Obama's News in Briefs: Now-Hollywood

Saturday, November 8, 2008

Poetry for Obama

Maya Angelou, the 80-year-old poet, said Friday she has not been approached by President-elect Barack Obama about taking part in his inauguration, nor does she expect to be. She plans to write a poem about the election of the nation's first black president in the coming months, but she cannot say what form it will take. She only knows that, like this milestone, it will not come easy.

"I will approach it as the work it is," she said. "Try to put all my energies and my talents and my prayers and hopes and all that, my nervousness -- all of those things will go into it."

Pondering that puppy

When President-elect Barack Obama warned it would take time to fulfill his many campaign promises, few imagined that his daughters' puppy would be among those immediately placed on the back burner.

Despite widespread interest in the future first pup, the Obamas will wait until spring to adopt a pet, according to his transition staff.

Aides were quick to point out that Obama was not reneging on a promise. When he and his wife, Michelle, first agreed to let Malia and Sasha have a dog, it was always on the condition that the adoption take place in the spring so they wouldn't be housebreaking the puppy in the winter.

Malia, 10, reportedly wants a "goldendoodle," a golden retriever-poodle hybrid. Michelle Obama favors a rescue dog but has said any pet must have a hypoallergenic coat because of Malia's allergies.

Making lots of calls

Obama spoke with six leaders Friday:

• President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt

• Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy

• President Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan

• President Lech Kaczynski and Prime Minister Donald Tusk of Poland

• King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

• President JosDe Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain.

Obama aide Stephanie Cutter said the president-elect spoke Thursday to Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Mexican President Felipe Calderon, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Playing the name game

First there was "Obamamania," punctured in places by naysayers crying "Nobama!"

Now, as President-elect Barack Obama prepares for the White House, his message of change, resounding at home and abroad, seems to have unleashed a barrage of Barackisms. Or maybe they should be called Obamanyms.

Here's a glossary, culled from Web sites, news reports and the blogosphere:

OBAMAPHORIA: The postelection rapture that swept over Obama's supporters worldwide.

OBAMANATION: A twist on "abomination," expressed by evangelicals and other conservatives who oppose Obama's stance on abortion, gay marriage and other social issues.

OBAMARAMA: Celebrations that will revolve around the Jan. 20, 2009, inauguration.

OBAMANOS: A play on "Vamonos," or "Let's go," among Obama fans in Mexico.

OBAMATOPIA: The political paradise that Obama's staunchest supporters hope he'll usher in.

OBAMALUJAH: Exultation shouted by his fans.

OBAMATRONS: The policy wonks who will occupy the West Wing of his White House.

OBAMASCOPE: Media scrutiny of the new leader. (Example: "One hundred days after Barack Obama took office, newspaper editors put the president's economic plan under the Obamascope.")

OBAMANATOR: Hollywood-inspired nickname for the new president -- even if he's got what California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger contends are "skinny legs" and "scrawny little arms."

OBAMALOHA: Good-bye, Obama-style, with a nod to Hawaii, his birthplace.

OH-BAMA: Joyful exclamation, via headlines in the Kennebec, Maine, Journal, the Register Guard in Eugene, Ore., and the Namibian, in the southern African country of Namibia.

BAMELOT: Description of his presidency, from a New York Post headline that played on the youth and freshness of John F. Kennedy's administration that came to be known as "Camelot."

OBAMERIKA: Headline from the Croatian newspaper Slobodna Dalmacija.