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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Obamas enjoy a date on Broadway | Obamas enjoy a date on Broadway |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has fulfilled a pre-election promise by flying first lady Michelle to New York for a date. | US President Barack Obama has fulfilled a pre-election promise by flying first lady Michelle to New York for a date. |
| "I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished," the US president explained in a statement. | "I promised her during the campaign that I would take her to a Broadway show after it was all finished," the US president explained in a statement. |
| Republicans characterised the trip as insensitive and wasteful against the backdrop of US car giant General Motors preparing for an expected bankruptcy. | Republicans characterised the trip as insensitive and wasteful against the backdrop of US car giant General Motors preparing for an expected bankruptcy. |
| White House aides and media accompanied the first couple on their private date. | White House aides and media accompanied the first couple on their private date. |
| The president and first lady travelled to New York in a smaller plane than the regular Air Force One 747. | The president and first lady travelled to New York in a smaller plane than the regular Air Force One 747. |
| Mr and Mrs Obama ate dinner at Blue Hill restaurant, described as a trendy place where the food is grown by owner-chef Dan Barber. | Mr and Mrs Obama ate dinner at Blue Hill restaurant, described as a trendy place where the food is grown by owner-chef Dan Barber. |
| Crowds lined the streets near the theatre for a glimpse of the couple | |
| After dinner they moved on to the theatre. | After dinner they moved on to the theatre. |
| Taxi drivers stood on the door frames of their vehicles as crowds gathered, up to eight people deep, to glimpse the first couple as their motorcade passed through blockaded streets. | Taxi drivers stood on the door frames of their vehicles as crowds gathered, up to eight people deep, to glimpse the first couple as their motorcade passed through blockaded streets. |
| The presidential date ended with a performance of August Wilson's play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. | The presidential date ended with a performance of August Wilson's play, Joe Turner's Come and Gone. |
| The play is set in a Pittsburgh boarding house during a time when thousands of descendants of former slaves seeking work moved in large numbers from the rural south toward the industrial cities of the north. | The play is set in a Pittsburgh boarding house during a time when thousands of descendants of former slaves seeking work moved in large numbers from the rural south toward the industrial cities of the north. |
| The Obamas flew back to Washington on Saturday night. |