ET6 NATION'S SALUTE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE OBAMA'S



Wedding day: The Obamas posted this photograph on social media to celebrate their 20th anniversary

Tonight sees the first debate of the 2012 presidential election - but that is not only reason that this is a special day for Barack Obama.

October 3rd is the 20th anniversary of his wedding to Michelle, and despite the distraction of his re-election campaign the President did not forget to acknowledge the significance of the date.

Both Obamas took to Twitter to send each other celebratory greetings, and Barack also tweeted a photograph of the young couple on their wedding day in 2002.

The President wrote: 'Twenty years ago today, I married the love of my life and my best friend. Happy anniversary, Michelle.'

Mrs Obama replied: 'Happy 20th anniversary, Barack. Thank you for being an incredible partner, friend, and father every day. I love you!'

The picture of the couple in their smart wedding outfits was sent out by the President with the caption 'Twenty years together'.

The Obamas have also opened up to Oprah Winfrey to reveal how they have kept so close despite the pressure of life in the political spotlight.

'When you're under all of these pressures, to come home every single night... and have Michelle and the girls there... they are my balance and keep me grounded, and that's truer now than it's ever been,' the President said in an interview which will appear in O next week.

Mr Obama and the First Lady have repeatedly used talk-show and magazine interviews to tell the story of how they first got together in 1989.

And the couple seem to have become even keener to shine light on their personal life this year in the run-up to November's presidential election.
The latest over-sharing came as Mrs Obama appeared on Steve Harvey's syndicated talk show.
She described how the future President, who worked with her at a Chicago law firm, took her for ice cream at Baskin-Robbins, which happened to be where he had had his first job.
After they picked up their snacks, she said, 'We sat on the kerb, we just talked... we were talking and eating and laughing, and he leaned over and he asked me could he kiss me - and I said "Yes!"'

Kissing plaque: A 3,000-pound granite marker has been erected in Chicago to commemorate where the President first kissed Michelle in 1989

The anecdote may be romantic - but it is hardly unfamiliar to voters, having been recounted in numerous interviews over the past few years.

Just last week, the couple told the familiar story to the hosts of The View - holding hands with each other all the while.
In fact, the tale is so well-known that the site of the Baskin-Robbins where the Obamas' first date took place now boasts a plaque marking the occasion.
The plaque reads, 'On this site, President Barack Obama first kissed Michelle Obama,' and has a picture of the couple.
It also features a quote from Mr Obama dating back to perhaps the first time the anecdote was told publicly, in O magazine in February 2007.

On the trail: Mr and Mrs Obama campaigning together in Iowa City last month

 

Passion: September was a big month for the couple, as it included the Democratic National Convention, right

 The Illinois senator who was about to launch his presidential campaign told the publication: 'On our first date, I treated her to the finest ice cream Baskin-Robbins had to offer, our dinner table doubling as the curb.