Inslee (D-WA) and Larsen (D-WA) shoot hoops with Obama

AP:

You could call it the Obama All-Stars vs. the Capitol Hills.

President Barack Obama and a few members of his Cabinet played basketball Thursday night at the White House with a handful of House members, two of them Republicans.

"We ran into a president with some serious game," said Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.

Obama had "a sweet crossover move" and appeared to be in great shape, Inslee said. "He put a real nice move on me and beat me along the base line."

On the president's team were Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan. Also playing with Obama was his personal assistant, Reggie Love, once a forward for the Duke Blue Devils.

The game was closed to the press. Expected on the House side were Democrats Mike Arcuri of New York, John Boccieri of Ohio, Brad Ellsworth and Baron Hill of Indiana, Inslee and Rick Larsen of Washington state, Frank Kratovil of Maryland, Patrick Murphy of Pennsylvania and Heath Shuler of North Carolina. Republicans invited to play were Jeff Flake of Arizona and John Shimkus of Illinois.

After playing with Obama, Inslee said, "I'm glad we could take his mind off the turmoil in the world for an hour and a half."

Earlier in the day, reporters asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs why no women were invited to play, a point Gibbs called "well taken."

"The president, obviously, is someone who, as the father of two young daughters, has an avid interest in their competing against anybody on the playing field" Gibbs said. "The president's certainly played basketball and other sports with women in the past, and I anticipate he'll do so in the future."

"Larsen endorses Obama after Hill meeting"

The Hill:

Sen. Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) surprise visit Thursday to the House floor has already paid dividends in the form of a superdelegate endorsement.

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) announced, after meeting with Obama at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee headquarters, that he would endorse the Illinois senator for president.

Larsen had planned to delay an endorsement until after Democrats voted in the last primaries in South Dakota and Montana. But the lawmaker said Obama’s performance in Tuesday’s primaries in North Carolina and Indiana changed his mind.

“For me, what happened in North Carolina and Indiana ended up being a game changer,” said Larsen. “Especially in Indiana where he came back after getting hit hard for a couple of weeks.”

Obama spent much of the week before the Indiana primary distancing himself from the incendiary comments of his former pastor Jeremiah Wright. There had been much speculation among political analysts and Democratic strategists that Wright’s public appearances days before the Indiana primary would hurt Obama significantly among white, working-class voters.

However, the Illinois senator finished only two points behind Clinton in Indiana and beat her by 14 points in North Carolina, which also held a Tuesday primary.

“We need a change and a clean break,’ said Larsen, adding that Obama’s candidacy represented change to many voters in his district and that his message is one that “people want to be a part of.”

Larsen also noted that Obama won overwhelmingly in his northwest Washington district.

Barack Obama