Inauguration Housing, Obama Family Edition

Slate’s Explainer series responds to a very interesting question this week: “How exactly will Obama get all his stuff into the White House?”

The answer sort of delights me. The day of the inauguration, the incoming president has tea with the sitting president, then goes off for his ceremony. And while he’s out and occupied, roughly 90 people scurry about making everything perfect for him so that when he returns, the entire White House is ready to go. 

It sort of reminds me of a hotel wedding, where invitees just get shuffled around to various rooms while the staff dismantles the flower arrangements, stacks up and hauls away the chairs, and brings in new furniture all behind close doors. Then voila! The room is transformed, and none of the guests even have to think about how it happened. According to the article, the White House doesn’t ”hire outside help for security reasons as well as privacy.”  In the morning, it’s the Bush White House. In the evening, it’s the Obama White House.