Oval Office, Day 1

I couldn’t help noticing the role that cold, clear daylight plays in illuminating not only the room but the two principles, especially against the warm room.
The shot also establishes the roles of the three Illinois pols in the Administration.

gives me a good feeling, its about time too. w was an embarrassment to us all. good riddance. hail to the new chief.

I hope the first thing O does is toss the Sun Rug that W was so proud of into a trash bin…just to irritate little Bushie! And have his own made…Che Guevera and Superfly on a black background…heh!

They both appear very much at ease in that room. Bush always looked like a kid caught in the wrong place. Also, looks like Obama got his shoes resoled. And that chair looks super-comfy, I’m glad he’s the one sitting in it now. My goodness that desk is beautiful isn’t it?! And isn’t the carpet the same one that Bush used? The one he was always going on and on and on about? Hopefully they just haven’t had time to switch it out for a calmer one that doesn’t have that association.

My first time posting though a long time reader. The BAG’s analysis of the Bush White House “propaganda” and heavy use of imagery was important because it highlighted two important things; 1) The president seemed to be obsessed with image, at the expense of substance, and 2) For someone seemingly so devoid of substance, and for an administration that seemed to care so little and lack introspection, that much attention to history was unsettling (comparing the Katrina president to Washington).
All that said, I think its a bit of a double standard to say that GWB’s frequent framing with Washington is an obsession, while Obama’s framing with Lincoln here is, in your words, “handiwork.” One could easily define Obama’s relationship with Lincoln as an obsession, considering that even the Congressional lunch yesterday was described as Lincoln-inspired game meat.
That said, the difference is obviously that GWB had no business making the comparison, while Obama may. I voted and donated, and think he will have a great presidency, but in my mind, just as GWB had no business comparing because he failed, one could argue Obama shouldn’t invoke Lincoln until he succeeds (as President, not getting elected – however historic his election is)

Enough with Lincoln, already!
Obama is not, and never will be, Lincoln. They are so totally different that the comparisons become laughable after awhile. Not to mention that it becomes a mirror of the mindless Bush love that the right was constantly slammed for on this very site.
At this point, we have little enough clue about how Obama will actually govern that everyone insists on projecting all sorts of stuff on him. Could we maybe just let Obama be Obama and judge him on what he does, not whose name and aura he wraps around himself?
If Obama frees a large group of people, like the close to a million people in jail in the US for marijuana possession, then you can pull out the Lincoln comparisons. As is, he’s not even in a rush to free people at Gitmo so…not such a great emancipator…

The angle makes the rays of the sun in the rug appear as steps and a sort of yellow brick road leading up to – THE CHAIR. Maybe the wizard is in.

let’s wait and see just how real this president is, before we all jump to any conclusions. i wish him the best.

Glad to see he had time to pop out and buy some new shoes

I feel disoriented by this photo. My only Oval Office experience is through the West Wing and don’t people come in and out of the office through a door directly facing the desk? I thought the show’s Oval was supposed to be an exact replica?
Hate the rug. Get rid of it.

The BAG: …it will probably take me a few viewings to shake off the echo of “W” (who actually rarely sat at that desk — except for photo ops, which typically revealed a surface as uncluttered as we see here).
That’s no echo, it’s just the usual White (House) noise. From The Canadian Press, January 21, 2009 — 3 News Agencies Refuse to Distribute Obama Photo:

[Source: Google the headline: TypePad's spam filter apparently won't pass the link.]
Three news agencies refused to distribute White House-provided photos of President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Wednesday, arguing that access should have been provided to news photographers.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France Presse said the White House was breaking with longstanding tradition in not allowing news photographers to capture the president at work in the Oval Office on his first day.
“We are not distributing what are, in effect, visual press releases,” said Michael Oreskes, managing editor for U.S. news at the AP.

Obama’s been assimilated by the Oval Office now: the visual honeymoon’s over.

Whereas Bush and Rove were obsessed with framing “W” with “the other George,” notice how Souza’s angle insures that Obama — in his first photo from the Oval Office — is introduced, in the sweep of the scene, by Lincoln.
And the difference between the visual associations of George W(ashington) and Obamaham Lincoln — not to mention copying Lincoln’s train ride and using Lincoln’s Bible — is what, exactly? Symbolism, or planned political propaganda?
Take off your red or blue colored glasses, and the new Boss looks a lot like the old Boss.

