First Family leaves Barack Obama behind on Presidents Day weekend
Elspeth Lodge February 22, 2011 – 4:26 pm
REUTERS/Larry Downing
Michelle and the rest of the Obama family took a vacation, leaving Barack behind to work out the country’s problems. At least he had Bo, the dog, to keep him company.
Michelle Obama and her two daughters, Sasha and Malia, took a weekend ski trip to Vail, Colorado, leaving President Barack Obama behind in the Oval Office, reports The Washington Post. It was an odd time for the Obama family to take-off without Barack, given it was Presidents Day Weekend.
“The First Lady and the Obama daughters are on a private family trip to Colorado,” Michelle Obama’s spokeswoman, Katie McCormick-Lelyveld, confirmed in an email to The Washington Post. “The First Lady and several close family friends are chaperoning their children on a ski trip. Personal expenses are being paid for by the Obamas.”
They stayed at the Sebastian Hotel and requested early morning wake-up calls every day, so that they could take full advantage of the slopes. They spent 5-7 hours in the snow each day, reports ET.
The Washington Post reports that this is not the first time Michelle has flown away with the children to vacation destinations. In July, the first lady took 9-year-old Sasha to Spain, while Malia was at summer camp and the President was back at the White House. In June 2009 Michelle took the girls together to London and Par, again leaving the president behind.
Fortunately, the next planned excursion is a business trip for the President, he and Michelle will go to London in late May, an official state visit.
Posted in: Posted, U.S. Tags: Air Force Two, Barack Obama, Colorado, Kelly Liken, Michelle Obama, Oval Office, Vail Colorado, Washington Post
President becomes ‘Coach Obama’ for daughter’s basketball team
Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama plays basketball with kids.
Elspeth Lodge February 21, 2011 – 11:25 am
President Barack Obama holds the impressive titles of “president” and “dad” and now he can add “coach” to his glowing resume, reports the Washington Post.
Saturday morning the president left the oval office pressure cooker and stepped onto the basketball court to fill in for the absent coach of his daughter Sasha’s basketball team. Even though his daughters and the first lady took were in Colorado on a skiing trip, the president decided he was needed, and stepped in to fill the coach’s shoes. If he couldn’t fix the country’s problems in one morning at least he could paint smiles on the faces of a group of nine-year-olds.
The game was held at a community centre in Chevy Chase, Maryland, where the president and the first lady often go Saturday mornings to watch Sasha play basketball. Reports say this was the first time the president has filled in for the team’s coach. Reporters are banned from going inside the community centre, so no word on how successful his coaching methods were. But a man with a whole country’s welfare on his shoulders should be able to handle a group of nine-year-olds….right?
Alex Wong/Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama holds a basketball as he walks toward the Oval Office, Jul. 27, 2009.
The president is a big fan of basketball and often practices with his family and friends, including aide and former Duke basketball star Reggie Love, reports the Herald Sun.
Last November, Obama took an elbow to the presidential upper lip during a game and required 12 stitches.
Obama’s brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, is a star basketball player at Princeton University, and, currently, head coach at Oregon State University reports the Herald Sun.
Posted in: Posted, U.S. Tags: Barack Obama, basketball, Craig Robinson, Herald Sun, Princeton University, Reggie Love, Sasha Obama, United States, Washington Post
Sasha Obama greets China’s president to practice her Chinese
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 19: (AFP OUT) Sasha Obama (L), the younger daughter of U.S. President Barack Obama (R), greets Chinese President Hu Jintao (C) during a state arrival ceremony at the South Lawn of the White House January 19, 2011 in Washington, DC. Hu and President Obama will hold a press conference at the White House later today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Elspeth Lodge January 21, 2011 – 3:49 pm
It’s not every child who gets to practice their school-room Chinese on the President of China. But, Sasha Obama went to greet the Chinese president prepared to practice her Mandarin language skills, reports Reuters.
Sasha stood behind a rope, eagerly waiting to greet the Chinese president with the rest of the crowd on the White house lawn, on Wednesday morning. She waved around a Chinese flag frantically, as her father greeted the Chinese president, Hu Jintao.
Sasha is studying Chinese with her school’s class, revealed a White House official to Reuters. “Not every (child) has the opportunity to try out their first phrases of Chinese with the president of China, but she had that chance,” said the official.
Posted in: Posted, U.S. Tags: Barack Obama, Hu Jintao, Sasha Obama, White House
January 22, 2011 | Categories: Breaking News | Leave A Comment » | Edit
