Of course there was bound to some scandal as our dashing President-Elect assembled his White House dream team. This morning, as Barack Obama named the equally dashing Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State, her husband (and our 42nd President) was MIA. But in all fairness, his absence was announced nearly an hour in advance of his wife's nomination, and he already vouched for her well before. Whether he was missing because he had gone through this whole dog-and-pony show before, or because he was out shopping for a marked-down recession-friendly Christmas gift remains to be seen.

DC has a lot of balls -- when President-Elect Barack Obama gets sworn into office on January 20, the town will host more inaugural balls than ever before. Since election day, planners have been scrambling for space and wrangling talent. Meanwhile, Beltway Bandits (local business owners, not the politicians) are welcoming visitors with outrageous price gouging. Want to rent a hotel conference room for a bash? One day it's $20,000, the next it's $40,000. "Everyone knows that people are getting desperate," one event planner says. "And because the economy's so bad, the events industry has been hit very, very hard. The inaugural is kind of the one shot the events industry has to help make up for December and what we think will be a bad spring."

Here's Prince Charles defiantly abandoning his trad bespoke suits for something a little more exotically bucolic. What is this, you ask? More importantly, why would he wear this, unless he's taking a shift the poppy fields? Turns out Charles was reaching out with some sartorial goodwill to a foreign nation, just like Obama going native in Kenya with a turban, Clinton in an African Jesus robe, and Bush in Chinese silks or a Chilean Pancho. Believe it, after the jump.

Now's your chance to take a shower with President-Elect Barack Obama. The Washington Post spotted this creepy version of soap on a rope offered by Dugshop. The 10.5-ounce chunk of purple-headed Obama looks amusingly distorted or horrifyingly offensive, depending on your political sensitivities. "He smells like a breath of fresh air, because, well, he is a breath of fresh air!" Naturally, 33% of all profits go to Habitat for Humanity. Oh, and it's vegan-friendly.

Revered for roles both fantastic and deplorable -- like this one and this one -- Alan Cumming found himself inspired by our President-Elect. The thesp used Barack Obama's victory as a catalyst to get sworn in as an American citizen. Of course, the move also facilitates playing house with his husband of almost two years on both sides of the Atlantic. And in preparation for a premature apocalypse, while many of us were entertaining relocations to Canada, Spain, or perhaps Saadiyat Island, Cumming was spoiled for choice, adding, "If McCain and Palin had won, I may have stayed in bed."

You may recall yesterday's news that a suit named after Barack Obama, manufactured in Bosnia, has been flying off the racks in Eastern Europe. Here, for the first time in the entire universe (except for Eastern Europe) is a glimpse of Borac's "Obama" suit, worn by a pair of appropriately grim, stern, yet somehow hopeful male models, plus a woman thrown in there as an accessory. Shouldn't she be wearing the Obama boots? Pics plus full press release after the jump.

Now that Barack's been elected to office, not only does he not have to pay for food anymore, but he can order whatever he wants, whenever he wants it, and deploy an armored motorcade to pick it up. Such is the gastronomical gift bestowed upon the most powerful man in the world. There are already rumors that President-Elect Obama will starve Oprah by stealing her preferred chef, Art Smith, and bringing him along to the White House. But a mere one man will not be able to satisfy Obama's presidential cravings, and since he can longer casually slip into his favorite spots for some pancakes, he'll be sending Secret Service agents to restaurants across the country to pick up his favorite grub. Here's a rundown of some of the spots that Obama might order takeout from on a late night of saving the planet.

The doodle Barack Obama sketched during a Senate session that sold last year for $2,000 was analyzed this morning by an expert on MSNBC. Like a kid bored in class, Obama drew a scene from the Senate floor depicting senators Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, Dianne Feinstein, and Teddy Kennedy. "It's consistent with his handwriting," said a handwriting and art analyst. "He fills up the whole space which shows a need for attention. It also shows that he's flexible, very analytical and very private. He also has an inflated ego, which you probably need if you want to be President." The strike through the "O" shows his ambivalence towards his name, she added. Finally, the two figures facing left and two facing front may be a subliminal nod to his left-centrist politics.

Measures are already being taken to ensure that people won't be duped into fake and/or scalped inauguration tickets. Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) is busy creating a bill that would make it a federal crime to sell the tickets, and has already contacted officials at eBay and Craigslist to ask them to not support the selling of scalped tickets, which are rumored to already be pricing upwards of $40,000 a pop. (It's only a matter of time before counterfeiters get in on the game as well.)

It’s no secret that the Obama family is hugely influential when it comes to fashion. From propelling relatively unknown designers into superstardom (as Michelle has done with Chicago-based Maria Pinto), to selling out special occasion frocks as a result of having been photographed sporting them (as is the case with Sasha and Malia Obama’s election dresses), to having boots named after them, the First family-Elect’s selling power is unlike any this country has ever seen. Forget VIP sample sales and editorial coverage in high-profile fashion rags; land your garment on a member of this handsome foursome, and you’re as good as CFDA-approved. Better yet, simply name a collection after the family, and you’re likely to move frocks faster than you can say, "Yes we can." Such is the case with a Bosnian clothing concern coincidentally named "Borac."