Obama Sings Happy Birthday To Helen Thomas, Brings Her Cupcakes (VIDEO)

(AP) WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is celebrating his own birthday by leading the White House press corps in singing Happy Birthday to veteran reporter Helen Thomas.

Thomas and Obama share a birthday on Tuesday, with the president turning 48 and the reporter turning 89.

Obama carried cupcakes into the room where reporters were gathered to quiz his chief spokesman, Robert Gibbs, at the daily briefing.

Thomas is a columnist with Hearst Newspapers.

Obama told her: "I will leave it up to you, Helen, how you want to distribute the cupcakes."

Obama sat beside Thomas for a picture after she blew out one candle and said she told him her birthday wishes were "world peace and a real health care reform bill."

RELATED: Watch: Christiane Amanpour Schools Kyra Phillips Over Helen Thomas Comment

Comments

[ullyses]

PURE CLASS!!!!

[paulalex]

Every time I see these little happy moments I like to think of the birthers, teabaggers and other "real americans" in their fortified compounds in the woods going into convulsions of rage.

[XME]

Well that ought to be one birthday that will be easy for him to remember! I'm just amazed that she's still going to work every day. I hope I make it to 89, let alone that I'll still be ABLE to work!

[Dustee]

And she's still sharp as ever.

[zkazan]

And some would ask, "who paid for the cupcakes?" lol

What a really nice gesture. Not just for Helen but the entire press corps.

[Okieborn]

Happy Birthday Helen Thomas !!
America loves you !!
Happy Birthday President Obama America Loves You Sir !!!

[Bulbul]

So sweet.. giving me goose bumps...

[roch20]

I love the relationship between President Obama and Robert Gibbs, very brotherhood style! Happy Birthdate to Helen and President Obama!

[tmo7734]

Happy birthday to Helen Thomas. She has been asking tough questions since I was a kid way back in the JFK days. Keep hammering them Helen!

[LovingHope]

I'm proud of our President. He is trying to help, but this country is so screwed that he doesn't know where to began. I remember when Bush was president, we never heard the people complaining. The Republican silenced the voice of the people. With Obama you hear complaints everywhere. It's nice to have freedom of speech again. I think we really need to stand by our president. He needs our help. We need to keep informed. The people that hate him, really want to destroy him. I saw the documentary "Teddy." I'm sorry, but I don't put it past them.

*Happy Birthday, Mr. President. Be careful. We really need you.

[queenofcore]

That's Our President I am so Proud, he is our man. Good On you Mr. President Happy birthday

[Jamesdean]

I just love her.

[2MhBS]

I think at some point, you can OD on KoolAid. Careful people. I liked it more when our presidents were not news stories everyday. Things seemed to work a little better before the celebrity worship stuff started. DC is completely broken, and the President and Congress are not interested in doing anything about it, nothing, zilch. No term limits, no real campaign reform, no ridding of the beautiful corporate lobbyist, no financial regulation with teeth. Without any of that, where is this Change that anyone could believe in going to come from? Back to feel good story.

[billbb]

You mean apart from: creating a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners, establishing a credit card bill of rights, expanding loan programs for small businesses, extending and indexing the 2007 Alternative Minimum Tax patch, expanding eligibility for State Children's Health Insurance Fund (SCHIP) that Bush had vetoed, expanding funding to train primary care providers and public health practitioners, increasing funding to expand community based prevention programs, signing the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, formally directing military leaders to end war in Iraq, sending two additional brigades to Afghanistan, giving a speech at a major Islamic forum in the first 100 days of his administration and starting to repair America's international standing, granting Americans unrestricted rights to visit family and send money to Cuba, restoring funds for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (Byrne/JAG) program, requiring new hires to sign a form affirming their hiring was not due to political affiliation or contributions, pushing for enactment of Matthew Shepard Act to expands hate crime law to include sexual orientation and other factors, creating a White House Office on Urban Policy, supporting increased funding for the NEA, appointing an assistant to the president for science and technology policy, funding a major expansion of AmeriCorps, appointing the nation's first Chief Technology Officer, working to overturn Ledbetter vs. Goodyear, [2]

