Hope you didn't stand in the freezing cold on Tuesday to witness Barack Obama place his hand on the Lincoln Bible and take the oath of office. Thanks to Chief Justice John Roberts' inability to get the 35 words right the first time around, Obama retook the oath at 7:35pm this evening. Right-wing crackpots will undoubtedly be disappointed by Obama's "abundance of caution," although if you were one of the people who was bummed to see Obama don a red tie to take the oath on Tuesday instead of a blue one, well, you now have the photo you were hoping for. [NYDN, NYT]

Carol Bartz may have replaced Yahoo founder Jerry Yang as the troubled Web giant's CEO. But he's still on the payroll and the board of directors. And Yahoo could use help. Just not from him!

Yes, Barack Obama will get a BlackBerry — after some government spook agency puts in an ungodly amount of encryption (and maybe some back doors so they can listen in).

• Jason Wu's reaction to the news Michelle Obama was wearing his white chiffon gown to the inaugural balls? "I just dropped everything and jumped up and down and screamed." [MSNBC, WSJ]
• Simon Doonan was so overjoyed by Michelle's pick of Isabel Toledo yesterday that he "tore down the normal Barneys windows on Madison and put up celebratory Isabel Toledo window installations instead." [Fashionista]
• Best Wu-related fashion headline of the day: "Jason Who?" [NYO]
• Barack Obama may have worn a bullet-resistant suit to the inaugural parade yesterday, in case you were wondering. [NYM]
• Michelle donned a Tracy Feith dress to today's official prayer service. [WWD]
• The official Fashion Week lineup features 73 names, down from more than 80 in September. Also: Kelly Cutrone is discounting prices for designers. [WSJ]
• Sales at Coach are down and the chain's scaling back expansion plans. [AP]
• Are scrunchies making a comeback? [Pipeline]

Our new president loves transparency and freedom. But he also likes controlling and manipulating the press. That's why a traditionally insidery set of White House reporters' notes is becoming a public controversy.

Tuesday's inaugural festivities were as close to a must-see civic event as our nation as seen in almost 30 years. At least until American Idol came along later Tuesday night.

White America is under siege! In like 40 years they'll be a minority (though still with the majority of the money probably) but they are already being oppressed!

We were just talking about how everyone is grossly focused on the First Couple's sex life. Here's why it's no good: You might say terrible, terrible things that can never be taken back.

We'll excuse you if you forgot that the Sundance Film Festival is taking place right now. Whether it's because of the recession or those scene-stealers in Washington who've been hogging the spotlight this week, this year's fest will likely go down as one of the most low-profile in recent memory. The first batch of events this past weekend turned out to be a disappointment to celeb spotters (unless you count the occasional glimpse of people like Denise Richards and Ron Jeremy, that is). And the situation didn't improve yesterday when Park City turned into a ghost town as important people jumped on jets to head to Washington and the less fortunate had to make do with watching the historic event on TV. (Pity the photogs: The dearth of A-listers, reports VF, sent "errant packs of TMZ reporters scrambling for a celebrity sighting that was nowhere to be had.")

John McCain was indeed right. Barack Obama, our glorious just-out-of-the-box new president, is nothing more than a common celebrity. Just look at today's famous person gossip rags.

President Barack Obama made a phone call in the president's official office, before leaving to spend the rest of the day doing more "traditional" time-wasting nonsense.

• The broadcast of yesterday's inauguration earned the highest ratings since Reagan took the oath in 1981. Early numbers from Nielsen indicate 29% of US households tuned in. That figure doesn't factor in the people who viewed it online, and the big event in DC yesterday set web traffic records, too. [THR, NYT]
• The Wall Street Journal received a dozen envelopes filled with a mysterious white powder today. [WSJ]
• Maria Bartiromo has signed a new contract with CNBC. [NYP]
• Newsday editor John Mancini has returned to work following a dispute with the paper's owner, Cablevision's Jim Dolan. [Newsday, E&P]
• Clear Channel is laying off 9% of its work force. [AdAge]
• People pushed back its Tuesday afternoon deadline to Wednesday so it could publish a special double issue with Obama on the cover. [WWD]
• North Korea's news agency didn't bother to report the inauguration until late yesterday afternoon. The article was three sentences long. [FB]

Barack Obama's first actual act as president did not disappoint! (He will save disappointment for his next hundred officials acts, obv.) He suspended all the Guantanamo circus "trials"!

All of the celebrities descended on Washington DC for yesterday's presidential ceremonies, in which former President Bush was pushed into the Potomac on an ice floe, never to be seen again. Read the dish!

File this under things you didn't wake up this morning needing to know. Julie Imperiali, Nicolas Sarkozy's personal trainer, says she was hired by Carla Bruni last year to help the French president shed weight and improve his sexual stamina. The workout plan focuses "on the perinea muscles at the bottom of the pelvis," a regimen that addresses "problems of premature ejaculation." Glad to hear Sarkozy is getting the therapy needed to keep Carla a very happy first lady. And at least Michelle now knows who to contact if Barack's new job starts interferring with his performance in the White House's master bedroom. [NYP]

Society chronicler David Patrick Columbia can't quite put his finger on it. Something is clearly different about Barack Obama. But what is it? He's just not sure! "I don't know if it's me, but he doesn't look like any other Presidents in memory. First of all he looks like a kid (although a mature one). That's probably because he's wiry. And he looks more like a college lecturer than a man who’s been wheeling and dealing among the wheelers and dealers of backroom politics." Yea, and he's also black. Try saying it aloud a few times. You'll get the hang of it eventually! [NYSD]

Forget the pundits, wonks, blowhard analysts and media commentators: In order to get some real insight into our new political era and what it may bring, let's consider the constellations of planets millions of miles from earth! Indian astrologer Bejan Daruwala, for example, predicts that Barack Obama, who is a Leo—he was born on August 4th, a birthday he shares with these people—will usher in peace and prosperity, and restore America's reputation with foreign nations.

You'd be hard-pressed to travel anywhere in the world today, pick up a random newspaper, and not see Barack Obama on the front page.

A clip of Barack Obama's first trip aboard Air Force One is online. (He took the flight before he was inaugurated yesterday, though, which is why you'll hear him described as "president-elect.") What will you learn about the most powerful man in the world if you spend two minutes watching the video? That he likes his burgers cooked medium-well, topped with cheddar cheese, Dijon mustard, lettuce, and tomato, and accompanied by French fries. When Obama puts on 30 pounds during the first few months of his presidency, now you'll know why. [AHT]

The inaugural celebrations came in waves last night — Commander-in-Chief's Ball, Youth Ball, Neighborhood Ball, Southern States Ball, Western States, and on — but the new president stayed in high spirits.