Obama Girl Gets No Lovin’ :(

ABC News’ Ferdous Al-Faruque and Lindsey Ellerson: As celebrities from Steven Spielberg to Mohammad Ali gathered close to Barack Obama to watch his inauguration, one person was missing in the President’s close circle: Obama Girl. Huddled with the masses on the national mall, Amber Ettinger a.k.a Obama Girl, was cheering on the new President from afar. The internet celebrity who danced away her support for Obama in provocative online videos says she got no special treatment to come watch the President swear into office. "Obviously we couldn’t get too close during his inauguration speech because there were just millions and millions of people here, but we got close enough," said Ettinger. "I’ll have to watch him up close and personal when I get home on the TV." Ettinger says she did not even get as much as a thank-you note from the Obama administration after the President’s historic election win. "I actually met his chief speech writer and I told him that I just wanted a little tiny tiny note and he said, ‘Yeah? Well I’ll probably be the one to write it,’ and I’m like, ‘Aw darn! That’s not cool. Whatever.’" Though the President gave her no recognition during Wednesday’s ceremony, other people on the mall spotted the famed Obama Girl. "All it takes is one person to recognize me, and then it causes like a whole crowd to surround and everyone gets really excited, which is totally awesome," she said. Amber Ettinger, aka Obama Girl (left), poses with a fan, Sham Afonja (right), at the Park Place Gourmet on Jan. 20, 2009.
Ferdous Al-Faruque/ ABC News Even as Ettinger was being interviewed for this article at the Park Place Gourmet, only two blocks from the White House, a fan from across the pond was having dinner at the next table. Sham Afonja, a 30-year-old tourist from England took a double take before he came up to her to tell her he was a fan. Afonja, who is of Nigerian decent, says he specifically came to D.C. to see Obama’s inauguration but got more than what he bargained for. Not only did he get to see Obama Girl he also got a lot closer to the President than she did. "I was only 20 yards away," he said. However, Ettinger says she never asked for special seating at the inauguration.  During the ceremony she danced with the crowds who gathered around her and was captured on video for another upcoming Obama Girl video. Ettinger said she never imagined her videos would gain such notoriety. "Obviously in a million years I did not think the videos I did was going to take off the way it did, and I’ve done about 30 or so videos for him already," she said. "I would be honored to be in his presence, just to say ‘Hi,’ I don’t even need to say anything else, that would make my year, my next 10 years, next 20 years!" Ettinger might just get her wish as President Obama ball hops to the different inaugural balls. "Tonight I’m actually going to the Hawaiian inaugural ball and hosting an Obama Girl after-party, so it’s been a crazy week. I haven’t slept too much but it’s all well worth it." When asked if Obama runs again for office in 2012, would she keep making Obama Girl videos, Ettinger said she wasn’t thinking that far ahead. "Now that he’s President, people still want more Obama Girl videos," she said. "So I’m definitely going to be doing them, I don’t know for how long. I guess for as long as people want them." As Obama walks into the Oval Office to face a broken economy, two wars and a tarnished international reputation, Ettinger gave her two cents on what she thinks the new President should tackle first. "By no means am I an economic expert but I know the economy needs a lot of help right now and that should probably be one of his first priorities, she said. "But he has a lot of cleaning up to do, so I wish him the best and I know he’s going to do an amazing job."