Walk the Talk

by: DocJess

Mon Mar 30, 2009 at 09:00:00 AM EDT

Unlike most previous presidents, who take the allotted tax-payer funds and raise additional private ones, the Obama family will be paying for White House renovations and decoration out of their own monies. They have turned down the $100,000 of taxpayer funds to which they are legally entitled.

Certainly, the Obamas can afford to undertake any changes they want: the president made millions on his books. What's really nice about this is their sensitivity to the plight of so many Americans in the current economy.

We know that one of their first purchases was the swing set for Sasha and Malia. (Okay, those swings themselves will hold adults, and I'm sure the girls will share with their parents. I point that out for all the adults, like me, who have trouble walking past a swing without that huge urge to jump on and see how high one can get.) So, I assume that a lot of the initial additional changes will be geared to making the private quarters more kid-friendly.