Oh, those French presidents! You gotta watch their hands every sec

We'll let you write your own caption for this photo of Nicolas Sarkozy, le president de la France, patting the derriere of his wife, Carla Bruni, as they welcome President Obama and his wife, Michelle, in Strasbourg.

Now, on to the other business at hand, so to speak: Over these last 22 months and almost 4,800 political blog items, one or two -- all right, maybe three --  of our nearly 100,000 commenters have offered the opinion that something written on The Ticket was snarky.

Imagine that? And on a blog too! Amazing. Especially in this day and age of online ubiquity.

But today we need to give snark credits where snark credits are due.

Our blogging colleague Elizabeth Snead over at the Dish Rag has been at this a good while and knows her celeb stuff inside and out. In terms of the snark factor, let's just say if you revere or even like Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin, don't go there.

So Elizabeth has done another of her patented clever photo galleries, this one on the mostly female spouses who gathered for that G-20 or G-27 summit this week; that G-number seems to go up every time this ritzy crowd assembles for asparagus avec tout de suite.

Imagine the security costs alone for one day of such multilingual yabber! It could get many minor countries' economic stimulus going great.

Anyway, so Elizabeth's got this nifty photo gallery going and you can see that Sarkozy's missus, Carla, who blew off the meeting in Londres, sure isn't wearing a bikini even for April in Paris weather (though it was actually Strasbourg) and Michelle's got her famous arms covered too this day.

Don't Michelle and Carla appear to be having beaucoup de fun in this photo?

And then you get to photo No. 8. It's Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who happens to be the president of Argentina, which not everyone knows because who cares.

Now, we're not going to spoil any Dish Rag surprise here. Let's just say that we're learning some significant snark lessons about what in the future we can write about, say, Mike Huckabee's "beam" being so broad or Joe "The Pate" Biden, who was a senator when Barack Obama was a sixth-grader and just beginning to plot his $750-million campaign fund.

Or about Nancy Pelosi's new face. Or if Hillary Clinton ever dares to wear anything politically pleated anywhere. We're gonna have 200,000 comments in no time. And appreciate every one of them, especially the ones from Argentina.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photos, from top: Associated Press and Pool Photo.

Obamas host congressional dinner, unveil swing set. Coincidence?

Every presidential family makes some personal changes to the White House.  John F. Kennedy had a pony installed for the next non-senator from New York.  Bill Clinton had a putting green.  The second Bushes had a rubberized path.

So now the Obamas have an elaborate natural-wood treehouse-swing set on the lawn, unveiled today. (More jungle gym details here.)

Also today the Obamas graciously had leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives over for some bipartisan celery soup, mushroom crisps, steelhead salmon and milk chocolate velvet cake.  The president wanted a political "timeout," a kind of evening recess once everyone got indoors to the East Room to "remind ourselves we have things in common.  Not to mention, this is a pretty big house and we get lonely."

The Obamas have promised daughters Sasha and Malia, 10 and 7, that they too can use the new swings.   

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo: Charles Dharapak / Associated Press

Obama to Canada: Thanks for the campaign help

Except for the second public sentence out of his visiting mouth, which no one will ever dare write about, President Obama's quick day-trip to Ottawa today was a success.

The new president, on his first journey outside all 57 states, said (see video below) almost all the right things for America's touchy northern neighbors, who anticipate U.S. slights with an uncanny ability. Obama pushed the right buttons.

And because his adoration rating in Canada, at last measure, was well above his popularity back home (see fake Internet border photo above), even if he'd blown the day with some comment about annexing the Great White North, Canadians would have taken it as an obvious joke.

All right, because you insist, we must detail the sole blemish, a minor (but revealing?) one.

As they met the press with more flags around than Canadians usually prefer, Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper stood behind separate podiums. As is required in that bilingual land, Harper opened with remarks in French. And then said the same things in English. Harper then turned the floor over to the new American president.

"Thank you," said Obama, according to the official White House transcript. "Well, it is a great pleasure to be here in Ottawa."

Nice try. What he actually said was, "Well, it is a great pleasure to be here in Iow-Ottawa."

Iowa. Ottawa. What's the difference? They're both frozen places right now with numerous hockey teams. Or maybe Obama was thinking of 2012 already.

The two leaders appeared very friendly, no automatic given among neighbors. Obama, clearly well-briefed, made the obligatory attempt to list Canadian connections (a brother-in-law and two staff members).

And when, quite quickly, the sensitive subject of Canadian troops in Afghanistan arose, Obama skillfully slipped in his knowledge of Canada's 108 fallen soldiers (largest per capita of any NATO member in combat there) and a preemptive denial that he tried to pressure Harper into sending more troops or staying beyond his rock-firm bipartisan end-of-2011 pullout date. (Canadians would have expected pressure from Bush.)

