What if Obama really wants a fight over gay pajamas?

A little something to think about:

Have you too noticed that very few accidents seem to happen around Barack Obama?

Sure, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright association blew up in his face; that was just a matter of time and came not from Republicans but from fellow Democrats. One day the Harvard-educated, freshman senator from Illinois thought there were 57 states. He didn't know Canada had a prime minister, not a president. And it took some doing for the man to grudgingly give in to that stupid lapel flag pin thing.

The Geithner-Daschle-Solis back-tax deals were also messy.

But those gaffes happened early in the presidential campaign or the administration. He and his team have been touching every conceivable base at every opportunity, from tonight's Latin music fiesta at the White House to marking Leif Erikson Day to earn the Viking vote.

In fact, Obama's devoted so much time cultivating and nurturing these political niches that critics credibly suggest he might profitably invest less effort in the perpetual campaign mode -- flying off to Copenhagen to take an embarrassingly blunt public hit for the Chicago machine and chatting up that serial philanderer on the CBS late show -- and put in a lot more shirt-sleeve time in the Oval Office being the new president at the old desk.

On Saturday night before he was asked about "don't ask-don't tell" Obama told the banqueting but impatient Human Rights Campaign crowd (full text right here) all the Democratically correct things it wanted to hear before the big march for LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) equality the next day.

So it was very surprising -- even jarring -- when on Sunday CNBC's John Harwood, long a respected political journalist, reported a conversation with an anonymous White....

Was Hillary Clinton right on Iran?

It was a pivotal moment in the presidential campaign, when Hillary Clinton branded Barack Obama as "naive" for suggesting he would meet with the leaders of Iran, Syria, Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea in his first year as president without any preconditions

"I thought that was irresponsible and frankly naive," Clinton said after their July 2007 debate in South Carolina, adding that Obama gave an answer "I think he is regretting today."

During his inaugural address, Obama maintained his outreach to Tehran, where President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has denied both the Holocaust and Israel's right to exist. In one of the most discussed passages of his speech, Obama said,

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

Today, Obama spoke for a growing cadre of powerful nations -- France, Britain, Germany and for the first time perhaps even Russia -- in condemning Iran. Amid intelligence that Iran has kept a second nuclear facility, capable of producing 3,000 centrifuges, hidden from weapons inspectors for years, Obama warned that unless Iran acts immediately, punishment will be swift. "Iran is breaking rules that all nations must follow," he said.

France's Nicolas Sarkozy added muscle to Obama's statement, warning that "everything must be put on the table," and that if by December Iran has not reformed, sanctions will be imposed.

And Britain's Gordon Brown added spine, saying that Iran's "level of deception" in keeping the plant secret for years, along with the scale of its nuclear ambitions, means that "the international community must draw a line in the sand."

Somewhere Clinton is sighing.

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo: President Ahmadinejad tours Iran's first uranium enrichment plant in Natanz. Credit: AFP/Getty

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Roberts gets two chances today to administer oath to Sotomayor

Today, when Sonia Sotomayor becomes the 111th justice in the history of the Supreme Court, she will be sworn in by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. And not just once -- twice.

But this time, the double oaths will be intentional.

You may recall that Roberts had to administer the oath office to President Obama two times. At Obama’s inauguration in January, Roberts stumbled over the opening words of the inaugural oath, and Obama repeated them, incorrectly.

The goof: Roberts misplaced the word "faithfully." The Constitution says the president must solemnly swear "that I will faithfully execute the office of president of the United States." But on Jan. 20, Obama said, "I will execute the office of president of the United States faithfully."

Just to quell complaints (was that the first sign of birther conspiracy theories?), Obama took the oath again -- correctly -- a day later.

Roberts gets two chances today with Sotomayor. At about 8 a.m. Pacific Time, she will repeat an oath prescribed by the Constitution in a private ceremony. Later, in a ceremony with family, friends and cameras present, Robert will administer a second oath, taken by judges.

