Obama says he loves the first lady's bangs

WASHINGTON — President Obama thanked supporters and even offered his appraisal of his wife's new haircut at an inauguration eve gala on Sunday, but he wasn't offering much of a preview of what he might say during his inaugural address.

"I am delivering another speech tomorrow, so tonight I'm going to be pretty brief," Obama said. "There are a limited amount of good lines, and you don't want to use them all up tonight."

The president and Vice President Biden were officially sworn in early Sunday —the Constitution calls for the president and vice president to be sworn in on Jan. 20 — but Obama will deliver his big speech on the steps of the Capitol on Monday morning.

On Sunday, his remarks were mostly light and breezy. He thanked the National Building Museum for hosting Sunday night's event, noting that partygoers at Andrew Jackson's inauguration broke thousands of dollars' worth of White House China.

He also didn't pass up the opportunity to compliment first lady Michelle Obama's new hairdo.

"To address the most significant event of the weekend, I love her bangs," Obama said. "She looks good. She always looks good."

Obama also heaped praise on Biden. While Biden has made headlines with occasional gaffes, the president has also leaned on him to develop and carry out some of the most important policies of his first term — including ending the Iraq War and negotiating with Republicans to extend lower tax rates for middle-class Americans.

"As president, you make a lot of important decisions, probably the most (important) decision is who is going to be your partner during the course of your presidency," Obama said. "There have some decisions I got right and some decisions that folks might question -- but one decision I know was absolutely correct, absolutely spot on, was my choice of vice president."

The president also told revelers that the quadrennial event of the Presidential Inauguration is not just about celebrating the swearing-in of a president.

"What we are doing is celebrating each other and this incredible nation that we call home," Obama said. "And after we celebrate, let's make sure to work as hard as we can to pass on an America that is worthy of not just our past but also our future."