A very interesting two-part article in the HillBuzz regarding where Obama will be in January. From Part One:
The Obamas Already Preparing for Move to Hawaii in January 2013: Hyde Park neighbors talking about Chicago house being sold soon
Barack and Michelle Obama will be moving to Hawaii in January of 2013 and preparations are now being made to purchase an estate in close proximity to land owned by the University of Hawaii, where the Obama presidential library and 'political center' will be located.
Here in Chicago, it's pretty obvious that Michelle does not want to move back to this city and its winters (for any reason) and Michelle's mother, who's been living in the White House with her daughter and her family, will be happily making the move to Hawaii as well.
I have a friend whose family knows Michelle's mother; they have been crystal clear that the elderly Mrs. Robinson regularly says that she'll be in Hawaii next year permanently with her daughter and granddaughters. There is neither talk of returning to Chicago to live nor of living in the White House for another four years - instead, there's a sense of "it was fun while it lasted" coming from Mrs. Robinson in her talks with her Chicago friends.
Democrats are already working to locate an acceptable property in Hawaii for the Obamas to live; this land and its complex of buildings must be ready to move-into in January and must meet all the requirements the Secret Service demands since the Obamas will be granted continued protection, by law, for nine years after Barack leaves office. The Reagans, Clintons, and second Bush family all had their post-presidential homes purchased quietly on the side by friends when their times in office were coming to an end. The Obamas are doing the same thing now.
A bit more:
Just found out that the asking price of the house they are looking at is most likely $35 million. Bobby Titcomb, the Hawaiian native who brings Obama "fish and poi" (that's code for "weed and coke") to the White House is most likely involved in the purchase of the estate on Oahu that the Obamas will most likely be moving into in January. Possibly watching Titcomb's movements will give more clues as to which house, exactly, Obama will move to in January 2013.
Moving to Part Two:
Who Is Funding the Purchase of the $35 million Beachfront Hawaiian Estate for Barack and Michelle Obama to Move into Come January 2013?
I've done some more digging here in Chicago on the story we brought you on Friday about plans currently underway to purchase a $35 million beachfront estate on the island of Oahu in a part of Hawaii called 'Kailua' for the Obama family to move into in January 2013 when they leave the White House.
It's funny, but 'kai' means 'victorious' in Mandarin Chinese and you probably know that 'lua' is close to the Hawaiian word 'luau', which is of course a large party. It's more than ironic that a spot in paradise that conjures a mental image of 'victory party' will be the place the Obama family moves to in just four months or so, after they've been booted from the White House. They surely won't be in a festive mood after being downgraded from 'First Family' to ordinary citizens again, but no doubt the rest of the world will be celebrating.
The woman who is organizing the funding of the Obama's post-presidential estate is Penny Pritzker, who is also in charge of raising the donations for Obama's presidential library and museum. The two are more or less the same project, with the priority being to get the $35 million together to fund the purchase of the Obamas' new home. It appears that Pritzker herself may contribute up to half of the total purchase price, making up the difference from whatever the Obamas could not afford and the fundraising wouldn't cover. Pritzker is a billionaire who in recent years resolved a long-standing family feud over her late father's vast business empire that includes the Hyatt Hotel chain as well as assorted manufacturing operations. The wealthiest families in Chicago are being leaned on heavily to contribute with Penny aggressively guilting them with 'appeals of you don't want the President to be homeless in January, do you?'. That's more or less an exact quote from Penny, if my source within her social group is not paraphrasing.
Curious -- so much of Obama's "brand" is built around his time in Chicago. Then again, he has a constant habit of throwing xyzy under the bus when it becomes politically expedient. The title of this post? Jack Kerouac
