The Face of the Obama Whitehouse / Anmial House?

I knew that the Obama campaign was being "manned" by a bunch of young northeast liberal kids or at best northeast liberal wannabes that couldn't afford the northeast education. And, I knew that this past election was more of a game for most of them than about political philosophy (i.e. I hate my parents and I am smater than them, blah, blah, blah).

However, it wasn't until I saw this Animal House picture of Jon Favreau, incoming Obama Whitehouse speech writer, in a blog post by Al Kamen on the washingtonpost.com website, that I realized that some of the immature kids may actually be influencing public policy.

I, like many of the 57 million Americans that voted for John McCain, have tremendous political policy differences with Hillary Clinton. However, very few of us would condone Mr. Favreau's actions. I think that it is time for Barrack to step in, "break this party up" and send all the kids home. I guess that if he doesn't , we all know where he stands. Maybe at the same party just outside the view of this picture?

The full text of Mr. Kamen's post is as follows:

Question No. 58 in the transition team vetting document for the Obama White House asks that applicants: "Please provide the URL address of any websites that feature you in either a personal or professional capacity (e.g. Facebook, My Space, etc.)"

Question No. 63 asks that applicants "please provide any other information ... that could ... be a possible source of embarrassment to you, your family, or the President-Elect."

For a while there this afternoon, President-elect Barack Obama's immensely talented chief speechwriter, 27-year-old Jon Favreau, might have been pondering how to address that question.

That's when some interesting photos of a recent party he attended -- including one where he's dancing with a life-sized cardboard cut-out of secretary of state-designate Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and another where he's placed his hand on the cardboard former first lady's chest while a friend is offering her lips a beer -- popped up on Facebook for about two hours. The photos were quickly taken down -- along with every other photo Favreau had of himself on the popular social networking site, save for one profile headshot.

Asked about the photos, Favreau, who was recently appointed director of speechwriting for the White House, declined comment. A transition official said that Favreau had "reached out to Senator Clinton to offer an apology."

Favreau is not the first campaign aide whose online presence has proved awkward. Last March, John McCain aide Soren Dayton forwarded an anti-Obama YouTube video to his private Twitter feed linking Obama with the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, leading to his suspension from the campaign. And in 2007, two bloggers hired by former North Carolina senator John Edwards stepped down after blog posts they had written before he hired them became a subject of controversy.

Favreau's case seems unlikely to be so dire; Clinton senior adviser Philippe Reines cast the photos as evidence of increased bonhomie between the formerly rival camps.

"Senator Clinton is pleased to learn of Jon's obvious interest in the State Department, and is currently reviewing his application," he said in an e-mail.