No Trick: 2,000 Kids Knock on White House Door

Date: Monday, November 02, 2009, 5:35 am
By: Christine Simmons, Associated Press


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama on Saturday doled out presidential M&Ms and dried fruit mixes to more than 2,000 trick-or-treaters, marking their Halloween at a White House event partly aimed at honoring military families.

Dressed as superheroes, pirates, fairies and skeletons, the kids came in with their parents from Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C., and lined up on the orange-lit White House driveway.

Standing outside the White House front door, the Obamas smiled, chatted and passed out cellophane goody bags that were also filled with a sweet dough butter cookie made by White House pastry chef Bill Yosses. Kids also received a National Park Foundation Ranger activity book.

Mrs. Obama wore furry cat ears and a leopard-patterned top. Obama said the kids looked adorable, as well as his wife, "a very nice looking Catwoman."

A big, stuffed, black spider dangled in a web of string from the top of the portico, and pumpkins had sprouted up around the columns.

Meanwhile, an odd cast of figures wondered around the North Lawn, including skeletons playing musical instruments, walking trees and "Star Wars" characters. The night's arrangements took a month or two to prepare, the White House said.

The loot handed out was just part of the treat for the visiting kids, who were chosen with help from the Education Department.

"He touched my hand," said a beaming Tiera Thomas, 11, of Washington, D.C., after she picked up her candy from President Obama.

The Obamas spent about a half hour passing out candy to trick-or-treaters, ages six to 14.

Then they headed inside to the East Room, where the first couple attended a reception for military families and for the moms and dads who work at the White House, along with their kids.

Obama thanked the military members and their families. "We are so grateful to you," he said. "Especially now, a lot of the times, you guys are separated. It's tough. The spouses who are at home are serving just as much as folks who are deployed. So we are just so thrilled that you guys could be here."

The president, dressed in casual clothes, was one of the few not in costume. Even Obama's press secretary, Robert Gibbs, was dressed as Darth Vader, the "Star Wars" villain.

It was also the first White House Halloween for the Obamas' daughters, eight-year-old Sasha and 11-year-old Malia.

But the White House would not say what Sasha and Malia were wearing, even though hundreds of other children their ages were in costume in full view of the media. The White House referred back to the first lady's comment to Jay Leno, that finding out what Sasha and Malia were wearing would require "security clearance."

Over the years, the winter holidays have been the ones to get the full treatment at the White House, with Christmas trees and tinsel all around.

The Obamas are not the first, though, to show Halloween spirit.

President George H.W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush hosted 500 children on Halloween in 1989, loading them up with fun loot but also teaching them about the dangers of drugs. The kids came decked out in costumes; some Secret Service agents came dressed as clowns.

In the Clintons' first year in the White House, the Great Pumpkin returned. A huge orange jack-o'-lantern was formed around the front entrance to the White House, with the front door to the mansion serving as the middle tooth. The first couple's daughter, Chelsea, was 13 at the time and the house was stuffed with pumpkins.

___

Associated Press writers Ben Feller and Nancy Benac contributed to this story.

Click here to see the Photo Gallery of the White House Halloween Celebration



Bookmark and Share


Please Login or Register to Rate this article



Please Login or Register to post comments on this article

  |   Read More Comments





jiggy55 you sound like a dam@ fool, but of course that's how all you crackers feel towards AA's anyway so nothing to see here JERK


by   
Ann38
November 2, 2009, 3:57 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I guess these kids are getting a primer for their adult life.....looking for a handout from the government. Good practice.


by   
Jiggy5
November 2, 2009, 1:37 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We need to celebrate rap and the hip-hop lifestyle. Our kids can be proud of that. Peace/out.


by   
Jiggy5
November 2, 2009, 1:35 pm
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When I was a child my parents refused to let me partake in the "festivities" of Halloween as it is a holiday which worships demons, "darkness", and the "underworld".

BlackAmericaWeb, what is wrong with you people that as black adults - that you have the audacity to show a black kid in that picture as if to say that Halloween is something which is good for our community. IT AINT.

devil-worshipers dont celebrate the birth of Jesus, so why would you "celebrate" their holiday, and much more, why would BAW - as adults - promote the celebration of this holiday to our youth?


by   
A_day_in_the_life
November 2, 2009, 10:21 am
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hand out Halloween candy at the White House Saturday. (AP)

MORE HEADLINES

Man Faces Murder Charge in Shaniya Davis Case

Mario Andrette McNeill is being charged with the first-degree murder and first-degree rape of a five-year-old North Carolina girl.

Read More


New Breast Exam Guidelines May Impact Insurance

Health insurance companies are not rushing to judgment over whether to pay for annual mammograms for women 40 and older.

Read More


What-the-Hell Wednesday: Worse Than Detention

A teacher in Clayton Country, Georgia was arrested Monday on charges that he allegedly put a hit on one of his students.

Read More


Soldier Mom Refuses Deployment to Care for Baby

Spc. Alexis Hutchinson, 21, claims she had no choice but to refuse her orders because no one was available to care for her infant son.

Read More


Obama in China: Freedoms are 'Universal Rights'

Obama said Monday that individual expression is not an American ideal but a universal right that should be available to all.

Read More


Deidra Shores Wins 'Today' Kid Reporter Contest

Shores, who lives in Memphis with her mother, Vanessa, was stunned into uncharacteristic silence when she found out she’d won.

Read More


Obama Announces WH Forum on Finding Jobs

President Obama will host a White House summit next month on fighting the chronic joblessness that continues to be a drag on a struggling economy.

Read More


Mrs. Obama: Veterans' Skills Can Help at Home

Communities need veterans' knowledge in technical skills such as engineering, logistics and public safety, she said.

Read More


A Very Special ‘Christmas Wish:’ Tommy Thomas

Every so often, you meet a person who leaves an impression so deep, it’s hard to shake off.

Read More


History Lesson Used Black Students as Slaves

"I was trying to be historically correct, not politically correct," said tour guide Ian Campbell, a black man.

Read More


SimplyHired
Post a Job on Black America Web!



Web
blackamericaweb