The President-Elect, Talking Turkey

The soon-to-be-first family passes out food in Chicago (recipes from the Kitchen Cabinet available on request). (Pool Photo By Frank Polich Via Getty Images)

Barack Obama: (Laughs).

At yesterday's news conference, the president-elect discussed his shopping plans in response to a query from the New York Daily News's Tom DeFrank. "Well, we are going to do some Christmas shopping," he said. "And Malia and Sasha have already put their list together. It's mostly for Santa. They send their letter every year. But -- but we may do some extra shopping as well."

At Tuesday's news conference in Chicago, Obama found himself discussing a reporter's headgear:

Obama: "I didn't recognize you because you don't have the floppy hat that you had during the campaign."

Reporter (picking up hat): "I actually do."

Obama: "There it is. Man, that's what I'm talking about."

The overexposure of the president-elect seems designed to reinforce two points. First: He plans to hit the ground running. "We need people who are going to be able to hit the ground running," he said yesterday. This was the same wording he used on Tuesday, his strategist David Axelrod used Monday, his adviser Valerie Jarrett used on Nov. 12, his transition chief John Podesta used on Nov. 11, and Obama used back on Nov. 8.

Second point: that "there is only one president at a time," as Obama put it yesterday. And Tuesday. And Nov. 18. And Nov. 8. And Nov. 7. Axelrod, Goolsbee and Jarrett have dutifully echoed the point on the airwaves.

That's technically true -- but the actual president seems to have no interest in making news of any sort. Yesterday, he ventured into the Rose Garden to deliver the news that he was pardoning two turkeys, Pumpkin and Pecan. "Pumpkin and Pecan have an exciting trip ahead of them: Later today, they will fly to Disneyland aboard 'Turkey One,' " the commander in chief announced, before turning wistful. "This is my final Thanksgiving as the president. Over the past eight years, I have been given many reasons to be thankful."

With that act to follow, Obama can't be surprised that people are treating him as if he's already the president. At yesterday's session in Chicago, CNN's Ed Henry gave him the business, demanding to know why he had tapped so many former Clinton aides and even a Bush man, the Pentagon's Robert Gates.

"Paul Volcker has been around a long time," Henry pointed out. "You talked about [how] John McCain was going to come back to Washington if he won and would just move people into different chairs. We got Tom Daschle, Hillary Clinton, Bob Gates --"

Henry didn't even get to mention Rahm Emanuel, John Podesta, Greg Craig, Ron Klain, Eric Holder, Bill Richardson and the rest before Obama cut him off.

"First of all, that's not the topic," Obama instructed Henry. "We're not talking about my Cabinet, because I haven't made those appointments yet."

And besides, the 81-year-old Volcker, who spent a quarter-century in the federal government, "hasn't been in Washington for quite some time," the president-elect added.

Plus, he cooks a mean turkey.