He may be running for the most powerful job in the world, but Sen.
Barack Obama still has to flash his gym ID like the rest of us.
Wanting to get a quick treadmill session in before his first public
event with Sen. Hillary Clinton Friday morning, the Illinois senator
headed to the newly-opened Washington Sports Club in the Columbia
Heights neighborhood.
But the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee did not get far
when he and his entourage of Secret Service agents tried to walk past
the front desk without stopping, according to the gym's general
manager, Gonzalo Perez-Tamayo.
Perez-Tamayo told CNN the club trains its employees to adopt a
strict policy of asking every member for his or her gym ID upon entry,
even if they happen to be seeking the Oval Office.
The employee manning the front desk at the time, Takehia Wheeler, immediately stopped Obama as he was breezing past.
"It's always a rush in the morning, everyone's trying to come in
quickly," Perez-Tamayo said. "She asked him for his last name and he
said 'Obama,' then she asked him for his first name."
"It was very funny, she then realized who he was and said, 'Oh I am so sorry!" Perez-Tamayo added.
For the record, Obama is a member at the Washington Sports Club gym network.
The Illinois senator did not appear frustrated by the inconvenience,
Perez-Tamayo also said, but he probably realized he needs to get a gym
card if he wants to avoid the mix up in the future.
"If he doesn't want to get stopped he needs a card," Perez-Tamayo said. "It's the same for everybody."
