The Obamas knock Sarah, Britney, Lindsay off the covers

Americans taken by a seemingly normal American family? Actually paying money to read about them and none of them have been arrested for anything yet?

And we can only imagine what's going to happen to media sales if the Obamas actually get that dog!

(For your own Obama family portrait, click on the "Read more" line below. Also down there is an Obama family Thanksgiving video.)

--Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of family, you and everyone in yours could have learned about this item the minute it was posted. Just go here and register free for automatic Ticket alerts. RSS feeds are also available here. And The Ticket's available on Amazon's Kindle now as well.

Ticket Notice: Sunday Shows--Laura Bush, McCaskill, Graham, Chambliss

ABC This Week: Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) of the Armed Services Committee and Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) of the Foreign Relations Committee. A roundtable with ABC News' Matthew Dowd, Donna Brazile, Torie Clark, and George Will.

CBS Face the Nation: "A Look At An Historic Election: Annual Books and Authors Show" with authors Bob Woodward, Fareed Zakaria, Michael Eric Dyson and Jane Mayer.

CNN Late Edition: Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.); Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.); Peter Bergen, CNN terrorism analyst; Sajjan Gohel, director of international security, Asia-Pacific Foundation; Ron Gettelfinger, UAW President; Maj. Gen. Mark Hertling, Commander, Multi-National Division-North; Ed Rollins, Republican strategist, CNN political contributor; James Carville, Democratic strategist, CNN political contributor; David Gergen, CNN senior political analyst, former presidential advisor; Amy Walter, CNN political contributor, editor-in-chief, The Hotline; Ed Henry, CNN White House correspondent; Bill Schneider, CNN senior political analyst.

Fox News Sunday: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.); Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.); Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.); and a panel with Brit Hume, Fox News Washington Managing Editor; Mara Liasson, National Public Radio & Fox News; Bill Kristol, Weekly Standard & Fox News; and Juan Williams, National Public Radio & Fox News.

NBC Meet The Press: First Lady Laura Bush, Afghanistan's Ambassador to the United States Said Jawad and Ted Turner, author of "Call Me Ted."

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of news, you could have learned about this item the minute it was posted. Just go here and register free for automatic Ticket alerts. RSS feeds are also available here. And The Ticket's available on Amazon's Kindle too.

Photo credit: Associated Press

Friday roundup: "We want to travel like President Bush's turkey" edition

Continuing our new tradition, we present you with "Friday roundup," our picks of some of the most interesting reads from around the Web:   

Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, send their condolences to American victims in the Mumbai attacks.

Steve Clemons, from the Washington Note, hypothesizes that Robert Gates agreed to stay on as secretary of Defense because he has serious plans for progress in the Middle East.

Politico profiles Jill Biden and notes that her husband, Joe, sure has been quiet lately.

Joe Lieberman does an about-face and says some really nice things about Barack Obama.

So does Karl Rove!

The Times' Cynthia Dizikes writes about the lucky fate of the turkeys who were pardoned by President George W. Bush on Thanksgiving (see video below for more).

The Washington Post thinks Obama memorabilia just might be the solution we need to fix the battered economy. 

Mike Dorning and Jim Tankersley of the Times' Washington Bureau point out that with Obama as an ally in the White House, there will probably be a renaissance of liberal groups in Washington.

The Atlantic's Mike Memoli peers into the political future.

-- Kate Linthicum 

Obama's small donor base image is a myth, new study reveals

Everybody knows how President-elect Barack Obama's amazing campaign money machine was dominated by several million regular folks sending in hard-earned amounts under $200, a real sign of his broadbased grassroots support.

Except, it turns out, that's not really true.

In fact, Obama's base of small donors was almost exactly the same percent as George W. Bush's in 2004 -- Obama had 26% and the great Republican satan 25%. Obviously, this is unacceptable to current popular thinking.

But the nonpartisan Campaign Finance Institute just issued a detailed study of Obama's donor base and its giving. And that's what the Institute found, to its own surprise.