We presume that if Roberts garbles either oath, the third time will be the charm. Stay tuned to latimes.com for coverage of the ceremony.

-- Steve Padilla

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Photo: John G. Roberts Jr. Credit: Associated Press

Hawaii tries again to snuff Barack Obama birth certificate controversy

Well, surely this will settle finally once and for all that Barack Hussein Obama was really, actually and factually born in the United States and, therefore, is fully qualified according to the U.S. Constitution to be the president that he has been since he took the oath of office on Jan. 20 and a second time shortly after, just to make sure.

Not!

In yet another quite possibly futile attempt to silence the zombie birther controversy that won't die, the director of Hawaii's State Department of Health, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, has just repeated her statement from October that she has personally and with her very own official eyes seen the "original vital records" regarding Obama's birth in Honolulu's Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital on Aug. 4, 1961.

At Monday's White House briefing, press secretary Robert Gibbs also sought to dismiss the issue as "fictional nonsense," suggesting the so-called birthers would never be happy with any evidence.

Nevermind that Obama might have been born on Mars for all anyone cares. The stubborn story of the refusal of many to stop questioning his birthplace as American and....

More questions about Barack Obama's birth certificate, still

Well, here we go again on the Barack Obama birth certificate controversy that just won't die because it's one of those zombie issues like who really killed JFK.

No less an authority on politics, history and government archives than the Pat Boone is now raising serious questions about the legitimacy of the entire Obama administration and everything it has done since those 21 guns went off shortly after noon on Jan. 20.

This is because a lot of people, including firebrand conservative Alan Keyes (as The Ticket described here in February) and now Boone, insist or suggest or imply that Obama cannot be president of these United States because they insist, suggest or imply he wasn't really born in Hawaii but was actually born in Kenya, his father's homeland.

(See below for the certificate of live birth provided by the Obama staff a year ago, even though technically that's not a birth certificate.)

(Helpful Ticket Political Reminder: Obama thoroughly thumped Keyes, a last-minute hopeless fill-in GOP candidate, in his initial 2004 U.S. Senate run in Illinois. So there may be a lingering issue there in the mind of Keyes, wherever that is.)

Now, none of this should actually matter because Obama's mother was an American, if you consider Kansas America. So she could have been on Mars when wee Barry emerged and he'd still be American. All the courts have consistently thrown out challenges to the first African American president's legality. And Obama's spending, golfing and official POTUS Air Force One jacket sure don't indicate he's got any doubts about his legitimacy.

But maybe the courts are all part of a vast Kenyan socialist conspiracy or something. As they do daily, Wonkette has a lot of fun with its own theory about this conspiracy theory.

Anyway, the latest development is that Pat Boone, in an article headlined "Mr Obama, Show Us Your Birth Certificate," goes on a long while about the hassle of non-terrorists trying to board commercial American flights nowadays. Which is so true, isn't it?

It's gotten so bad, Pat reports, that he's actually turned down some gigs just to avoid the airport hassle. Which must be a nice position to be in, even with the hassle.

Pat -- we call him that because we've never met -- questions the validity of the certificate of live birth published on The Ticket. He raises dramatic fears about what will happen if years down the road Obama is actually proven to be legally barred from holding the Oval Office as is, say, California's Austrian-born Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

But then PB gets to his main point:

If I have to produce my passport, my driver’s license, my birth certificate, for things like leaving the country and returning, buying and selling and leasing and renting — all the things ordinary citizens are required to do all the time — why then, in the name of decency and equality, and, in the “open” and “transparent” approach to government Obama promised, should our elected leader not do the same?

Now, some might say, who is this Pat Boone to question the legitimacy of the president of the United States? Well, he's a lifelong conservative who had a very nice voice and made so many popular hits for your parents that for many years he was second only to a singer who died of drug issues (that would be Elvis).

Pat's qualifications also include popularizing the wearing of white suede shoes about a century or so ago, even though such foot gear is impossible to keep unscuffed for more than 27 seconds..

