Obamas About the Town

Today, the first family continued to make nice with their new hometown, paying a surprise visit to the Capital City Public Charter School in Northwest Washington. On the heels of his much-publicized visit to local restaurant Ben’s Chili Bowl, President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle hit up a second grade classroom just up the hill in DC’s mainly Latino Columbia Heights neighborhood—reading a children’s book about the 1969 moon landing to the thrilled kiddies. This outreach, in addition to the first and second ladies’ lunch (along with DC first couple Adrian and Michelle Fenty) at Georgia Brown’s last week, seems to solidify the president’s stated belief that “change has come to Washington.”

The treat for teachers and students alike is a reinforcement of Michelle Obama’s remarks yesterday at the Department of Education—and makes it easy for the Buzz to forgive Obama’s January snack at Ben’s, which has brought unwelcome lines to the U Street landmark. 44’s move is also a far cry from that other, memorable presidential reading: George W. Bush’s 9/11 rendition of “My Pet Goat.”