the buzz log

Last night, in his first speech as president-elect of the United States, Barack Obama thanked his supporters and acknowledged the tough road ahead. With him, both onstage and in spirit, was his family. Searchers and bloggers looked for more on the successful candidate's brothers and sisters around the world as well as the future first daughters' reward for sticking by their dad: a new (and presumably cute) puppy.

Who are Obama's brothers and sisters?
During Obama's acceptance speech, he referenced and thanked all his brothers and sisters. Almost immediately, searches soared on "obama family" and "obama sisters." Most folks already knew that Maya Soetoro-Ng was a half sister (she spoke at the 2008 Democratic National Convention). Here's a brief rundown of the others who can now brag about a brother headed for the White House: Malik Obama, Barack's half brother living in Kenya, spiked 241%. Auma Obama, a half sister, tripled her search count. Mark Ndesandjo, another half brother, saw his searches more than double. Half sister Zeituni Onyango stayed relatively steady in search. Soetoro-Ng, a teacher from Hawaii, posted the biggest gains, soaring 6,680%.

OMG! Obama's daughters are getting a puppy!
Of all the campaign promises, here's the one Sasha and Malia are hoping their dad doesn't have to break. During his speech, Obama said his daughters "have earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House." The new president-elect didn't get into specifics about the dog breed or name (may we suggest Buzzy?), but various news outlets, including Time, still picked up on the feel-good story. The puppy will follow a long line of canine residents in the White House, including Barney Bush, Buddy Clinton, and Checkers Nixon.

Almost like family...
He's not related to Barack Obama, but one can assume that campaign manager David Plouffe has spent more time with the Obamas than he has with his own relatives. Obama thanked Plouffe during his speech, and searchers responded. Queries on "david plouffe," "david plouffe bio," and "david plouffe campaign manager" all surged. Even a couple of not-even-close misspellings ("david plough" and "david pluff") posted huge gains. Should Plouffe be offered a high-profile role in the Obama White House, expect those misspellings to quickly fade away.