no open couch at white house for the obamas

The president-elect has asked and has been denied an early entrance to the Blair House in the new year, according to the New York Times.

The White House has turned down a request from the family of President-elect Barack Obama to move into Blair House in early January so that his daughters can start school on Jan. 5.

The Obamas were told that Blair House, where incoming presidents usually stay in the five days before Inauguration Day, is booked in early January, a spokesperson to the Obama transition said. “We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,’ the spokesperson said. “But, there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.”

It remained unclear who on Bushes guest list outranked the incoming President.

White House spokespeople have said that the press is making an issue out of nothing, and that they are not planning on releasing the private schedule for the Blair House.

The Blair House will become available to the Obamas on Jan. 15.