Thaindian News

By Arun Kumar
Washington, Aug 9 (IANS) President Barack Obama’s grass widower days are over with a happy ending - daddy’s little girl was back in his arms for a belated birthday bash.

Obama hoisted 9-year-old Sasha into the air Sunday and tightly hugged her as she and the First Lady Michelle returned to the White House from their five-day mother-daughter sojourn in Spain.

Michelle Obama’s trip was criticised by some who complained about the taxpayer-funded security detail that followed her every step while on the scenic Spanish island of Mallorca.

She and Sasha ended their trip with a lunch with Spain’s King Juan Carlos, Queen Sofia and Princess Letizia.

Obama turned 49 last Wednesday but extended the festivities with Michelle and Sasha in Spain and Malia, 12, at camp.

Earlier home alone, Obama had been enjoying what some have jokingly referred to as a bachelor’s weekend with friends - golfing, playing basketball and grilling out on the White House South Lawn.

Friends from Hawaii, Chicago, Illinois, and college joined the president on Saturday at Andrews Air Force Base for a round of golf.

The sports outings continued Sunday with a basketball game at Fort McNair where Obama played in front of an audience of wounded servicemen and participants in the White House mentoring programme.

Joining him were such NBA stars as LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Grant Hill and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. Also on hand were Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose of Obama’s hometown Bulls.

Then he headed back to the White House in shorts and sneakers for a birthday barbecue on the South Lawn, where he served seafood, including shrimp harvested from the Gulf of Mexico, White House energy adviser Carol Browner said.

Browner’s comments came in the wake of Food and Drug Administration assurances that the BP oil spill - and the 1.8 million gallons of chemical dispersants poured into the gulf to clear the oil slick - was unlikely to have caused harm in the food chain.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)