Obama, dog in tow, goes shopping

WASHINGTON—US President Barack Obama did a spot of Christmas shopping Wednesday, and in the process made a subtle political jab at Republicans over a tax row which has kept him from his family at holiday time.

Obama, who has put off plans to join his wife and daughters for their annual getaway to Hawaii as political gridlock consumes Washington, went shopping in nearby Virginia, which happens to be a key swing state in the 2012 election.

Perhaps seeking to prove the maxim that the only friend a president has in Washington is a mutt, he took his popular Portuguese water dog Bo along, for a trip recorded by the cameras of the White House press pool.

Obama’s motorcade rolled up at a pet superstore in Alexandria, Virginia and the president handed over a $50 bill for a haul that included a bone, even as Bo apparently eyed up the nearby attractions of a small brown poodle.

“Don’t get too personal here Bo,” Obama said, as he restrained his dog on his leash.

Next stop for Obama was a Best Buy electronics store, where he picked up several Wii games and two iTunes gift cards, handing over his credit card to pay the $194 bill.

Finally, Obama stopped in at a nearby pizza shop, and after working the crowd emerged and headed back to his motorcade with three boxed pizza pies.

The president ignored shouted questions by reporters about his showdown with Republicans over extending a payroll tax holiday due to expire on January 1.

But his trip outside the gates of the White House may have been planned to provide television footage for a story dominating news bulletins, which will make the point the president is staying back in Washington to seek a deal.

Most members of Congress have already left town for the Christmas holidays as their leaders haggle over a deal, and Obama may have been seeking to make the point that he was “home alone” until the row is concluded.

The White House has declined to say when Obama will head off to Hawaii. His wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha left Washington on Friday.