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Courting Obama, Pols Harbor Hoop Hopes

Elite tune up their game in hopes of playing with prez

By Caroline Miller, Newser Staff

Posted Jun 18, 2009 12:16 PM CDT

(Newser) – In Washington, everyone wants to be on the inside. How do you know you’re in? “A pickup game with Obama,” says a former Clinton press secretary. “That's the inner, inner, inner sanctum.” So aspiring members of the inner, inner circle are hitting the court, working on their moves, and hoping someday to play—and play well—in a game with the president, writes Wright Thompson for ESPN.

“Here I am shooting hoops again. And it's because of him,” says a congressman who last played in the early '90s. And he’s not the only one. Games are happening “all over town,” Thompson writes, from the interior secretary’s court to the gym at Sidwell Friends, the Obama daughters' school. Seven months ago, the House court had no regular game; now legislators are there almost daily.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

A fan holding a souvenir basketball waits for President Barack Obama and members of the 2009 NCAA basketball champions University of North Carolina Tar Heels, Monday, May 11, 2009, at the White House. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

President Barack Obama watches a visitor take a basketball shot during the annual Easter Egg Roll, Monday, April 13, 2009, at the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

This Jan. 15, 2009, file photo shows Oregon State head basketball coach Craig Robinson, Obama's brother-in-law. (AP Photo/Don Ryan)

In this April 29, 2008, file photo, University of North Carolina's Jack Wooten, right, pressures then-Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama in North Carolina. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

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President Obama shares his the lessons he learned on the basketball court. Alas, they don't include specific political pointers. (Moviefreedom)

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Courting Obama, Pols Harbor Hoop Hopes