Have you heard? The Obama family secret service names are out. The codenames are further proof that the Cute Overload President-Elect and his family rule.
Barack – Renegade, natch
Michelle – Renaissance (you go!)
Malia – Radiance
Sasha – Rosebud (awwwwww)
Photo via Obama election night Flickr Set (IS HE FREAKING COOL OR WHAT)
I also laughed that Al Gore’s daughter was on the spot and picked “Smurfette” as her secret service name.
Mr. MiddleChild and I have had a few conversations about the level of expectation that President-Elect Obama (but seriously, how good does that still sound?) has built up in the hearts of Americans who previously could have given a poot about politics. Mr. MC, ever the pragmatic economist, is worried that people really believe Obama will deliver solutions to broad social policy problems at the individual level, and deliver quickly. I think people are smart enough to know that it’s not going to all happen at once, but I also think people feel invested enough in the outcome now to keep getting involved and keep pushing for big changes like health care reform. This is the most exciting thing about our next president: he is a movement-builder by trade and he managed to whip the entire nation into a frenzy against politics as we know it. I am so far gone on the Change Train that there is no going back – he is going to be DIFFERENT, DAMMIT.
Then I started reading Ezra Klein’s Max Baucus article from October 27, which builds the case for why Sen. Baucus is the second most powerful person (after Sen. Obama) in deciding whether comprehensive health care reform will happen. And do you know why liberal intelligence magazine The American Prospect doesn’t think “comprehensive reform” is in our blood? It’s the institutions. Sigh.
For now, I continue to eat up every piece of human interest news on our new first family. I especially enjoyed Rebecca Traister on Michelle Obama – this piece says so much about love and partnership and ambition and trade-offs. I will just pretend Michelle Obama’s election night dress (my first thought: “When did she become 9 months pregnant?”) did not exist and say that I think I might be in love with the entire family.
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