Jan 22, 2009

Rocky start for disorganized Obama press office

Did Obama hire a bunch of amateurs off the street or did he bring in unqualified cronies?

Disorderly is an understatement to describe the White House press office, where phones are not working and staff names are misspelled on their office doors and desks.

Misspelled name cards, re-programmed phones, mounds of paperwork and general confusion ruled the day as President Obama's press aides gamely navigated their first day on the job Wednesday.

Deputy Press Secretary Jen Psaki's name was spelled Jan' (she joked it read as Yan). Tommy Vietor's name came out Tommy Yietor. And Ben LaBolt was transformed to Ben Lebolt.

Things were so chaotic the first full schedule of the president's activities didn't come out until 12:05 p.m.

There was no briefing from Obama's press secretary Robert Gibbs (pictured).

That won't happen until the phones and computers are up and running.

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