Pat says Obama is dismantling America’s free markets, taxing the higher-earning middle class into despondency, spending and taxing the nation into bankruptcy, imposing socialistic, government-run healthcare, seriously weakening our military and encouraging our enemies and enacting crippling and fraudulent “global warming” laws, among other nefarious things.

And, he asks, what if "he wasn’t even legally entitled to be president at all. Yes, it is important, crucially and everlastingly important. America’s very future depends on the defense of, and obedience to, our basic constitutional laws."

So while it seems unlikely Pat will be invited to perform at the next White House lesbian gay pride celebration, this birth certificate thing doesn't seem to be going away as quickly as white suede shoes.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Obama's first 100 days: exclusive White House photos

It's been a wild ride, so far.

An economic crisis, with billions of spending and tons of controversy over bankers' bonuses. Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and maybe Pakistan, and sometimes conflicts with Somali pirates. Meetings with world leaders, questions at town halls and press conferences, campaign promises met to close Guantanamo Bay prison and open stem cell research. So many firsts -- from the first African American president to the first who fought to keep his BlackBerry. So many marvels -- the first lady's transformation from novice campaigner to international and fashion rock star. And so many memories.

Today the White House released never-before-seen photos of President Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama, their kids, their dog and Team Obama.

Here's a sampling.

The first one shows President Obama, with Caroline Kennedy, looking under the desk in the Oval Office for the trap door that allowed young John Kennedy Jr. to peek out of their father's desk during the Kennedy administration. (Click the "Read more" line to open up many more photos and our video.)

100 days since Aretha's hat; How's the nation fared? Your chance to vote

 

Today is the 100th day since the nation experienced Aretha Franklin's huge hat.

Crime and drinking rates are back to normal. Crowds on the mall have dwindled. The Washington Nationals, an alleged major league baseball team, have lost five of the last six games. Numerous seniors have postponed retirement after reading their 401(k) statements.

Timothy Geithner, Kathleen Sebelius, Tom Daschle and Hilda Solis' husband are finally up-to-date on their taxes, which is nice and democratic. But automakers have tanked; Pontiac's been euthanized. And unemployment and the projected national debt have soared since she sang. Oh, and China's reaping immense interest income on its loans over here.

The pundits have all had their chance -- actually, several chances each, with more to come all day and after tonight's news conference -- to punditize on these 14+ whole weeks. So now it's your turn. Vote here and feel free to leave copious comments below. See how your feelings match others.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Bush refuses to criticize Obama, says 'essential' to help him; split with Cheney grows

A surprising split -- or perhaps a chasm -- appearing now between the former White House team of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, who seemed so solidly in sync for eight years.

After a previous interview with Politico.com, the ex-vice president was on CNN last weekend, again criticizing the new Barack Obama administration for what Cheney characterized as decisions that could seriously threaten American national security, including changes in terrorist interrogation policy and closing Guantanamo Bay. The former VP did say Bush should not be blamed for the economic meltdown.

But Cheney was also openly critical of the decision not to pardon his former chief of staff, Lewis Libby in the closing days of the Bush administration.

That decision, perhaps needless to say, was made by Cheney's boss, President Bush, who unexpectedly chose Cheney as his two-time running mate in 2000 after originally asking Cheney to lead the search for a VP partner. So the right-hand guy is letting the world know now his post-administration displeasure with the boss.

Since flying home to Texas after the Obama inauguration on Jan. 20, Bush has been totally silent, staying first on his Crawford ranch and then moving into a new house in the Preston Hollow section of north Dallas to begin work on a book and his presidential library at Southern Methodist University.

Tuesday in Calgary, the 43rd president gave the first of about a dozen paid speeches arranged so far by the Washington Speakers Bureau on his 2009 schedule. And here's what Bush told about 2,000 business persons about his successor, the 44th president:

"There are plenty of critics in the arena. He deserves my silence."

Bush said something else too:

"I love my country a lot more than I love politics. I think it is essential that he be helped in office."

