THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2008
NEWS
5A
HOLIDAYS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
'Red, White and Blue' chosen for White House Christmas theme
BY DONNA CASSATA ASSOCIATED PRESS
A fife and drum corps add color to a white chocolate replica of the White House, on display in the State Dining Room of the White House, in Washington, Wednesday
WASHINGTON — In the spirit of a tough economy, holiday decorations from Christmastimes past are adoring the White House this Christmas.
First lady Laura Bush talked to reporters Wednesday about
the holiday choices for a "A Red, White and Blue Christmas" during a sneak peek of a decked-out White House, including the official White House Christmas tree 108 feet.
old decorations."
“This year, we're going to be very,very careful at Chirstmas. I suspect that a lot of other American families will be the same."
Fraser fir from Crumpler, N.C., that brushed the Blue Room ceiling — and an extensive menu from artisanal cheeses to cheesy stoneground grits to coconut cake.
In another example of frugal planning, Laura Bush said the first couple would be spending their
She also said the lights on the trees in the White House have low-energy LED bulbs, and she encouraged Americans to use them when their holiday lights wear out to save energy.
"I've gotten letters from people since, really, right after Sept. 11 that suggested we have a red, white and blue Christmas," Laura Bush told reporters gathered in the East Room. "It gave us a chance to reuse a lot of red ornaments, because we had a lot of those, of course. We brought back some other decorations from Christmases past, just like everyone does, goes through their attic and comes up with their
More than 60,000 visitors are expected to visit the White House for tours, with 25 holiday receptions and seven dinners planned.
While the official tree holds 369 decorations from artists around the country, the various fir trees scattered throughout the White House have red and blue ornaments from years past. In the ground floor corridor, the White House brought back miniature reproductions of presidents' homes, including those of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, which appeared in December 2001.
Christmas money on Texas real estate for what she referred to as the "after-life" — the time when they leave the White House in January after her husband's eight years in office. The con-
LAURA BUSH
First lady
"This year, we're going to be very, very careful at Christmas. I suspect that a lot of other American families will be the same," Laura Bush said. "We're going to try to be with each other, to have what really, really matters at the holidays, which is your family and friends around you, to be thankful for our blessings. ... But also ... we will be moving to Dallas in January. And there might be a new house coming along. So I think that's where we'll spend our Christmas money, right at the real estate time."
A wistful first lady spoke at length about a few of her favorite things in the White House, from a dedicated staff to the historical art and furniture to what awaits the next first family, Barack and Michelle Obama and their two daughters.
ple will be buying a house in Dallas, with plans to spend weekends at their ranch in Crawford.
Sally McDonough, the first lady's press secretary, said the first couple don't have occupancy of the Dallas property vet.
a tour of the White House before the Bushes moved in January 2001. Clinton pointed to the window in the first lady's dressing room that provides a view of not only the Rose Garden but the Oval Office, a tip that another first lady, Barbara Bush, had given her.
Laura Bush said she mentioned the window to Michelle Obama, and "I told her she could tell that to the next person that followed her. So I think there's a great tradition of transition in the United States."
When the Obamas visited in November, shortly after the election, President George W. Bush showed Barack Obama the closets and bathroom, and the two "rushed upstairs to look at the gym," Laura Bush said. Bush bikes nearly every
In the weeks leading up to the holiday, the Bushes will host almost daily parties with some 22,000 holiday cookies, 600 pounds of asparagus and 700 gallons of eggnog.
weekend; Obama works out on a daily basis and plains basketball.
The menu ranges from lobster salad with fresh cucumber, radishes and chicory to herb-crusted lamb chops with madeira sauce. Desserts include brioche bread pudding and chocolate gingerbread cake with chocolate glaze.
A replica of the White House's North Portico created with 125 pounds of gingerbread and more than 350 pounds of white chocolate is for looking, not tasting. And in a touch of spring, dozens of red tulips filled gold urns on the mantels.
First lady Laura Bush describes the theme for this year's holiday season." A Red, White And Blue Christmas," Wednesday during a media preview at the White House in Washington.
J. Scott Applewhite/ASSOCIATED PRESS
ECONOMY
Stock market closes up 2 percent Wed. after fluctuations
BY JOE BEL BRUNO ASSOCIATED PRESS
NEW YORK—Wall Street withstood another stream of bad economic readings Wednesday.
Thursday and the government's employment report due Friday. Wall Street has been locked for months in a pattern of surging higher only to fall sharply on negative news about the economy and
Earlier, the Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, said the nation's services sector contracted dramatically in November as slower spending hurt insurers, retailers and hotels. And the Labor Department reported that productivity growth slowed in the third quarter.
The Fed's report, known as the beige book, said the country's economic picture has deteriorated, with Americans hunkered down heading into the holidays. The report suggests the economy was sinking deeper into recession.
The market, which also fluctuated sharply on Tuesday before closing higher, has now advanced in seven of the last eight sessions. The winning streak was broken only by Monday's big decline that took the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 680 points; even with that plunge, the blue chips still have an advance of nearly 1,040 over the eight-day stretch.
higher after investors shuttled between pessimism about the recession and hopes that the nation might start seeing relief soon. The major indexes saw big swings through the day, but all closed up more than 2 percent, giving the market its second straight advance
"The market is beginning to look forward, and a lot of the selling pressure appears to be abating. Perhaps some of the hedge funds are becoming less aggressive in selling, and investors are starting to look at the future."
PETER CARDILLO Market economist
Still, stocks are expected to see more volatility as the week progresses, especially with November retail sales figures being released
The day's downbeat news included a drop in productivity, a pullback in the services sector and the Federal Reserve's finding of worsening economic conditions across the country. Investors were initially disheartened by each piece of news but soon shook off their disappointment — until the next dismal report was issued.
Analysts largely believe that much of the bad news is already priced into the market, and they again said stocks remain in a bottoming process after the huge declines of the past two months.
"The market is beginning to look forward, and a lot of the selling pressure appears to be abating," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners. "Perhaps some of the hedge funds are becoming less aggressive in selling, and investors are starting to look at the future."
the financial services sector.
On Wednesday, the Institute for Supply Management said its services sector index fell to 37.3 in November from 44.4 in October. The reading was significantly lower than the 42 the market expected.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that productivity rose at an annual rate of 1.3 percent in the July-September quarter. That's down from the 3.6 percent growth rate in the second quarter, but slightly higher than the 1.1 percent initially reported a month ago and better than the 0.9 percent rise economists expected.
Broader
The Dow rose 172.60,or 2.05 percent, to 8,591.69. The blue chip index has gained more than 442 points in the past two session,wipping out more than half of Monday's slide.
indexes also closed higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 21.93, or 2.58 percent, to 870.74, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 42.58, or 2.94 percent, to 1,492.38.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 6.01 billion shares, up from 5.79 billion on Tuesday.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 11.94, or 2.70 percent, to 453.76.
While the market's recent advances are no doubt encouraging, analysts largely expect the turbulence to continue well into the future as Wall Street works to emerge from a bear market.
"I think these pops are not fundamentally driven," said Jeff Buetow, senior portfolio manager at Portfolio Management Consultants. "I think it's wishful thinking. I don't see any sustainable up move in the equity markets."
And, there are certainly headwinds confronting investors this week. Of particular concern is the nation's unemployment rate, which soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut. For November, job losses are expected to climb to 320,000 and the unemployment rate is expected to hit 6.8 percent when the Labor Department reports figures Friday, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.