All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

Around 5 p.m. today, President Obama will throw on some athletic gear, maybe do some stretching, and hit the White House basketball court for a little pickup.

Among his teammates and adversaries will be Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Secretary of Housing & Urban Development Shaun Donovan; Secretary of Education Arne Duncan; Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar; and eleven members of Congress. (They're listed here.)

The list of players reflects at least some effort to reach across the aisle -- there are two Republicans coming over from Congress, along with nine Democrats. Conspicuously missing from the list, however, are women. The WNBA's Washington Mystics may play just down the street, but today the White House court will be a woman-free zone.

Asked why no women had made the cut at his daily briefing Thursday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said "the point is well taken."

"The president, obviously, is someone who, as someone who is the father of two young daughters, has an avid interest in their competing against anybody on the playing field," he said. Gibbs said the president has played basketball and other sports with women in the past and will likely do so in the future.

Worth noting here: Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius was an accomplished college basketball player – and she took something of a shot at the president's game last night.

Mr. Obama has played basketball at least five times since becoming president, according to CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller – though since there's a court on the grounds of the White House, it's impossible to know exactly how often he's gotten in a game. On February 15th, he played at the Chicago Lab School, his daughters' old school, for two hours; a couple weeks later, he played with friends and aides at the Department of the Interior Gymnasium for about an hour and a half.

On May 9th, the president hit the Ft. McNair fitness center to play with personal aide and former Duke National Championship team member Reggie Love and others; in August, while on vacation, he played with aides Bill Burton and Ben Finkenbinder at Blue Heron Farm on Martha’s Vineyard (see photo above.) And on September 21st, Mr. Obama went across the street from his Manhattan hotel to St. Bartholomew’s Church for a game with Love and other aides.

(An amusing side note: According to Gibbs, the president claims to have, in pickup games in the past, blocked "several of Reggie [Love's] shots." One block was captured by a White House photographer. The president subsequently had that photograph blown up, and then got Love to sign it – presumably grudgingly.)

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As we all know by now, tonight is the much-anticipated White House meeting between President Obama, Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cambridge police sergeant James Crowley.

But before Mr. Obama gets down to that "Beer Diplomacy" he engaged in some "Basketball Diplomacy" with Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan. He was in Washington for two days of meeting on economic and foreign policy with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and others.

The White House released the above picture of the meeting on Tuesday, where Mr. Obama presented the vice premier with an autographed basketball. It looks like the president is giving Wang some pointers for his jump shot.

This wasn't Mr. Obama's only basketball reference during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue. In remarks to the opening session, the president quoted NBA star Yao Ming, who is from China.

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Representative Corrine Brown of Florida and Rep. Maxine Waters of California took to YouTube over the weekend for a little trash talk concerning the NBA Finals.

The championship series pits Brown's Orlando Magic against Waters' Los Angeles Lakers, whose victory last night gave them a 2-0 advantage in the best-of-seven series.

"The only reason I'm here with you this evening, Corrine, is to bring my condolences," Waters said in the awkward-but-endearing video, prompting a laugh from Brown.

The Florida congresswoman, in turn, vowed that "there will be no sweep."

"Both teams are great, but in the end it will be the Magic," she said.

"Who have you got?" Waters retorted, showing off her Lakers jersey. "I've got Kobe [Bryant]…you don't have anybody to match that."

Brown responded, "we have a whole a team. You've just got one player." That prompted Waters to talk approvingly about center Pau Gasol ("he is bad") and the rest of the Lakers' squad.

Watch the video – which was posted between games one and two – below:

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President Obama today welcomed the national champion University Of North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team to the White House.

"Congratulations on bringing Carolina its fifth National Championship," the president said. "And more importantly, thanks for salvaging my bracket and vindicating me before the entire nation."

The quip prompted laughter from the crowd. The president's NCAA bracket was not among the top performers in the early rounds of the tournament, but he picked North Carolina as the national champions, greatly improving his standing.

When he tapped the Tar Heels as champions, the president lauded their "experience and balance."

And he had reason to know: Last April, Mr. Obama took the court for some five-on-five with the team. It was not an unqualified success, despite the president's on-court prowess: As CBSNews.com noted at the time,"he did not make any of his shots and often lagged behind the other players on the court."