"The myth is that money from small donors dominated Barack Obama's finances," said CFI's executive director Michael Malbin, admitting that his organization also was fooled. "The reality of Obama's fundraising was impressive, but the reality does not match the myth."

Adding up the total contributions from the same small individuals (in terms of dollar amounts, not their height), the Institute discovered that rather than the 50+% commonly....

President Bush tries to say 'l'chaim,' ends up looking like a schmo

President Bush and his wife, Laura Bush, will be hosting a Hanukkah reception for Jewish leaders at the White House next month. 

It's a nice gesture. There's just one kvetch: The invitations for the Hanukkah party show a Clydesdale horse pulling a big Christmas tree up the driveway at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. And there's a Christmas wreath tacked to the White House in the background.

Sally McDonough, a spokeswoman for Laura Bush, blamed the goof on a "staff mistake," according to the New York Post.

"Mrs. Bush is apologetic," McDonough said. "It is just something that fell through the cracks."

Although the mistake has invited lots of teasing in the blogosphere, not everyone is offended. The Orthodox Union's Institute for Public Affairs defended the president on jta.org:

Not only is George W. Bush the first to place a Chanukah Party on The White House calendar, but when the fact of this event is considered in the context of Jewish history -- a history of centuries of persecution and exclusion -- a sensible person's only reaction can be one of gratitude for the freedom Jews enjoy in the United States of America and respect and appreciation for this nation's president.

-- Kate Linthicum

Don't miss any Ticket updates. Go here and register your cellphone for automatic Ticket alerts. RSS alerts and Kindle subscriptions are also available.

Photo credit: President Bush lights a menorah in 2003. Credit: Kevin Lamarque / Reuters

Now that Obama's won, Fox News can't seem to catch his eye

Back in October then-Sen. Barack Obama granted a then-rare campaign interview. That time, not surprisingly, it went to the N.Y. Times Magazine and the candidate reportedly whined to the writer:

"I am convinced that if there were no Fox News, I might be two or three points higher in the polls. If I were watching Fox News, I wouldn't vote for me, right?

"Because the way I'm portrayed 24/7 is as a freak! I am the latte-sipping, New York Times-reading, Volvo-driving, no-gun-owning, effete, politically correct, arrogant liberal. Who wants somebody like that?"

It's not unusual for public figures to feel misportrayed or even abused by media organizations. John McCain and his people expressed some strong concerns several times about the same Times newspaper.

Now that the campaign is over and Obama is president-elect, his reticence to talk with the media is gone. Now, he's eager to spread the impression of abundant pre-oath energy and activity.

So, he's held four news conferences and two sit-down TV interviews since election day, including three news conferences three days in a row this week. He's broken the news conference record for all recent presidents-elect.

At these news sessions since Nov. 4, the future commander in chief has answered a total of 22 questions from different reporters. Wednesday, it was NPR, the N.Y. Daily News and CNN.

But not once has the election victor called on a representative of Fox News. He just hasn't seemed to spot them waving their hand for recognition.

Fox News is widely viewed among Democrats as a Republican news organization, although it might be hard to convince George W. Bush of that after Fox's 2000 DUI story that cost his campaign Maine (and allowed Florida's disputed vote-counting to matter).

Or to convince Sarah Palin that Fox is GOP-flavored, even if she knew she was in Africa when you told her.

It appears to be an Obama coincidence, like Texan conservative George W. Bush not finding room for a liberal N.Y. Times interview in his impossible presidential schedule for the last nine years.

Long-term vindictiveness is not a viable political communications strategy for those who've won elections. As Bush's exit era sub-basement approval ratings might suggest. But officeholders must learn that lesson for themselves.

Or not.

-- Andrew Malcolm

However, The Ticket is open for communications. Register here to get automatic cellphone alerts of each new posting.

Photo credit: Getty Images

Barbara Bush medical update: Surgery successful, in hospital a week

The Ticket reported the other day that former First Lady Barbara Bush was rushed to a Houston hospital in pain.

