President-elect: ‘You can call me Barack’
Veronica Lewis bows for President-elect Barack Obama, and his family, from left, Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha, 7, (hidden) Malia, 10, distributing Thanksgiving turkeys at the food bank at St. Columbanus Catholic Church on the South Side of Chicago today. (AP Photo by Pablo Martinezby Mark Silva
On the eve of Thanksgiving, the president-elect and his wife and young daughters turned up at a food bank on Chicago’s South side.
Ten-year-old Malia Obama and 7-year-old Sasha Obama joined their parents in shaking hands and dishing out holiday wishes to hundreds who had lined up for hours at the food bank. The family handed out wrapped chickens to the needy at St. Columbanus Catholc Church, where boxes of potatoes, oranges, fresh bread, peanut butter, canned goods, oatmeal, spaghetti and coffee also were passed around.
The president-elect, dressed in a leather jacket, black scarf and khakis, called out “Happy Thanksgiving” and invited everyone to be casual: “You can call me Barack.”
The father of two explained that he wants his girls “to learn the importance of how fortunate they are, and to make sure they’re giving back.”