Not exactly the Rush Limbaugh failure line of comment. Or the Dick Cheney tone. Bush also said if the new president wanted his help, "he's welcome to call me."

The former president received two standing ovations from the Canadian audience, which paid $3,100 per table for "A Conversation with George W. Bush."

Bush said he was pleased to make his maiden post-presidential speech in a place like Alberta, (named for a daughter of Queen Victoria), which is Canada's most conservative province and one with close and deep energy-economic ties to Texas.

Bush joked that he'd need more such engagements to pay for the house his wife, Laura, bought without him seeing it. "I actually paid for a house last fall," he told the crowd. "I think I'm the only American to have bought a house in the fall of 2008."

The ex-president seemed to enjoy himself in the question-and-answer session, saying he was prepared to stay all day. "I'm flattered people even want to hear me in the first place."

Bush also revealed the outlines of his book, which will be built around what he regards as his 12 toughest decisions. "I want people to understand what it was like to sit in the Oval Office," he said.

We have a brief video with pictures below. And Mark Silva has more details on the story over in the Swamp.

-- Andrew Malcolm

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Photo (top): Former President Bush talks with former Canadian Ambassador Frank McKenna in Calgary. Credit: Ewan Nicholson / tinePublic via Associated Press

Photo (bottom): Bush arrives for speech. Credit: Associated Press

Etta James throws Obama under her bus--also that Beyonce woman

Turns out, in addition to the Daschle problem and the Killefer problem and the Mr. Solis problem and the non-bipartisan partisan problem, President Barack Obama now has an Etta James problem.

And so does Beyonce.

Etta is not (underline that) happy with Obama and Beyonce for stealing her trademark song, "At Last" for the first dance during the recent inauguration celebration in Washington.

Our pals over at KTLA first broadcast the audio tape of Etta dissing Obama during a recent concert (See video below):

"You guys know your president, right?," James asks the crowd. "You know, the one with the big ears? Wait a minute, he ain't my president!"

She refers to Beyonce as "that woman he had singing for him, singing my song." James adds she "can't stand Beyonce," who, of course, played James in the movie, "Cadillac Records."

Etta also promises the crowd to do something violent to Beyonce's rear end. (Caution: Video contains juvenile language that may be offensive to someone somewhere but that's just too bad; they don't have to click the video then.)

--Andrew Malcolm

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Video courtesy of KTLA

The wondrous ways Obama's Washington works--and doesn't get it

The night in 1865 that John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln in downtown Washington not far off the recent inaugural parade route for the man who used the same red Bible for his 2009 presidential oath, Booth's co-conspirators fanned out across town to murder other Cabinet members. The Union targets included William Seward, later of Alaska Purchase fame.

Turns out the assassins couldn't find their victims because they weren't at home. To be more accurate, Seward and others weren't in their rooms. Their rented rooms. In a boarding house.

That's the way Washington used to be, a place where representatives of the people went to work temporarily before they returned back home to the states, districts and, most important, the people they represented. Somewhere along the way, things got turned around.

Once elected, the representatives moved to the Washington area (Republicans generally to Virginia, Democrats to Maryland), got home mortgages there and, most likely, sold their home back home. Unless they had so many they couldn't keep track.

They lived in Washington and became part of a bipartisan, permanent political aristocracy because they knew, even if they ever got unelected, they'd be staying on to work in the lucrative legal-lobby-association complex that permeates that onetime swamp that Maryland gave away as worthless for the federal capital. (See video report on Obama's TV interviews about the Daschle withdrawal below.)

Pretty soon, even well-meaning elected folks began to represent Washington during their home district visits, instead of the original way. It takes a very strong personality to resist the self-import that comes from living and working and socializing in the national seat of power.

The same applies to the media, whose elites thrive on the access and exposure there. And it is a heady experience to address the president and others as unelected representatives of their audiences. Once assigned there, you may notice, few rotate back out into the field where most Americans live.

And so the District of Columbia becomes a club, mainly a fraternity still, with all the rights and privileges assigned to membership thereto. This club has its own culture, protocol and....