The reality is it's Canadian combat troops that will leave. Other Canadian military will long remain to train Afghans, although anyone even scanning the last few centuries of history in that war-torn tribal land could be forgiven for thinking it might better for Afghan fighters to be training Westerners there.

As The Ticket reported earlier today, Obama reassured Harper about "Buy American" provisions in....

Gov. Arnold, who played a hero, salutes Capt. Sully, who was one

Now that about 87.7% of America's towns and cities have had separate "He's a Hero" ceremonies for Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, who safely landed his US Air passenger jet where it didn't belong, it was California's turn Tuesday.

Between hearing President Obama talk every day about how awful our economy is and watching a shiny airliner slowly sink in freezing New York waters, pretty much no one wants to go anywhere ever again. Unless they have their own Air Force One.

But that didn't dampen a groundbound American crowd's enthusiasm for a home-state hero -- "Sully! Sully! Sully!" they chanted -- especially a humble, short-spoken one who's kinda like an airborne Gary Cooper without the six-shooter. Plus, everyone should note, Sully has the trim moustache of a real hero.

With the music from "Top Gun" playing, the California governor, who has played heroes in his day, and numerous feuding legislators took time out from not solving the state's budget crisis to attend the ceremony. Schwarzenegger took 994 words to introduce Sullenberger, the real hero, who took 207 words to give his entire speech.

In their own way, the remarks of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Capt. Sullenberger are revealing of each speaker. So we decided to publish everything that each one said. Get your Wednesday started right.

Schwarzenegger:

Well, thank you very much for the nice introduction. And I want to say thank you to all of you for being here today, especially to our various different legislators -- Sen. Steinberg and Speaker Bass, Assemblyman Villines and Sen. DeSaulnier and Assemblyman Torlakson, Assemblywoman Buchanan and, of course, there are many others that I see here in the audience. In case I don't mention someone, don't feel upset, it's not on purpose; I just don't see all of them, but I know there are more here.

I also want to say thank you very much to the first lady, to my great wife, Maria Shriver, for being here today and being such a great, great partner. (Applause) I want to thank Dale Rogers for doing such a great job always for us and having such great, great energy. (Applause)

And then, of course, I want to say a big thank you, of course, to Capt. "Sully" Sullenberger and his wonderful wife, Laurie, and his children, Kate and Kelly, for being here today. Let's give them a big, big hand. (Applause)

Today we are honoring a great international hero, a national hero and a California hero, and Capt. Sullenberger is such a hero. And I just want to say there's a big difference between a movie hero -- and yes, I've done many movies -- and a real hero. And this is a real hero, so let's give him a big, big, big hand. (Applause)

Now, as governor, there are many things that we one can be proud of, and I'm very proud of....

Sarah Palin turns 45 today. How are you celebrating?

Well, today is the Big 4-5 Sarah Louise Palin, the lipstick-wearing, pit-bull hockey mom whom some folks still can't get enough of -- and others long ago did. (But, look, you're still here reading!)

Alaska's youngest and first-ever female governor, she keeps popping up in the news for one thing or another. And we tend to follow her at the SarahPalin4President and at the SarahPalinBlog.  Here, for those who are intrigued by her, is a birthday gift bag of recent Sarah Stuff. (For those who don't like her, you know you're gonna read it anyway):

At last report, Palin's husband, Todd, is running fifth, 61 minutes behind the leaders, in the Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile -- er, snow-machine -- race, which he has won four times. It's one week long in weather that sometimes warms up to minus-40. So, he probably won't be bringing home fresh-cut flowers for SP tonight. UPDATE: Todd finished sixth in a little over 41 hours.)

The Alaska Senate recently found Todd and nine others in contempt for ignoring subpoenas in the now-dead Troopergate investigation, but there's no punishment involved. The state's attorney general, Talis Colberg, who advised Palin and others during the investigation, resigned Tuesday over the controversy.

Nevermind Palin's own reported upcoming book, Simon & Schuster's Threshold Editions is about to publish "Trail Blazer: An Intimate Biography of Sarah Palin" by People's Lorenzo Benet.

A few leaked details concern how her hand got crushed years ago while helping her commercial fisher husband and how important Aug. 29 has become in Palin's life: wedding anniversary, John McCain's birthday and the day he announced her pick as his VP running mate that so energized the GOP's conservative base and many Republican donors.

And there's always talk of a movie.

The Republican governor recently launched her own SarahPAC to collect donations to finance her own political travel (Iowa's a long ways from Wasilla, you know) and to support like-minded conservative candidates elsewhere.

