A reader in New Hampshire referred me to a story in The New York Times, published December 12, 2008, explaining why President-elect Obama and his family could not use the Blair House starting in early January. The story says, "The Obamas were told that they could move into Blair House on Jan. 15, but no earlier, because it is booked, an Obama transition official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. 'We explored the idea so that the girls could start school on schedule,' the official said. 'But there were previously scheduled events and guests that couldn’t be displaced.'"
"White House officials declined to disclose specifically who is using Blair House during that period, for what purpose or how they could take precedence over the president-elect of the United States when it came to government housing; one White House official would say only that it had been booked for 'receptions and gatherings' by members of the departing Bush administration. Those receptions, the official said, 'don’t make it suitable for full-time occupancy by the Obamas yet.'"