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Last Monday, President Obama welcomed the undefeated University of Connecticut women's basketball to the White House. At a ceremony in the team's honor, the president paid tribute to the national champion's extraordinary season and accepted a Huskies jersey with his name on the back.

Then it was on to the presidential half court for a quick shoot around, during which Mr. Obama apparently outshot the 39-0 team. At least it sure seems that way: Today the White House released video which depicts a fine performance by the president.

"He only missed one shot out of five shots. In 20 years, I'll remember that I could not make one jump shot at the White House. My clothes hindered me. I couldn't extend my arms," point guard Renee Montgomery told the Hartford Courant.

You can watch video of the shoot around below:

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Now that the NCAA Men’s basketball tournament final four is set, we thought we'd take a look at how President Obama has fared. As you might recall, Mr. Obama filled out a bracket for the tournament with ESPN's Andy Katz.

Mr. Obama's final four picks were North Carolina, Louisville, Pittsburgh and Memphis. Now that the games have been played, we know he only got one of those right. North Carolina made it - but they will be joined by Michigan St., Villanova and Connecticut.



Mr. Obama got 19 of 32 games right in the first round, or just about 60 percent. His record in the second round improved, as he had 14 out of 16 Sweet 16 teams correct (87.5 percent).

But his percentage dipped again after that, as he got just five of the eight Elite 8 right (62.5 percent). Overall, he's predicted 65 percent of the winners correctly. Probably not enough to win your pool, though it’s fair to say he does have some other things on his mind.

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At the installation ceremony this morning for Attorney General Eric Holder, President Obama lavished praise on his choice, but also poked some good-natured fun at him. The president said Holder never hesitates to take on members of his own party, including those to whom he owed his job.

"In fact," said Mr. Obama, "several months ago, Eric even had the audacity to comment to a reporter on my basketball skills. He said - and I quote - here’s what he said. He said, “I’m not sure he’s ready for my New York game. We will see about that, Mr. Attorney General.”

The audience roared with laughter at the swipe.

After taking the oath of office, Holder interrupted his own remarks to respond.

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President Obama made an unannounced visit to the White House press room Thursday, engaging in some friendly banter that centered more on basketball and Blackberrys than Guantanamo and the global economic collapse.

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As President-elect Barack Obama builds his administration and fills his cabinet, pundits and experts are closely examining the picks as they would the NBA draft, to get a sense of what kind of president he is going to be and what of administration he will run.

Introducing his pick for the Secretary of Education today, Mr. Obama himself gave them a big hint: “I will say that I think we are putting together the best basketball-playing Cabinet in American history”

Playing Basketball is one of the president-elect’s favorite past-times and he’s been filing his Cabinet as he would a basketball team roster.

Starting with today’s pick for Education, Arne Duncan, who actually was a professional basketball player in Australia. Before that he played ball at Harvard.

At power forward would be Attorney General designate, Eric Holder, who played basketball growing up in New York City. When asked recently about playing against Mr. Obama on the hardcourt, Holder told the New York Times “I’m not sure he’s ready for my New York Game.”

At center, the 6-foot-4-inch National Security Advisor, General James Jones, who played college ball at Georgetown University before enlisting in the Marine Corps.

And in the backcourt, Mr. Obama’s ambassador the United Nations, Susan Rice, who was a stand-out baller at her high school in Washington DC. Her skills reportedly won her a nickname, “Spo” which is short for ‘Sportin’

But Mr. Obama’s team building doesn’t stop in the Cabinet Room, it runs throughout the White House family. His brother-in-law, Craig Robinson, was an elite player at Princeton University before playing professionally in Europe. Now, the 6’6” brother of Mr. Obama’s wife Michelle is in his first year as the head coach of the men’s team at Oregon State University.

But, basketball was more than Mr. Obama’s main source of recreation during the primaries that went into overtime and the grueling general election. “It was the only thing he was superstitious about,” says Maria Gavrilovic, the CBS News producer who covered the Obama campaign from the very first tip-off. “He played basketball every day there was an election since Iowa.”

The Chicago Sun Times reported today that Duncan’s pick may have been decided on Election Day in November, when the power forward / Education Secretary-to-be took part in Mr. Obama’s hoop dreams ritual. And when asked today who had the better jump shot, the man who will soon become the leader of the free world didn’t miss a beat: “Duncan much better. That one's an easy one.”