Paparazzo snaps shirtless Obama

source : http://www.politico.com
A paparazzi picture of a buff and shirtless Barack Obama Monday prompted a decidedly un-presidential reaction on the Web.

“Dang, my President is SMOKIN' HOT. Who else has such a fine leader? France? Great Britain? Eat your heart out, Sarkozy,” wrote one commenter on The Huffington Post, one of a select few outlets to receive the images Monday.

Peter Moore, the editor of Men’s Health magazine who interviewed Obama on his workout habits for a November cover story, told Politico his nearly seven-day-a-week regimen seems to have paid off. “No love handles to speak of on the sides. You see the definitions in his arms. He’s a dude. Wow.”

Beyond playful interest in Obama's physique, the photographs are bound to raise questions within Obama’s inner circle about the family’s privacy. The Obamas have been fiercly protective of their daughters, in particular, reaching agreements with news organizations during the campaign about when they could be photographed.

But Bauer Griffin, a Los Angeles photo agency, was not bound by any agreements and released 37 shots of the Obamas and their daughters, Sasha and Malia, at their beachfront vacation home Sunday.

The images, which were given to the Huffington Post, TMZ.com and Celebuzz.com, show Michelle Obama and their daughters in bathing suits, carrying towels and playing with friends. They are the images of any normal beach vacation, but such an unmanaged peek into the Obamas’ world is highly unusual.

An Obama transition spokesman declined to comment on Obama's reaction.
Obama has been photographed several times without his shirt as a presidential candidate but he’s about to step into the White House — so how much skin is too much? There is a fine line, experts said, and this time at least, Obama was on the right side of it.

“He is being authentically Barack Obama,” said Howard Bragman, a Los Angeles public relations expert and author of “Where’s My Fifteen Minutes.” “I don’t see it as disrespectful of the office. If he was wearing Speedos? Yeah. A thong? Maybe that wouldn’t be the best look.”

Despite living under a microscope for more than two years, Obama routinely bristles at the interest in his every move and takes to scolding photographers who try to capture him in unscripted settings.

On Halloween, he bolted from photographers as he walked through his Chicago neighborhood with his daughter. In Hawaii, he showed annoyance Monday with the press corps as he set out for a round of golf, saying “OK, guys, come on. How many shots do you need?”