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A few of Barack Obama's favourite things

This article is more than 14 years old
Never mind the Queen - what everyone wants right now is an endorsement from the US president. Esther Addley on Brand Barack

Gordon Brown simpered, the Queen practically cooed, Silvio Berlusconi seemed a little giddy in the strength of his affection. Europe tumbled head over heels for the Obamas last week, and has found itself, in the dusty, anticlimactic aftermath of their visit, breathless for the smallest snatch of information about his workout routine, their choice of pet, her brand of false eyelashes.

Like the Queen and her children, back when anybody cared about them, Obama's endorsements now function a little like royal warrants, lending instant desirability to whatever brand of trainer or loo roll that this new taste Midas deigns to touch. So are we able to piece together a picture of what's hot and what's not on planet Obama? Happily, yes we can.

Television

The Wire Omar
'The toughest, baddest guy.' Photograph: HBO

In common with everyone else in the television-watching universe, or at least those who write for newspapers, Obama has declared that his favourite show is The Wire, citing in particular the gay, über-violent thief Omar, whom he called "the toughest, baddest guy on the show", as his favourite character. ("That's not an endorsement," he hastily added.)

But what's this? In an interview last year with him and his then Republican rival John McCain, Obama declared his favourite show to be M*A*S*H*, while it was McCain, perhaps surprisingly, who expressed his admiration for The Wire, along with the serial killer romp Dexter. Don't you just hate bandwagon-jumpers?

Sport

Tyrus Thomas of the Chicago Bulls
Bulls forever. Photograph: Getty Images

A basketball nut, the president supports his hometown team the Chicago Bulls, and has said that whenever he gets a spare moment to relax he likes to check out their progress in the sports pages. In February he lent a little presidential magic to the team by sitting courtside while they took on the Washington Wizards. They lost.

Chicago has two major baseball teams, the White Sox and the Cubs, but Obama's allegiance is unequivocal. "Oh, that's easy," he told a reporter last year. "White Sox. I'm not one of these fairweather fans who go to Wrigley Field [home of the Cubs] ... have a beer, beautiful people up there. People aren't watching the game - it's not serious. White Sox, that's baseball." His favoured workout outfit often features a black Sox baseball cap. (Trainers, since you ask, by Asics.)

Cigarettes

Malboro cigarettes
A tonsil-scraping classic. Photograph: Roger Tooth/Guardian

Despite making it a condition of his presidential campaign that he quit smoking, Michelle hadn't quite persuaded her husband to kick the habit last October, when he admitted he still sneaked the odd one or two, "but I figure, seeing as I'm running for president, I need to cut myself a little slack." He has vowed, however, not to light up in the White House. His favoured brand is said to be the tonsil-scraping classics Marlboro Reds, whose nicotine-heavy charms may explain why he has found giving up such a challenge.

No debate as to his preferred method of quitting, however: "I've been chewing Nicorette [gum] all day long," he has said. Presidential aide Reggie Love is said never to be without it, along with Dentyne Ice gum for those times - such as negotiating nuclear non-proliferation or kissing Angela Merkel - when fresher breath is required.

Music

Bob Dylan
On the president's iPod. Photograph: Public domain

Obama's declared musical preference is solidly coffee-table smooth, with a sprinkling of right-on edginess. His iPod collection, he has declared, ranges from Miles Davis and John Coltrane to Bob Dylan, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen. It is, presumably, coincidence that the last three are vocal Obama supporters - Dylan this week breathlessly described Obama as "like a fictional character, but real!".

Among his declared top 10 favourite tracks are U2's City of Blinding Lights, used as fanfare music on his campaign, and Yes We Can by will.i.am, which just happens to be one of his speeches set to music. Meanwhile, a revealing snatch of footage filmed backstage at the mass outdoor concert marking Obama's inauguration captured the soon-to-be president in conversation with Beyoncé, in which he performed a brief hand move copied from the video to her song Single Ladies. He'd been learning the dance with his daughters, he said.

Books

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows
Well he does have kids. Photograph: Bloomsbury Publishing/PA

Observers may spot a discrepancy in declared favourites, dependent on the audience. To CBS's Katie Couric, he declared it to be Toni Morrison's Song of Solomon, while in an interview with US Weekly magazine last year he said: "The books I never tire of are the ones I read with my daughters. Malia and I recently finished reading the Harry Potter series out loud to each other." Reports of an unseemly dash after last week's Downing Street dinner to secure JK Rowling's autograph give this some credence. Altogether less surprisingly, the president has been photographed carrying Fred Kaplan's Lincoln: The Biography of a Writer, which examines his predecessor's "use of language as a vehicle both to express complex ideas and feelings and as an instrument of persuasion and power". Hmmm.

Films

Casablance
'Who doesn't like Casablanca?' Photograph: Allstar/Cinetext

A strikingly large number of movies have been mentioned as Obama's favourite film, none of which are exactly arthouse. The Godfather Parts 1 and 2, Lawrence of Arabia and Casablanca ("Who doesn't like Casablanca?") have all been cited, as has One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. "I'm a movie guy," he said when pressed to pick just one, "I can rattle off a bunch of movies."

Food

Peach cobbler crumble
Cobbler (US): batter-topped fruit dish. Nothing to do with shoes. Photograph: Getty

"I like a good chilli and cobbler," he has said - in the US, of course, the latter usually refers to a batter-topped fruit dish rather than its savoury British counterpart. Though presidential tastes are clearly diverse - Washingtonians have spotted the First Family dining everywhere from posh DC eatery Equinox ("evokes the traditions of the mid-Atlantic") and upmarket cajun/creole restaurant B. Smith's to the steakhouse chain Bobby Van's and downhome neighbourhood legend Ben's Chili Bowl. He is also said to enjoy broccoli, raw nuts, protein bars and berry tea, but we find that wholly unconvincing.

Drugs

Cannabis leaf
Cannabis yes, heroin no. Photograph: Sipa Press/Rex Features

Obama is the only president to have admitted to having used cocaine, writing in his autobiography Dreams From My Father that, along with pot and booze, he'd dabbled in "maybe a little blow, when [I] could afford it". "Not heroin, though," Obama hastily adds in the book. As with Bill Clinton's non-inhalation, every man has his limits.

Politicians

President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
'I love this guy'. Photograph: Rex Features

Hard luck Europe - Obama's declared preference during the G20 discussions was neither for his host nor any other Old World notable, but for the Brazilian president Luis Inácio da Silva. "That's my man right there. I love this guy!" a beaming president can be heard saying in a short burst of video. "He's the most popular politician on earth! It's because of his good looks!" A sweetly smiling Lula, for his part, graciously resists the urge to call him a patronising filho da puta

Underwear

Y front underpants
Presidential pants? Photograph: Alamy

Asked did he wear boxers or briefs, he has demurred, saying, "I don't answer those humiliating questions. But whichever one it is, I look good in 'em!"

And the annoying thing is, he probably does.

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