All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

President Obama doesn't have a lot of patience for those who he says turn date night with his wife into a "political issue."

In an interview with the New York Times Magazine for a story on "The First Marriage," Mr. Obama said it "annoyed" him that he was criticized for flying to New York last spring to see a Broadway play and have dinner with his wife. Critics complained that the president was using public money to pay for the trip.

"If I weren’t president, I would be happy to catch the shuttle with my wife to take her to a Broadway show, as I had promised her during the campaign, and there would be no fuss and no muss and no photographers,” he said. “That would please me greatly."

Read full post…

The First Dog finally has a baseball card to call his own.

The White House released Bo Obama's official portrait and baseball card Friday, complete with fun facts.

The Portuguese water dog (who, according to the card, ironically cannot swim) was named after both the first lady's father, whose nickname was "Diddley," and the first daughters' cousins, who have both a cat named "Diddley" and another cat named "Bo."

Born in fall 2008, Bo was a gift from Senator Edward Kennedy and his wife. His favorite food is apparently "tomatoes – or toys," he enjoys running and "then napping near the Obama girls," and his hobbies include playing on the lawn and going for walks.

His goal while in the White House? "Make friends with foreign dognitaries."

UPDATE: Gawker discovers the shocking truth: Bo doesn't really eat tomatoes! (The claim was a joke tied to a comment President Obama made about the dog getting into the first family's vegetable garden. Tomatoes are actually poisonous for dogs.)

First lady Michelle Obama and students from a public elementary school in Washington planted the first fruits and vegetables in the new White House garden Thursday afternoon.

They helped break ground for the plot on the South Lawn last month.

Spinach, salad greens, herbs and berries were among the crops being planted.

CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller reports the first lady gave a motherly pitch about nutrition and eating fruits and vegetables during her remarks to the kids.

Read full post…

President Obama and his family will take their second trip to Camp David over the weekend, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told the White House press gaggle today. They will leave the White House on Saturday and return on Sunday.

Camp David was a favorite retreat for Mr. Obama's predecessor. President George W. Bush spent 487 days there, and used the getaway for Thanksgiving celebrations and to host foreign leaders like Vladimir Putin and Tony Blair. The compound, located in Maryland's Catoctin Mountain Park, may become a regular destination for the Obama clan as well.

After visiting the mountain retreat last month, Mr. Obama pronounced it "beautiful."

"The girls just had a great time. They had a lot of fun," Obama told reporters following his first visit. "You can see during the summer it's going to be a nice place to spend a lot of time."

Read full post…

First daughters Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7, Obama got a big after-school surprise: a brand-new swing set.

President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, went to work while the girls were at school, having the set installed on the south grounds of the White House within sight of the Oval Office, where their father spends plenty of time.

Read full post…

After making the blogosphere swoon over their inaugural dance to "At Last" and their date night at the Kennedy Center last weekend, rumor has it that the Obamas have a very special Valentine's Day in the works.

No word yet on how their romantic evening will play out or if the roses will be red or white, but as the Obamas were staples of the Chicago restaurant scene, it's safe to assume that any Valentine’s day dinner out will be one to remember.

Will the first couple opt for an old favorite like Topolobampo, where chef Rick Bayless is famous for serving up Mexican food with locally produced ingredients? Or will they take a risk and try a new place?

Time will tell.

Read full post…

A busy few days of politics, relaxation and romance awaits the Obamas.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs today laid out a packed schedule for the new president and his family during a press briefing.

In order to drum up support for his stimulus package, President Obama will take his show on the road. Plans call for the president to visit two cities that have been particularly hard hit by the recession.

On Monday and Tuesday, Mr. Obama will host town hall meetings in Elkhart, Ind. and Fort Myers, Fla., to explain how his economic recovery plan will put Americans back to work.

Read full post…

Without question – the White House is a great place in which to live. But every now and then it may feel like an apartment adjacent to elevated subway tracks.

Once in a while, there’s a roar and rumble that send vibrations through the mansion. It’s bearable during the day – but yesterday, it happened at 10:45PM.

The silence of the evening was shattered as Marine One, with its two 3000-horsepower turbofan jet engines, brought Pres. Obama home from his first out-of-town trip that also included his first flight aboard Air Force One.

His return came after bedtime for daughters Malia and Sasha, ages 10 and 7. If the thunder of the chopper woke them, at least they knew that daddy was home.

Read full post…

When "60 Minutes" asked Barack Obama if his mother-in-law, Marian Robinson, would move into the White House, Obama said, "Well, I don't tell my mother-in-law what to do."

It seems that the 71-year-old Robinson has made her decision: She is moving into the White House, at least for a short time, to help the family – particularly 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha – as they settle into their new home.

"Mrs. Robinson will be coming with the family to help the girls get acclimated, and she will determine in the coming months whether or not she wants to stay in D.C. permanently," Katie McCormick Lelyveld, spokeswoman for Michelle Obama, told the Associated Press.

During the presidential campaign, as the New York Times notes, Robinson cared for the kids while their parents were on the road, taking them to school and activities, cooking and getting them to sleep on time. The former bank executive secretary retired from her job to pitch in.

Read full post…