The White House has disclosed the president's financial situation, which has not really changed since the campaign. Short story: He's made a ton of money off of his books. But there were three pretty funny disclosures in the document [PDF]:
- The Nobel Prize: The president gave away the $1.4 million in prize money, but he kept the tchotckes: "Noble medal and diploma (Value not readily ascertainable)."
- Is Bo a liquid asset? However, there was no problem ascertaining the value of Bo, the Obama family's Portuguese water dog, a gift from the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and his wife Victoria. Bo is valued at $1,600.
- Michelle gets paid. Perhaps the strangest note is this bequest, the "Henry G. Freeman Jr. Pin Money Fund":
Mr. Henry G. Freeman Jr. died in 1917. ... Mr. Freeman's will provided that ... certain charitable income interests would be created and an annuity of $12,000 per year would be paid to each First Lady during her husband's term as president.
Apparently, Freeman was looking for a roundabout way to increase the salary of the president, whom he felt was paid a "miserable pittance." Barbara Bush was the first first-lady to receive the payment after a court battle around the fund, which became active in 1989. Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush also accepted the payments, and donated them to charity.
Aspiring First Dudes shouldn't worry: It looks like the fund isn't picky about the gender or even marital status of the first partner, assigning the annuity "to the lady termed the first lady in the land; that is, the President of the United States [sic] wife, or anyone representing the president as such, should he not be married or should she die during his administration."
-- Tim Fernholz
