WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A week before a huge birthday bash is set to take place in his hometown of Chicago, President Barack Obama celebrates his 51st birthday today with a relaxing golf game and a quiet night at the presidential retreat at Camp David.
But the president's special day was not without political intrigue, as the Republican National Committee (RNC) decided to send him and the Democratic National Committee a snarky birthday message concealed as a vanilla cake.
'We do know that hard working, smart entrepreneurs across the country join us in wishing the president a happy birthday and hoping that next year he has more time for baking so the country can get back to job creating,' RNC Spokesman Tim Miller said on Friday.
'Since President Obama's birthday is tomorrow, we actually wish him a happy 50.99726 years with this 'you didn't bake that' cake,' he added. The message was accompanied by a picture of a vanilla cake (with vanilla icing), depicting a picture of the president laughing and the aforementioned message.
The cake was a double jab at the president - first, the 'You Didn't Bake That' message hit Obama for his recent remark that 'if you've got a business, you didn't build that,' but had help along the way from mentors and friends - a gaffe the campaign of Republican candidate Mitt Romney has run with.
Second, Miller's message poked fun at an Obama administration official's spin of the July unemployment numbers yesterday. Council of Economic Advisers chairman Alan Krueger made sure to point out Friday the unemployment rate did not rise to 8.3 percent, as pundits were saying - but to 8.254 percent.
Miller scoffed at Krueger's remark Friday, saying it was 'the dumbest spin I've seen in ages' and unnecessarily minute - hence the '50.99726 years' jab.
But the president is avoiding politics this weekend, choosing instead to spend a quiet couple of days with his family at the presidential retreat in Maryland. This positions him to celebrate his birthday in election-year style next weekend, when he throws a rare party at his Chicago home for political supporters.
The party will also be a fundraiser for Obama for America, the president's re-election campaign, and will be one of four stops Obama will make that day while in the Windy City. Mrs. Obama, while she invited supporters to enter to win a ticket to the party, will be a no-show.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2012 AFX News
