Obama family good for D.C. tourism

It seems to me that President Obama's move to D.C. has kept the Washington D.C. tourism market buzzing at least moderately successfully. I couldn't even walk around the street during his inauguration week with all of the people coming in to celebrate the historic day. Though things have died down a bit since that January week, I still have seen the effect Obama has had on the tourism market remain strong. Like I have mentioned before, the tour of the White House is now the hottest ticket in town and even though it is essentially the same tour as it was during former President Bush's years in office, people still think it has transformed into something more magical solely because President Obama has taken over. Rationally that does not make much sense to me or my colleagues, but if that is what it takes to get people to D.C. that otherwise would not come, then that is something I feel I can live with. When the President showed up at the Wizards game against the Bulls, for the first time all year I saw the major sports networks covering the Wizards and the Verizon Center as a place to be. Despite the lack of turnout to the games recently, there was an initial surge after Obama visited the team and in a down year like this, the Wizards could use everything they can get. Overall, I see Obama as having an effect on the tourism market that may or may not last, but what it is doing right now is getting people reinterested in the nation's capitol as a place to be.