And as Rahm’s right fingers keep disappearing, he’s clearly getting more and more sinister…

Regarding comparisons to Bartlett’s Oval Office on The West Wing: The show’s creators did not precisely recreate the executive offices, but took liberties. The TV show’s West Wing is far more sumptuous and elegant than the real one, with better lighting and architectural details to add visual interest for the camera.
The door BerkelyMom is asking about is there in the photo above–it’s the barely distinguishable jib-door between the fireplace and the clock. The doors in the TV version of the office would have been more noticeable because they were not concealed, but actual doors with federal style casings–very similar to what existed in the pre-FDR incarnations of the office.
That squishy executive chair Obama’s sitting is is butt-ugly. I’d love to seem him express his connection to youthfulness, modernity and good taste by replacing it with an Eames Aluminum Group or Soft Pad chair. And how about setting up a nice computer with a sleek flatscreen monitor on that desk to suggest that he might actually work there desk every day, instead of just posing behind it for ceremonial events?

I was struck by the positions of the two men–face to face, not separated by the desk. That’s a sign of an open and confident leader, even if it was with one of his closest advisers.

A number of Lincoln Bicentennial events, planned by the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, are coming up soon. President Lincoln was born in Kentucky on Feb. 12, 1809, moved to Indiana and then Illinois with his farm-bound father, step-mother and other family members. A national teach-in will take place on Feb. 12, 2009, the same day that the first of three rededication programs will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Even in England, St. Catherine’s College at Oxford will host a conference on the Global Lincoln, held from July 3-5, 2009. So there’s much more to come of the Lincoln festivities, with a new President who evolved out of Illinois.

nice crystal ball you have, ceno. not even 2 days in office and you’ve already deemed obama a failure.

People who don’t get the significance of Lincoln to this president are idiots, really.
And leave the rug, it’s a time for austerity, not replacing perfectly good rugs.

“People who don’t get the significance of Lincoln to this president are idiots, really.”
Actually some of us are simply tired of the ongoing refusal to assess and address who Obama is, as opposed to who his handlers would like you to think about when you look at him.
At this point, how he will govern is an open question. What I do know is that, whatever the historical signifigance of Lincoln to him, Obama is not Lincoln. Just like he’s not Washington (see Michael’s tweets for context). Or FDR. Or…well, anyone else who has ever been president. So let him become who he is going to be without all the projecting.
Note that I am not slagging Obama. I wish him well in office; he is, after all, our CEO and what is good for him is good for us. All I am asking is that we look at Obama without Lincoln-colored glasses. (It might be nice to also not call people idiots just because they disagree with you, but that’s a personal thing.)

Nothing in that room looks like it is a real workplace. Lack of computer, as someone pointed out, lack of papers. I would add that even Rahm is a prop, because it’s looking like Greg Craig is the real power, the go to guy.

I believe that room requires some color. It looks to bland…
Perhaps some nice powder blue…

Actually, if I were Obama, I would graciously offer the sun rug to Bushie, to whom it was his proudest accomplishment (other then bringing “freedom” to Iraq). Then I would find a designer who could do something simple and without the hubris of the sun rug with all the rays leading to our own little “Sun King”.
It’s symbolic of another era, one we need to leave behind.
How about a contest for all designers to design a rug with the winner able to have the rug done with their design and prizes for all the runner-ups too? Would be good for O’s images with artists, designers, kids, and anyone who wanted to enter, not to mention a reflection of his embrace of inclusiveness…could be screw ups involved too…anyway…

Am I the only one who noticed the fire coming out of Rahms closed right fist? Clearly the sign of the devil!

nice crystal ball you have, ceno. not even 2 days in office and you’ve already deemed obama a failure.
I use the same crystal ball that you do — a computer screen full of news, information, analysis, and opinion — to realize that Obama will absolutely fail at fulfilling all that people are unreasonably expecting of him (and his family). Adulation is a burden, not a blessing.
He’s made it into the Office, but even if his heart is pure and his aim is true, there are far too many obstacles in his way. If the Obama administration reaches a tenth of their domestic and foreign Agenda without significant compromises, they will have come a very long way.