The Obamas will be staying at the historic Hay-Adams hotel (see previous entry) near the White House when they arrive in Washington this coming weekend, confirms a Democrat with knowledge of the arrangements who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to make a statement.

The family is expected to stay there until Jan. 15, when Blair House, where presidential guests stay, becomes available. A spokeswoman for the hotel said in an email Tuesday night that "we can neither confirm nor deny the stay of any guest at any time at our hotel in order to preserve the privacy of our guests at all times." Obama's transition team also had declined to identify the hotel. The New York Times posted an excerpt of an email today from an official at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, located by the hotel, to staff, saying there would be a heavy Secret Service presence around the hotel because of a very high-level delegation staying there through the 15th.

President-elect Barack Obama, his wife Michelle, and their daughters Sasha and Malia arrive in the nation's capital sometime this coming weekend, after wrapping up a Hawaiian vacation and saying goodbye to Chicago, the transition staff has confirmed. Obama will work on an economic recovery plan and be preparing for his inauguration. The girls need to be in Washington to start classes at their new private school, Sidwell Friends.

Which hotel will the Obamas call home until Jan. 15, when they can temporarily move into Blair House? Aides aren't saying (and neither are the hotel managers we reached).

Some thoughts: 

The Willard. It's luxurious, historic and close to the White House. Symbolically important given Obama's love of and comparisons to President Lincoln. Lincoln stayed there from February 23, 1861, until his March 4 inauguration and had to be smuggled in at dawn because of assassination concerns. A brochure on the hotel's Web site said Lincoln held staff meetings in front of the lobby fireplace.

The Hay-Adams. Also luxurious and just across Lafayette Square from the White House with a view. The hotel sits on the site that was home to both former Lincoln assistant and secretary of state John Hay, and writer and presidential descendant Henry Adams.

The Mayflower. Another Washington power hotel, it's where Eliot Spitzer met a call girl under an assumed name. But it's also where FDR worked on his inaugural address that included the line about having nothing to fear but fear itself. President Truman stayed there during White House renovations. And Hillary Clinton took Obama there to meet some of her top donors after he defeated her in the primaries.

Mandarin-Oriental. Posh, close enough to the White House by motorcade, but also very private, out of the way and perhaps logistically easier to control. Oh, and Hawaii's inaugural ball is to be held there.

Park Hyatt. Obama's campaign finance chair and good friend and adviser Penny Pritzker is heiress to the Hyatt hotels. There are other Hyatts in and around DC, but Park Hyatts are consistently elite, calm and discreet.

There are several other high-end possibilities where mover-shakers go, including the Four Seasons in Georgetown or something even closer to Sidwell Friends.

An advisory issued today by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies offers some guidance for the 240,000 ticket holders and million-plus without tickets expected to try to show up on the National Mall to watch President-elect Barack Obama be sworn in in three weeks.

"Please think carefully about whether you can stand outside in cold weather in a large crowd for up to six hours, and whether you are ready for long delays getting home afterwards," says the release.

No matter if there's rain or snow, umbrellas are banned in the ticketed area. No strollers, signs or posters. (And the obvious: no guns, knives, booze or large bags).

Cell phones may have trouble getting calls or pictures through, as well, the advisory says. "Please use text messaging to send critical messages."

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who will serve as the White House chief of staff in the Obama administration, will resign his seat in the House of Representatives effective January 2.

Emanuel's staff today released a copy of his resignation letter to embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who previously held the 5th congressional district seat and who must call a special election to replace Emanuel. Emanuel's staff also released the text of an automated call from Emanuel to constituents telling those who hadn't heard yet that he's going to the White House and thanking them for electing him.

The letter to Blagojevich is courteous and doesn't betray the tension surrounding the governor's corruption scandal. Emanuel notes in his letter that both he and Blagojevich are sons of immigrants and as such can appreciate a tradition of rewarding people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice, a notion Emanuel said he'll take with him to the administration. His letter also says special interests hold too much sway in Washington and that the election "was a clarion call for a change in direction, so we can recapture the values that have made our nation a beacon of hope and opportunity."

Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., who will serve as the White House chief of staff in the Obama administration, will resign his seat in the House of Representatives effective January 2.

Emanuel's staff today released a copy of his resignation letter to embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who previously held the 5th congressional district seat and who must call a special election to replace Emanuel. Emanuel's staff also released the text of an automated call from Emanuel to constituents telling those who hadn't heard yet that he's going to the White House and thanking them for electing him.

The letter to Blagojevich is courteous and doesn't betray the tension surrounding the governor's corruption scandal. Emanuel notes in his letter that both he and Blagojevich are sons of immigrants and as such can appreciate a tradition of rewarding people who are willing to work hard and sacrifice, a notion Emanuel said he'll take with him to the administration. His letter also says special interests hold too much sway in Washington and that the election "was a clarion call for a change in direction, so we can recapture the values that have made our nation a beacon of hope and opportunity."

President-elect Barack Obama is 2008's most admired man, according to a Gallup Poll released Friday, the first president-elect since Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 to top the annual list.

A distant second is President George W. Bush, at 5 percent, a dramatic fall since he was named most admired by 39 percent shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Most admired woman, for the seventh year in a row, is Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton. But Clinton has some competition _ Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the Republican's 2008 vice presidential nominee, was second, beating out television host Oprah Winfrey.