Palin did travel to Washington for the recent Alfalfa Club dinner of alleged D.C. elites (taking an overnight charter to avoid missing a day from state work), where she talked up Alan Greenspan and others, apparently impressing some longtime Republicans like Fred Malek.

And she also took the occasion to talk up Alaska's new planned pipeline with fellow dinner guest Barack Obama.

But with a re-election campaign looming next year, Palin turned down a blizzard of media interview requests to play down her Alaska absence. She's also decided against traveling back to Washington for the upcoming CPAC meeting but will address the conservative faithful via a videotape, which they do have now up in Alaska ever since electricity came in the other day.

--Andrew Malcolm

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Chicago's president needles Washington over winter's cold

Although Barack Obama is supposed to have been living in Washington these last four years as a U.S. senator from Illinois, he played the neophyte newcomer today at the start of a presidential meeting with business people on -- what else? -- the economy.

While the cameras were present, the new White House resident took the floor to get off a good-natured needling about, well, how sissy the nation's capital is to close its schools -- at least his daughters' private school -- just because of a little old cold and ice.  Washingtonians don't seem able to handle meteorlogical adversity, said the Hawaiian native most recently of the Windy City.

Obama, who's taken to quoting his daughters' quips in recent days, said they'd noted that in Chicago no snow cancels school and they still have recess in the cold.

Obama proposed that he'd have to teach residents of the District of Columbia "some flinty Chicago toughness." All part of the change he hopes to import there. (See video below.)

What made his comments about the cold extra chilling was they came on the same day that former Vice President Al Gore gave more congressional testimony on the growing specter of global warming.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo credit: NOAA.gov (an iceberg)

GOP countdown to 2012: Sarah Palin forms a PAC

It's the surest sign yet that Alaska's Republican Gov. Sarah Palin intends at least to be in position for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination contest.

Like others presumed to have their eye on the party nod -- former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Arkansas ex-Gov. Mike Huckabee -- Palin has set up a PAC -- SarahPAC.

The creation of such a financial entity commits her to nothing. But such a political action committee will allow Palin to position herself to compete by legally collecting donations to travel and speak on her own behalf. (Iowa is a long snow machine ride from Wasilla, Alaska.)

It also will permit her to raise and distribute campaign donations to like-minded GOP supporters seeking office. That could earn her some valuable political owsies come campaign time in the Hawkeye state with the race now less than 29 months away. (Thank goodness you have blogs such as this to help keep you ready.)

The 44-year-old mother of five and reform candidate faces a gubernatorial reelection campaign next year in Alaska. Or Palin might choose the more dangerous path of a primary challenge for the Alaska Senate seat currently held by Lisa Murkowski, daughter of the GOP ex-governor that Palin unseated in her 2005-2006 reform drive.

Palin was the surprise vice presidential pick of Sen. John McCain of Arizona in last fall's general election campaign. As a video refresher, scroll down or click on the "Read more" line to see Palin speaking. She electrified GOP audiences, especially conservatives and especially at the St. Paul national convention, but stumbled badly later in media interviews. Like GOP President Gerald Ford more than 30 years ago, Palin was mercilessly caricatured on "Saturday Night Live," though Palin's own appearance on the show brought the highest ratings in more than a decade.

Palin's new PAC website went up Tuesday and shows an image of the nation's largest and only Arctic state smack dab in the middle of the lower 48. It offers biographical information, the ability to donate and register for free e-mail newsletters. It says she's "dedicated to building America's future, supporting fresh ideas and candidates who share our vision for reform and innovation."

It adds: "SarahPAC believes the Republican Party is at the threshold of an historic renaissance that will build a better future for all" with healthcare, government reform and education as key goals.

Speaking of renaissance, the Republican National Committee opens its important winter meeting in Washington today with the election for a new party chairman set for Friday. (The field consists of six candidates, including two African Americans and the incumbent, Mike Duncan.)

The winner will be among the most prominent public faces for the GOP as it seeks to rebuild after two consecutive congressional thumpings, not to mention the McCain-Palin defeat by Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

The Democratic National Committee has already cleaned house, despite the historic victory, by dumping Vermont's ex-Gov. Howard Dean for current Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine. He's a hand-picked favorite of Obama, who will have the Spanish-speaking, Roman Catholic Southern lawyer ready as a possible fresh VP partner come 2012, when Joe Biden will be about two weeks shy of 70.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of political action, just register here for cellphone alerts on each new Ticket item. RSS feeds are also available here. And we're on Amazon's Kindle as well.

