I know what you've been thinking. Sure, America is engaged in two wars, is in the beginning stages of the worst economic downturn in a quarter century, and has a bloated government that is perhaps impervious to reform. But you have your eye on the real prize. You've been wondering, along with several hundred other people, how Obama's victory will change the Beltway social scene:
At weekend soccer games, parents wonder aloud which of the city's exclusive private schools might win the presidential sweepstakes by enrolling Malia and Sasha. (The Obamas could, of course, go the Jimmy Carter route and enroll their daughters in public school; Michelle Obama has said privately that she did not intend to make a decision about school until after the election.)
At the Westmoreland Congregational United Church of Christ, the Rev. Robert Maddox Jr., a onetime Carter adviser, has already sent a letter inviting the Obamas to join. "We've gotten word from the grapevine that they will not decide where they go to church until they get in and settled a bit," he said. "But they will obviously be looking for a place where their girls can be involved."
This city has had eight years of a president who goes to bed at 9 p.m.; Laura Bush, the first lady, once said that she and Mr. Bush did not come to Washington to make new friends. A big night out on the town for the Bushes is dinner at Karl Rove's house. With the Obamas, the capital's hostesses are hoping to get back into high gear.
Good to know that at least some of us have our priorities straight.
