Being the president certainly has its perks

President-elect Barack Obama is officially entering the office on Tuesday and I for one am a bit excited that we’re starting a new page in our history.

However, I’m a bit envious at all the presidential perks our new commander in chief will be receiving. Sure he only makes $250,000 a year, but he gets to do a lot of cool things.

Here are some facts on the White House, courtesy of the White House Web site.

According to the site, there are 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms (comes in handy on chili night) and 412 doors (try shutting them simultaneously).

Also, there are 147 windows (perfect for mooning the press), 28 fireplaces (27 of them installed post-Nixon), eight staircases and three elevators.

If that’s not enough, the White House also has five full-time chefs and their kitchen can serve dinner to as many as 140 guests and hors d’oeuvers to more than 1,000. That last part always gets me.

Of course being the leader of the free world is not easy and can be a stressful task.

The site says the White House has many facilities, including a tennis court, jogging track, swimming pool (MARCO!), movie theater (Shhh!) and a bowling alley.

Of course, several reports suggest Obama is replacing the alley and putting in his own basketball court.

Being the president means not having to wait three hours to have your luggage screened at the airport.
The new president gets his own airplane, or as you might know it, Air Force One. The new president gets to ride in style.

According to HowStuffWorks.com, the plane can carry 70 passengers and 26 crew members.

There are conference rooms, bathrooms, offices and workout rooms in the plane.

Another cool feature is that the plane can refuel in-flight.

Now the Obama family might vacation in Hawaii from time to time.

However, if the Obama’s don’t want to fly cross-country, they can always retreat to Camp David.

According to Answers.com, the camp has 150 forested acres, protected by a ring of three fences and Marine guard patrols.

Boredom does hit Camp David, so there is a heated pool, skeet range, tennis courts and a horseshoe pit. Sadly, there is no Xbox 360.

Let’s not forget that with all of these perks comes responsibility for the country. The new president certainly has a lot on his shoulders. Just use the perks responsibly.