But will he throw out beads?

Tue, February 10, 2009 - 3:16 PM

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs announced today that President Barack Obama will address a joint session of Congress Feb. 24 -- Fat Tuesday. Those party animals, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were at the White House bright and early before the president left for Fort Myers, Fla. They invited him to speak, and he accepted.

On Air Force One en route to Florida, Gibbs said he was making the announcement "much to my chagrin and what I would normally, would have wanted to do that night. But you'll hear the president instead."

Asked how he normally spends Mardi Gras, Gibbs said, "I used to have a party for Mardi Gras. We would cook -- a little gumbo, a little etouffee. It's been a couple years since I had that party."

Hey, maybe Obama will bring the gumbo.

-- Marsha Mercer