[billbb]

[2] appointing an American Indian policy adviser, banning lobbyist gifts to executive employees, weatherizing 1 million homes per year, investing in all types of alternative energy, enacting tax credit for consumers for plug-in hybrid cars, supporting high-speed rail, providing grants to encourage energy-efficient building codes, appointing Republicans to the cabinet, extending unemployment insurance benefits and temporarily suspending taxes on these benefits, reversing restrictions on stem cell research, saving two American car companies and the jobs they represent, reducing capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups, expanding the earned income tax credit, creating the American Opportunity Tax Credit to offset college costs, getting through a new and greatly improved GI Bill, appointing experienced disaster official to head FEMA, and getting his daughters a puppy.

Things started and now in the works: Increasing the capital gains and dividends taxes for higher-income taxpayers, eliminating all oil and gas tax loopholes, extending child tax credits and marriage-penalty fixes, requiring automatic enrollment in 401(k) plans, changing standards for determining broadband access, creating a consumer-friendly credit card rating system, creating a $60 billion bank to fund roads and bridges, [3]

[billbb]

[3] extending the Bush tax cuts for lower incomes, repealing the Bush tax cuts for higher incomes, phasing out exemptions and deductions for higher earners, signing the Employee Free Choice Act, making it easier for workers to unionize, closing the "donut hole" in Medicare prescription drug plan, requiring insurance companies to cover pre-existing conditions, creating a National Health Insurance Exchange, giving tax credits to those who need help to pay health premiums, creating a small business tax credit to help with health premiums, requiring large employers to contribute to a national health plan, requiring children to have health insurance coverage, expanding eligibility for Medicaid, investing in electronic health information systems, preventing drug companies from blocking generic drugs, improving recruitment of public health workers, doubling federal funding for cancer research, reducing the Veterans Benefits Administration claims backlog, ending the "Stop-Loss" program of forcing troops to stay in service beyond their expected commitments, reviewing weapons programs, ending the abuse of supplemental budgets for war, establishing a Global Education Fund, ending the use of torture, extending monitoring and verification provisions of the START I Treaty, creating a national cyber adviser to coordinate security of electronic infrastructure, Increasing the size of the foreign service, simplifying the application process for financial aid, moving toward direct loans to students, rather than subsidizing banks to provide these, increasing funds for organic and sustainable agriculture, expanding Pell grants for low-income students, eliminating disparity in sentencing for crack and cocaine , [4]

[billbb]

[4]

There's lots more, of course. Pretty good start for seven months.

Nice to have a full-time president.

[billbb]

[4] pushing for a college football playoff system, fully funding the COPS program for public safety, improving climate change data records, expanding broadband's reach, doubling federal funding for basic science research over 10 years, creating a White House performance team and chief performance officer, creating a national declassification center, creating new financial regulations, Increasing protections for whistleblowers, creating 5 million "green" jobs, raising fuel economy standards, working with UN on climate change, creating cap and trade system with interim goals to reduce global warming, reducing energy consumption in federal buildings, requiring federal fleet to be half hybrids or electrical cars, modernizing the nation's electricity grid and use "smart grid" practices, modernizing air traffic system, funding for Amtrak to repair wreck damaged cars to improve rail service, and ensuring that stem cell research is conducted ethically and with vigorous oversight.

Oh, and increasing the number and quality of press conferences.

I have left out a huge number of the programs in the works or stalled by the actions of certain members of congress. By I think it makes the point. It is pretty amazing what you get with a full-time president, rather than one that is on vacation all the time, and a usualess lump when he does plop down behind the big chair now and again.

[EdwardianWords]

Thank you for the list. How come the media is not talking about all this? They are really not doing their job.

[ullyses]

U Rock Billbb. I think I'll bake u a cake!!!!!!

[Forest]

Happy Birthday to a real journalist, Helen Thomas, and to President Obama.

[davidvirgodc]

Sean Hannity's head is about to explode!!!

[lantanatx]

Happy Birthday to both of them. Helen Thomas is getting the respect due her, from a President who understands the importance of a strong press to the health of any democracy. Both of them are class acts.