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3月12日，奥巴马总统接受了一项十分具有挑战性的任务，那就是在进行两次民主党资金筹集之前，在纽约的Gap服装店小停一站，为妻子和女儿们买衣服。 在商店里，他仔细地挑选，最终选中了一件粉色毛衣。 “我担心V领的容易下滑”，总统兴奋地买了两件领口有纽扣，长袖的毛衣，一件是淡粉色，另一件是亮珊瑚色，都是小号。两件毛衣都是中国制造，都卖44.95刀。 走到成年女士区域，奥巴马说很难给自己的妻子米歇尔买衣服，“或许我应该为她买一些袜子”。 兼职收银员苏珊•帕娜列诺推荐他给第一夫人买一件帽衫，但是总统说她不喜欢这些。 结果，他为米歇尔选了一件蓝色中号运动拉链夹克。米歇尔对Gap服装喜爱有加，有一次穿了一件价值10刀的T恤和前第一夫人南希•里根共进午餐。这件涤纶混纺的夹克是越南制造，花了他64.95刀 奥巴马在为妻子米歇尔买完保暖夹克，为两个女儿——15岁的玛丽亚及12岁玛莎买完两件毛衣后调侃自己，“在外买一些东西是个不错的选择，你到家就得到了积分”。 “我相信她们会赞同我的挑衣品味”。他说着，周围大约有20个吃惊的顾客。 纽约皇后区一家酒店的客房主管卡林•惠特尼说她见到总统后感觉很赞。 她情不自禁地说道，“总统对我说他来到纽约很高兴，跟我握了握手。他本人更帅，很性感。” 在挑选完毛衣和蓝色运动夹克后，奥巴马走到收银台，记者、摄影师、副总及情报局特工都在旁观。 总统一共消费了154.85刀，包括为米歇尔选的一件亮蓝色运动夹克，中号，还有给女儿们选的两件领口有纽扣的毛衣，一件珊瑚色，一件淡粉色。 在用信用卡付款时，奥巴马总统假装他自己不知道可以在信用卡机器上签名。 他说，“哇，也可以在机器上签名？” 当记者们记录下来的时候，奥巴马说他是在说笑，“我上次来这儿购物时就有这些了。” 奥巴马此次购物也是为了感谢Gap集团决定提高员工最低工资这一决定，决定从今年的每小时9刀到2015年涨到每小时10刀。他一直在希望企业和国会提高最底工资。 奥巴马感谢Gap提高员工的最低工资，并鼓励其它公司也这么做。他说，“这不仅对员工自身好，对他们的家庭好，也对整个经济好”。 President Barack Obama took on a daunting task on Tuesday: shopping for clothes for his wife and daughters during a brief stop at a Gap store in New York before attending two Democratic Party fundraisers in the city. At the store, he sorted carefully through sweaters in search of a purchase for one of his two daughters, Sasha and Malia, before holding up a pink one. "I'm worried the V-neck is going to slip," the president said before opting for a regular-cut neck. The president wound up buying two button-down, long-sleeve sweaters: one in light pink and the other a bright coral, both smalls. The cotton-blend items were made in China and cost $44.95 each. Moving to the adult women's section, Obama declared wife Michelle difficult to shop for: "Maybe I should buy some socks." Part-time salesclerk Susan Panariello recommended a hoodie for the First Lady, but the president said she doesn’t like them. He instead chose a slate-blue, medium athletic zip-up track jacket for Michelle, who has made no bones about her love for Gap’s styles, once wearing a $10 t-shirt to a lunch with former First Lady Nancy Reagan. The polyester-blend jacket, made in Vietnam, put him back $64.95. “It never hurts to bring something back when you’ve been on a road trip. You get points when you go home,” Obama quipped after buying a warm-up jacket for wife Michelle and two long-sleeve sweaters for daughters Malia, 15, and Sasha, 12. “I think the ladies will be impressed by my style sense.” He joked while sifting through the garments among roughly 20 shocked customers. Carlene Whitney, a hotel housekeeper from Queens, described herself as simply "amazed" after bumping into him. "He said 'today is a beautiful day to be in New York.' He shook my hand. I was amazed. He's more handsome in person. Very sexy," she gushed. After picking a pair of sweaters and a blue workout jacket, Obama moved to the cash register, as reporters, photographers, aides, and Secret Service agents looked on. The President paid $154.85 for his purchase, which included a light blue workout jacket for Michelle — size medium — and two button-down sweaters for his daughters, one coral and the other light pink. Using a credit card to pay, Obama pretended that he did not know that he could sign his name on the credit card machine. "Oh wow. So, you can sign the machine?" he said. As reporters took note, Obama said he was teasing: "They had these around the last time I shopped." Obama had dropped by a Midtown Manhattan branch of the clothing chain to thank Gap Inc for its decision to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour this year and $10 an hour in 2015. He has been campaigning to persuade businesses and Congress to raise wages for workers at the bottom of the scale. Obama then thanked Gap for raising the minimum wage for its employees and urged other companies to do the same. "It's not only good for them and their families, it's also good for the entire economy," he said. |
