President Barack Obama took on a daunting task on Tuesday: shopping for clothes for his wife and daughters during a brief stop at a Gap store in New York before attending two Democratic Party fundraisers in the city.
At the store, he sorted carefully through sweaters in search of a purchase for one of his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, before holding up a pink one.
"I'm worried the V-neck is going to slip," the president said before opting for a regular-cut neck.
The president wound up buying two button-down, long-sleeve sweaters: one in light pink and the other a bright coral, both smalls. The cotton-blend items were made in China and cost $44.95 each.
Moving to the adult women's section, Obama declared wife Michelle difficult to shop for: "Maybe I should buy some socks."
Part-time salesclerk Susan Panariello recommended a hoodie for the First Lady, but the president said she doesn’t like them.
He instead chose a slate-blue, medium athletic zip-up track jacket for Michelle, who has made no bones about her love for Gap’s styles, once wearing a $10 t-shirt to a lunch with former First Lady Nancy Reagan.
The polyester-blend jacket, made in Vietnam, put him back $64.95. “It never hurts to bring something back when you’ve been on a road trip. You get points when you go home,” Obama quipped after buying a warm-up jacket for wife Michelle and two long-sleeve sweaters for daughters Malia, 15, and Sasha, 12.
“I think the ladies will be impressed by my style sense.”
He joked while sifting through the garments among roughly 20 shocked customers.
Carlene Whitney, a hotel housekeeper from Queens, described herself as simply "amazed" after bumping into him.
"He said 'today is a beautiful day to be in New York.' He shook my hand. I was amazed. He's more handsome in person. Very sexy," she gushed.
After picking a pair of sweaters and a blue workout jacket, Obama moved to the cash register, as reporters, photographers, aides, and Secret Service agents looked on.
The President paid $154.85 for his purchase, which included a light blue workout jacket for Michelle — size medium — and two button-down sweaters for his daughters, one coral and the other light pink.
Using a credit card to pay, Obama pretended that he did not know that he could sign his name on the credit card machine.
"Oh wow. So, you can sign the machine?" he said.
As reporters took note, Obama said he was teasing: "They had these around the last time I shopped."
Obama had dropped by a Midtown Manhattan branch of the clothing chain to thank Gap Inc for its decision to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour this year and $10 an hour in 2015. He has been campaigning to persuade businesses and Congress to raise wages for workers at the bottom of the scale.
Obama then thanked Gap for raising the minimum wage for its employees and urged other companies to do the same.
"It's not only good for them and their families, it's also good for the entire economy," he said.
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在商店里，他仔細地挑選，最終選中了一件粉色毛衣。
“我擔心V領的容易下滑”，總統興奮地買了兩件領口有紐扣，長袖的毛衣，一件是淡粉色，另一件是亮珊瑚色，都是小號。兩件毛衣都是中國制造，都賣44.95刀。
走到成年女士區域，奧巴馬說很難給自己的妻子米歇爾買衣服，“或許我應該為她買一些襪子”。
兼職收銀員蘇珊•帕娜列諾推薦他給第一夫人買一件帽衫，但是總統說她不喜歡這些。
結果，他為米歇爾選了一件藍色中號運動拉鏈夾克。米歇爾對Gap服裝喜愛有加，有一次穿了一件價值10刀的T恤和前第一夫人南希•里根共進午餐。這件滌綸混紡的夾克是越南制造，花了他64.95刀。
奧巴馬在為妻子米歇爾買完保暖夾克，為兩個女兒——15歲的瑪麗亞及12歲瑪莎買完兩件毛衣后調侃自己，“在外買一些東西是個不錯的選擇，你到家就得到了積分”。
“我相信她們會贊同我的挑衣品味”。他說著，周圍大約有20個吃驚的顧客。
紐約皇后區一家酒店的客房主管卡林•惠特尼說她見到總統后感覺很贊。
她情不自禁地說道，“總統對我說他來到紐約很高興，跟我握了握手。他本人更帥，很性感。”
在挑選完毛衣和藍色運動夾克后，奧巴馬走到收銀臺，記者、攝影師、副總及情報局特工都在旁觀。
總統一共消費了154.85刀，包括為米歇爾選的一件亮藍色運動夾克，中號，還有給女兒們選的兩件領口有紐扣的毛衣，一件珊瑚色，一件淡粉色。
在用信用卡付款時，奧巴馬總統假裝他自己不知道可以在信用卡機器上簽名。
他說，“哇，也可以在機器上簽名？”
當記者們記錄下來的時候，奧巴馬說他是在說笑，“我上次來這兒購物時就有這些了。”
奧巴馬此次購物也是為了感謝Gap集團決定提高員工最低工資這一決定，決定從今年的每小時9刀到2015年漲到每小時10刀。他一直在希望企業和國會提高最底工資。
奧巴馬感謝Gap提高員工的最低工資，并鼓勵其它公司也這么做。他說，“這不僅對員工自身好，對他們的家庭好，也對整個經濟好”。 |
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