From the AP:

President-elect Barack Obama has asked if his family can move into Blair House near the White House a little early, but the Bush administration has said, “Sorry.”

We just endured an election in which every gesture was aggravated into a scandal and, going forward, we’re best off not reading too much into each iota of non-policy news. But this strikes me as remarkably obnoxious on Obama’s part. The Left-wing media has actually been throwing around the idea of an early start to Obama’s presidency for a few weeks now. But as bad as it is to hear Chris Matthews suggest Obama preempt George W. Bush, it’s easily dismissed as the ravings of an unseriousness sycophant. That the President-elect himself couldn’t quite bear to respect the process of the transition is bizarre.

Obama aides claim that the request to move in “earlier than usual” was made so that the Obama girls could begin class with their new classmates on January 5. But there’s nothing so unusual about the children of presidents having to switch schools and adjust. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton both had school-aged daughters when they were sworn in.

From every report, President Bush has been extremely accommodating in helping Obama transition, and that’s as it should be. But it’s nice to know that at least someone doesn’t believe that Barack Obama is the one for whom rules do not apply.