She is now recovering from laproscopic stomach surgery to repair a small hole in her intestines. The 83-year-old mother of President George W. Bush is expected to remain in hospital a week.

Here's an updated news video.

--Andrew Malcolm

Don't miss any Ticket updates. Go here and register your cellphone for automatic Ticket alerts. RSS alerts and Kindle subscriptions are also available.

A Thanksgiving weekend message from Barack Obama--video

The president-elect has a few gloomy words of inspiration before you go out shopping today.

But he says we'll pull through because Americans are tough and resillient.

--Andrew Malcolm

Ticket RSS feeds here. Ticket Twitter alerts go here. Amazon Kindle Ticket subscriptions, see Amazon.

The Ticket offers thanksgiving to Obama, McCain, Palin and you

This is the special day of the year that Americans have traditionally set aside to get no bills, to watch the Detroit Lions lose once again, to argue with relatives they won't see for months, which is fine with both sides, and to feel kinda sick not long after the large meal.

Most societies have thanksgivings of one kind or another. Canadian Ticket readers will be scanning this item at their work desk today and saying, "Oh, yeah, it's American Thanksgiving." Because they had theirs last month.

Much of the world's attention has been focused on the United States in recent months and weeks, largely due to the unexpected twists and turns of its exciting election season and the historic outcome.

The Ticket's foreign readership has soared in that time (see photo above) and we welcome you all, especially a certain group of folks down in New Zealand; you know who you are. Also, Peter among the Paul People.

The Ticket's domestic readership increased to record levels for latimes.com, our home port. More than 20 million folks have clicked around this blog in the past months, reading the nearly 4,000 posts and leaving almost 90,000 comments.

You're clicking more each day and staying longer. And The Ticket is now the world's No. 54 blog.

Read all you want; we'll write more.

And with the new White House administration, the new Congress, some 2012 jockeying underway and two developing statewide races in California, there will be plenty to write about in unexpected ways and, you may have noticed, at unexpected hours of the day and night, regardless of your time zone.

(Did you see, by the way, that Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has already been to Iowa once in prep for 2012? Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin campaigns in Georgia this Monday. The same day, we could see the top two Democratic presidential contenders team up together in the president-elect's new administration.)

Thousands have signed up for Ticket RSS feeds, for Twitter and Facebook alerts on each new item. And Amazon.com's Kindle now features The Ticket for L.A. Times subscribers.

A fair number of famous people at home and abroad now check out The Ticket daily; we won't betray their confidence by identifying them.

But on this, The Ticket's second Thanksgiving, we wanted to offer our own profound thanks to all of our readers for your patronage, your feedback, your curiosity and your loyalty.

We also offer thanks to those who've gone before us in this grand land and helped preserve it as a place where everyone can freely think, say and write such outrageous things absent any fears.

Briefly, on a personal level, thanks too to my family for its support and patience during the long days and short nights. And to my Times colleagues, especially my longtime blogging partner Don. We miss ya, buddy, but great good luck on your exciting new adventure.

We may take much of today off. But you never know in politics. Something could come up and we'll post it ASAP as usual.

Thanks again, everybody. And Happy Thanksgiving to all, whether you celebrate today or not.

-- Andrew Malcolm

To get The Ticket's RSS feed, go here. To register for Twitter cellphone alerts, go here. On Facebook, Friend "Andrew Malcolm."

To see more photos of Ticket reader crowds, click on the "Read more" line below. For captions, pass cursor over the picture. Photos: Associated Press

Meryl Streep wishes Barack Obama well, but expects mistakes

Some people believe that celebrities ought to stick to the business of being famous and living in their fenced-in castles.

But then along comes a wire service videographer and asks a question about President-elect Barack Obama of someone like actress Meryl Streep, who really wants to push her new movie.

And what's the celebrity to do -- censor herself?

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of celebrities, many famous people do get Twitter alerts whenever a new Ticket item gets posted. But you don't need to be famous. Or rich. It's free. Register here.