Opinion: First-day visitors to Obama’s new house get a cookie

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While the new president was busy on his first day in the Oval Office, retaking his oath just to be on the safe side, signing papers, freezing salaries and issuing new rules on lobbying, tourists were allowed back on Pennsylvania Avenue again. Though vehicles remain banned.

But since it’s going to take weeks to disassemble the presidential reviewing stand, they’re gonna have to put up with a steel-mesh fence and an obstructed view of the famous residence for a while. That didn’t faze Lea Kehl, Joseph Bondils and Alex Oberson, who were still over-excited about witnessing Tuesday’s historic inauguration in person, if you count being out of sight of the event as witnessing.

The Rev. Adrenne Siesta Hill was one of the lucky ones who got an e-mailed ticket to actually tour the White House on the Obamas’ first full day as residents. She too was excited and, like all first-day visitors, got a free White House cookie, which will no doubt go stale over the years as a special souvenir.

-- Mary Forgione

Speaking of special treats, we have many in our free coverage of the Obama inauguration and the new administration on The Ticket. Register here for cellphone alerts on each new item. RSS feeds are also available here. And we’re now on Amazon’s Kindle as well.

Photo credits: Mary Forgione / Los Angeles Times