Reporters pepper Obama with questions, praise

In moving ahead with plans for a White House run, Sen. Barack Obama (D., Ill.) undoubtedly anticipates some dopey questions from reporters.  He probably already has prepared answers to such expected gems as, "what is your favorite color" and "what do you do in spare time."

But this one probably wasn't on his list.  When surrounded by reporters yesterday in the Capitol, a female scribe asked how he plans to be a father while running for president.  "I always care about my kids," he said, referring to his two daughters, ages 5 and 8.  But that response wasn't meaty enough for the quizzer who repeated the question.  "Well, these are all considerations that I'm taking into account as I make my decisions about moving forward," he replied.  And moving forward he did --- into an elevator, saved from a further barrage by closing of the doors.

Grumpy Editor grumbles any reporter who asks a question like that should be banished to the food section to review recipes sent in from readers.

Meanwhile, a day prior, an Associated Press writer, with a magic wand, turned an Obama negative into a positive in the same paragraph.  "The 45-year-old has few accomplishments on the national stage after serving little more than two years in the Senate," she wrote.  Then the next sentence worked in "a lack of experience in the nation's capital might not be a liability."