Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Getting to Know Obama Over Lunch

Reporters recently dined with Obama. Some of the personal stuff they learned:
The first movie Obama viewed in the White House theater was "Slumdog Millionaire." He loved it, and parts of the movie reminded him of his childhood days in Jakarta, Indonesia.

• He enjoys the "baubles" that come with the presidency -- Air Force One, Marine One and Camp David, for example. But he already finds the "bubble" too restricting and wishes it was easier to just take a walk, or attend his daughters' school and sporting events. One way of trying to better stay in touch with everyday Americans: Obama has instructed his staff to bring him 10 letters a week from citizens writing with a complaint or an observation.

• He cherishes family dinner in the White House, where "thorns and roses" is now the favorite family game. Each family member describes the day's highlight, or rose, and the day's worst moment, the thorn. We were told after describing one particularly challenging day at the White House, Malia Obama had this to say to her father the president: "You have a really thorny job." CNN