.

Reason:  Blair House was booked till Jan.15,  and the Obamas were welcome to move in then.  The presdent-elect wanted to shift residence from  Chicago to Washignton  in time for his daughters to start school on  Jan.5 ,  when Sidwell Friends re-opens after  holidays.  The Obama children,  Malia, 10 and Sasha, 7,  have been admitted in this school.

Blair House,  where a president-elect can stay for a few days awaiting Inaguration,  is used  rest of the time for White House related parties and receptions. Visiting foreign dignitaries stay there.

Is this a non-story? At least one person thought so. Spokeswoman for first lady Laura Bush is quoted in NYT as saying, “you’re trying to make a story out of something that’s not a story”.