Speaking of the Caps, we’d be utterly remiss if we didn’t mention the little back-and-forth that reporters had with White House press secretary Robert Gibbs yesterday about exactly why the Prez hasn’t sauntered out of his office down to the Verizon Center for a Capitals hockey game. Gibbs, who was fulfilling his end of an Olympic bet with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s spokesman Dmitri Soudas by donning a Canada sweater, was asked if the White House’s sudden preoccupation with ice hockey would finally get the Commander-in-Chief to make his way out to a Caps game. What better way to ask than by name-dropping the Barack The Red campaign, whose Facebook group, petition and open letter to Mr. Obama have really started to pick up steam in the last few days?

To his credit, Gibbs deflected a question that he obviously had no certain way to answer with class, telling reporters that he thought the President “would very much enjoy going,” and that Obama could “borrow [his] jersey” if he ever decided to take Capitals owner Ted Leonsis up on his open invitation. Granted, if President Obama is just saving up his Caps plans for when the team gets into the playoffs, I suppose it’s hard to argue with that. Playoff hockey is kinda the best.

The complete transcript of the exchange with Gibbs after the jump.