President Obama stepped out from his White House bubble on Wednesday to greet a bunch of normals who happened to be in Washington, D.C., that day.
A video released by the White House, called "The President Takes a Surprise Walk," provides ample record of this historical moment, and shows us all how we'd react if we randomly encountered Obama on a stroll across Washington.
"The bear is loose!" Obama exclaimed to a crowd as he set out on his journey to the Department of the Interior, a black suit jacket slung over his left shoulder. "How's business?" he then asked a woman selling pretzels, hot dogs and egg rolls. "Yeah, business is doing all right," the woman said.
A young girl hands the President a US flag during his walk to DOI yesterday; he later gave the girl a WH souvenir pic.twitter.com/3cnOHydtbc— petesouza (@petesouza) May 22, 2014
After thanking a woman for her family member's service and giving two kids White House-branded M&Ms, the president came across a group of young men and women gathered around a van selling tie-dye T-shirts and Kodak film.
“Obama!” one man yelled out. “Woo!”
“What’s going on guys?” the president replied.
Tourists on the Ellipse in DC did a double-take as the President & John Podesta walked to the D of Interior yesterday pic.twitter.com/CoFZzMQBnX— petesouza (@petesouza) May 22, 2014
The young man then inexplicably began ticking off the things that make America great: “America! Freedom! Peace! Hope! And charity! Woo!”
Three men, Dan, Camden and Brandon, then walked up and introduced themselves to the leader of the free world. They were joined by Anna, who asked the president, “Are you real?” This is also a question that everyone asks after watching any YouTube video (thanks, Jimmy Kimmel).
Another woman, Karen, then hugged the president, asking for a picture and saying today was the best day of her life.
“Someone’s going to think you’re, like, wax,” Karen said, laughing, as the camera snapped her photo.
The president then continued on to the Department of the Interior where he would sign a proclamation establishing the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, preserving an area of federal lands in southern New Mexico, near the city of Las Cruces.