Photo: SarahPAC.com   

Still no arrests and little interest in arson at Sarah Palin's church, as reopening nears

The ongoing Sarah Palin blogosphere is abuzz this week with some good news and some bad news about the chief executive hockey mom with the five kids, one grandchild and lipstick.

The governor's recent state budget drew favorable reviews from state newspapers. But the big news is that Palin's home church, the Wasilla Bible Church, which attracted considerable media attention and controversy during her run as Republican vice presidential candidate and subsequently was torched by an arsonist(s) last month, will reopen for services this Sunday.

The congregation, which moved into its church building just 31 months ago, has been meeting in a nearby middle school. But the pastor, Larry Kroon, now reports that repairs are sufficiently accomplished that worshipers can return to the main building Feb. 1, their own local Super Bowl Sunday.

He also reports that a special volunteer group of parishioners has had to be organized to handle the volume of handwritten thank-yous necessary to address the many people and organizations that reached out to the Alaska church with good wishes and even donations after the apparent hate crime.

While women and children were participating in a Friday night crafts group in early December, someone set a massive fire with an accelerant by the front door. Everyone escaped uninjured through other exits, but it took firefighters from several communities most of the night to quell the flames in minus-20-degree weather.

Gov. Palin publicly apologized the same day in case the attack was "in any way connected to the undeserved negative attention the church has received" from her participation in Sen. John McCain's GOP presidential campaign.

"Someone lit a match," said Kroon, "and God came back with a whole lot of grace." (See the local KTUU-TV video below.)

Over on the ever-alert Sarah Palin blog, they're asking the provocative question:

What if, oh, say, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright's Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago had been assaulted by arsonists after videos of his controversial anti-American sermons surfaced last year and Democrat Barack Obama supported him in a widely hailed Philadelphia speech on race? Does anyone think that nearly seven weeks would pass with no major media coverage or government investigative progress report on such a crime?

Yes, Wasilla is 40 miles farther away than Anchorage from major urban centers in the lower 48. But ...

"This is an ugly case of media bias again directed at Sarah Palin," the blog charges, "and the church is quite literally collateral damage. It was the media attacks and attention on this church that may have made it a target and, if that is true, the media fanned the flames of hate. To follow up that irresponsibility by remaining silent after the crime is all but despicable."

What do you think?

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Hat Tip: Sarah Palin for President blog.

Top photo: Wasilla Bible Church. Credit: Al Grillo / Associated Press

Bottom photo: Alaska Republican Gov. Sarah Palin. Credit: EPA

Plastic Obama inaugural display altered to reflect wardrobe reality

This just in: The Legoland Barack Obama inauguration display has been updated.

You may recall The Ticket kinda had the world scoop on the original Legoland display even before Inauguration Day, when Obama was sworn in at the Carlsbad theme park several days in advance of his actual swearing-in at the Capitol. He became then the first African American plastic president to ever do that.

The Legoland oath-taking was not muffed by the new president and Chief Justice John Roberts confusing the words and doing a re-do that next day. However, the display did leave out the about-to-be-first lady and official Bible holder. (For photo of the original display, scroll down or click on the "Read more" line below.)

However, the park has proudly announced now that the exhibit has been updated to show the First Lady plus the actual wardrobes worn by the participants, including that greeny-yellow thing of Michelle's.

Alas, the updated display, we must point out, has a gray Bible when the Lincoln one was black. Also missing is the white bald spot on the back of Chief Justice Roberts' head.

-- Andrew Malcolm

Speaking of a new president, don't miss any news about him and politics. Just register here for cellphone alerts on each new Ticket item. RSS feeds are also available here. And we're on Amazon's Kindle as well.

Barack Obama Inauguration Day wrapup

- Although the inauguration was scheduled for 11:30 a.m. EST, citizens began to stake their spots on the National Mall the night before, as The Ticket reported early this morning, in order to assure prime viewing locations for today's events. Legalities did not allow people to pitch tents or lay down blankets -- however, sitting in lawn chairs to pass the time was perfectly acceptable.

- In case you were wondering if President Barack Obama would have time to grab a bite between all the speeches and the balls, don't worry: he had time to wind down at the traditional luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. And despite the country being in a recession, it sounds like it was a scrumptious feast.

- Obama's presidency might have already begun to help the economy -- at least in the eyes of D.C. cab drivers -- especially with all the tourists in town. One cab driver, who was driving a Times writer, commented, "The people in D.C.? They will spend $10 on a beer but don't have $5 for the cabdriver."

- The man whose shot was heard round the world (or at least felt by Harry Whittington, the victim of the unfortunate hunting accident), Dick Cheney, attended the inaugural festivites in a wheelchair. A spokesperson said that Cheney "pulled a muscle in his back" moving boxes into....