obama

Happy birthday Mr President’…Obama turns 49 today

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama (pic) turns 49 today, visibly grayer than when he took office 18 months ago but enjoying the job despite the "enormous" physical and mental strain, the White House said.

Obama, born Aug 4, 1961, rose to become the most powerful person in the world in just 47 and a half years, but in recent days, he has made several public nods to the inevitability of aging. He remarked on his own slowing metabolism, the stress of the job and his salt-and-pepper hair.

"He knew what he was getting himself into in deciding several years ago to undertake this" ultimately victorious campaign for the presidency, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"There's no doubt that it takes an enormous physical and mental strain on making the decisions that you make, on sending young men and women off to war, or tackling the greatest economic calamity our country has faced since the Great Depression," Gibbs said.

But Obama was "still in pretty good shape and is enjoying the job even with its many challenges", the spokesman said.

As for the president's head of steadily graying hair, "it will just require him to get more frequent haircuts."