White House: No napping for Obama

Being commander in chief is a demanding job that might leave anyone with a lot of sleepless nights.

But President Obama isn’t dozing off during the work day, his top spokesman said Wednesday.

{mosads}“No, I can’t think of a situation in which I have observed the president napping,” White House press secretary Josh Earnest told CBS Radio correspondent Mark Knoller, who asked if he’d ever seen Obama take a nap. “Certainly not during the course of a workday.”

The odd exchange was prompted by a new interview Obama did with baseball legend Derek Jeter, who offered the president some retirement advice.

“I slept the whole next day,” the former New York Yankees shortstop said. “That initial day, you’re going to sleep a lot.”

“That is my intention as well,” an emphatic Obama responded. “I am going to catch up on some sleep.”

Earnest conceded that he does not “have as much detail about the president’s sleep habits as you might think.” He said he suspects Obama “gets enough” sleep but “he’d be happy to get a little bit more.”

The spokesman added that the president’s sleep would probably be “more restful without the weight of the world on his shoulders.”