Poll analyst Lydia Saad called Obama's showing "extraordinarily high," She said there have been only a few times since the poll began in 1948 when an incumbent president has not topped the list _ Lyndon Johnson in 1967 and 1968 (Eisenhower was on top) and Jimmy Carter in 1980 (Pope John Paul II beat him). Also, from 1973 to 1975, Presidents Nixon and then Ford were topped by National Security Adviser and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger

This year's list:

President-elect Barack Obama spent part of his Christmas visiting Marine Corps Base Hawaii. According to the press pool report, Obama worked a section of the room with about 25 tables where troops and their families were eating Christmas dinner.

The diners represented seven military units – Marine and Navy – and some of them were joined by their families.

According to the report:

One of the first things in the president-elect's view as he entered the hall was a life-size fake Santa wearing brick red, velvet robe. Obama worked the left side of the room after he walked in. "Hey guys," he said shaking hands to men who appeared to be in their early 20s at most.

"Good to see you man," Obama said. "Thanks for your service."

The service men and women rose to their feet when Obama approached their tables and extended his hand. The president-elect took his time and did not appear rushed. He stopped to talk for as long as a minute with some tables, sometimes nodding and placing his hands on his hips. He posed for photos with them.

Reporters could not hear the conversations Obama was having at the tables, only bits and pieces. The president-elect put his hand on one man's shoulder. He laughed a couple of times.

Some of the diners were elderly and appeared to be retired military. One elderly woman had two orange leis hanging from her wrist and stood up briefly when it seemed the president-elect was coming toward her table. She sat back down when he went to another table.

Obama greeted a table of four young men. One of them had a newspaper clipping for him to sign. The president-elect must have asked where they're from because he said, "So this is the East coast table," as he shook one of their hands and put his hand on his shoulder.

The service men and women seemed to enjoy having the president-elect there. Some appeared to be sending text messages from their cell phones when it was clear he was about to enter the room.

"Congratulations," one of the service members said as Obama greeted his table.

"I appreciate all you service guys," Obama said to others.

The only background noise in the hall was ESPN's NFL highlights playing on about ten flat screen TVs hanging throughout the long, rectangular room.

The tables in the cafeteria-style room that Obama greeted first had white or red tablecloths, green napkins and placemats that said "Happy Holidays." A buffet with white Christmas lights hanging from the top sat in the middle of the hall.

President Bush is spending Christmas at Camp David with his family--the 12th time he and Mrs. Bush have been there for Christmas. They have spent the past eight years there as president and First Lady, and from 1989 to 1992, joined President George W. Bush. Their Christmas Eve menu this time consisted of enchiladas and tamales, rice and pinto beans and guacamole. Here's Thursday's lunch lineup:

Roast Turkey and Cornbread Dressing

Green Beans

Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Potatoes

Spinach Salad

Giblet Gravy

Cranberry Sauce

Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Pecan Pie

President Bush Wednesday continued the holiday tradition of calling U. S. members of the armed forces and thanking them for "their continued sacrifices that they are making in serving our country overseas, and away from family."

<a href="http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/12/20081224-3.html">List of Christmas calls</a>

Rod Blagojevich, Secretary of Health and Human Services?

It came up in a conversation between a confidante of President-elect Barack Obama _ who thought the idea of any Cabinet job for Blagojevich "ridiculous," and an Illlinois union official, according to Tuesday's report on President-elect Barack Obama and his staff's contacts, or lack of them, with Blagojevich and his staff.

According to the report from Obama counsel Greg Craig, Obama aide Valerie Jarrett spoke with Tom Balanoff, head of the Illinois chapter of the Service Employees International Union, on Nov. 7, when Jarrett was still a potential candidate for the Senate seat Obama was about to vacate. Jarrett had "no contact or communication" with Blagojevich or his staff about the vacancy, the report said.

Balanoff, the review noted, is not a member of the governor's staff and "did not purport to speak for the governor on that occasion."

The report said Jarrett "recalls that Mr. Balanoff also told her that the governor had raised with him the question of whether the governor might be considered as a possible candidate to head up the Department of Health and Human Services in the new administration. Mr. Balanoff told Ms. Jarrett that he told the governor it would never happen. Jarrett concurred."

Balanoff, the report stressed, "did not suggest that the governor, in talking about HHS, was linking a position for himself in the Obama cabinet to the selection of the President-elect's successor in the Senate."

Federal prosecutors have alleged Blagojevich tried to secure an administation appointment in return for appointing someone favorable to Obama to the Senate. Craig reported neither Obama nor anyone on his team acted in an in inappropriate manner. Obama resigned from the Senate last month, and the seat remains vacant.

 At a news conference, Craig explained Jarrett "thought it was ridiculous for the governor of Illinois to be talking about being appointed to Barack Obama's Cabinet at a time when he was under investigation, widely reported in the newspapers -- under investigation for a variety of problems. And the reason that I believe that she thought it was ridiculous and said so was because that's what she told her counsel, and that's what her counsel told me."

 And, said Craig, Jarrett, who quickly took herself out of the running for the Senate seat, "did not perceive Balanoff to be communicating as an emissary of Governor Blagojevich. She conceived of him as being a union official who had met with the governor. And this topic came up. But it was not presented to her as a quid pro quo."

 Former Senate Democratic Leader Thomas Daschle has been nominated as Secretary of Health and Human Services.