"president Obama" news and stories

President Obama is hosting his third annual White House Seder on the first night of Passover, April 18, 2011, complete with a full Seder menu including brisket, noodle kugel and macaroons.

The tradition started in a windowless basement of the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Sheraton , during the April 2008 campaign, when Eric Lesser, then Ground Logistic Coordinator (he's now the Director of Strategic Planning for Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers), got his hands on an "emergency Seder kit" from the University of Pennsylvania's Hillel Center. As Lesser and his fellow campaign staffers Arun Chaudhary and Herbie Ziskend were about to begin the Seder, Obama asked if he could join.

Instead of ending the meal with the customary "Next year in Jerusalem," Obama said "Next year in the White House." True to his word, the Seder continues at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

On Presidents Day this year, we fully expect a little bit of imbibing to take place at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Every U.S. president has had his vice -- James Buchanan would reportedly trek to a distillery each Sunday to purchase a gallon-sized jug of whiskey. It's also been reported that JFK did not serve lemonade, water, or even beer, aboard the presidential yacht -- instead, he turned to daiquiris.

And Barack Obama is no exception. On the heels of his "beer summit" in July 2009 where he chugged mugs of beer with two others on the Rose Garden patio, and following White House tradition, he and Michelle ensure that flutes of Domaine Chandon's sparkling wine (Blanc de Noirs, $22) are poured at all state dinners and other White House receptions.

President Barack Obama is known for his cool, collected demeanor, but according to his senior advisor, David Axelrod, he's got a weakness like the rest of us. What can't Obama resist? Pie.

During an appearance on Jay Leno's "Tonight Show" on Friday night, Axelrod spilled the beans about the president's affection for the classic dessert, gleefully telling Leno that the White House pastry chef's pies "became a big problem," for the president.

Axelrod and Obama are close friends in addition to being colleagues, and it's likely that Axelrod was having fun at Obama's expense: He mentioned at the end of the interview that the president lectures him about diet, exercise and his "beer gut."

President Obama wants to know, "Would you like sprinkles with that?"

On the Obamas' Hawaiian winter vacation, the president's motorcade took a detour past the Baskin-Robbins in Honolulu where a young Barack Obama held his first job. It's a job that has lessons for the aspiring politician, the Los Angeles Times reports.

President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama may be doing their part to get Americans to eat healthy, but they -- like most of us -- still can't pass up a good piece of pie.

Bill Yosses, the pastry chef at the White House, makes pie-on-demand so good that the president has dubbed the chef the "Crustmaster."

"I'm the dark side," Yosses tells the Associated Press, invoking a "Star Wars" reference. "They love our pies."

But what's his pie secret? Find out after the jump.