This city is on high alert after three terror arrests on the eve of the NATO summit, so average citizens are not supposed to get anywhere close to President Obama and the other visiting world leaders.

  That's why there are a string of humongous dump trucks lined up outside the president's hotel to deter potential suicide bombers, dozens of Chicago police officers stationed on the street to ward off people who are not supposed to be at the downtown Sheraton, and metal detectors in the lobby to check hotel guests who do belong but could be a threat.

  Sometimes, however, even the president simply wants to take an evening stroll -- and sends the Secret Service scrambling for a Plan B.

It was close to midnight on Saturday night when eyewitnesses say Obama simply left his safe and secure room upstairs and hopped on an elevator with his security detail to get a peek at the lobby. 

  Hotel guests and various tourists who were wandering the lobby in the highly unlikely event of bumping into the president let out shrieks and screams as the man himself suddenly walked off the elevator. He started shaking hands all around and even stopped to pose for  cell phone photos, including with one stunned guy who said he was celebrating a big day.

  "Happy Birthday!" called out the president, who was casual in rolled up shirtsleeves. (read more)

Shortly before President Obama officially reversed his position on same sex marriage, Vice President Biden apologized in the Oval Office for getting ahead of him on the fiery issue, according to senior administration officials.

The apology, which officials say was generated by the Vice President himself and not forced upon him, came Wednesday shortly before the President did an interview with ABC's Robin Roberts revealing that he had competed his "evolution" and now supports same-sex marriage.

"The President has been the leader on this issue from day one," said Kendra Barkoff, spokeswoman for Biden. "And the Vice President never intended to distract from that."

Officials say the President indicated he understood the Vice President had been speaking from the heart Sunday when he all but endorsed same sex marriage on NBC's "Meet the Press," which caught other administration officials off-guard and sent the White House into damage control mode.

Senior officials have maintained the President was not angry at his number two, in part because they claim that Obama was already planning to announce his decision before the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte. (read more)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The marching band is all ready on its familiar perch inside Ohio State's college basketball arena, but the scoreboard is now plastered with bright blue Obama-Biden signs -- and the stands feature red, white, and blue bunting as President Obama finally launches his campaign for real.

"This is where the campaign starts right here, it's the kickoff for 2012," excited 28-year-old Travis Jones said.

"And hopefully it ends here too with Obama staying in office."

Aides say the president will have a new stump speech entitled "Moving America Forward" with familiar themes about the middle class sprinkled with a few new applause lines. Organizers say the Value City Arena has a seating capacity of 17,700 to 20,000, while about 30,000 supporters have RSVP'd for the event, though it's unclear how many will show up.

First Lady Michelle Obama joins the president for some rare joint appearances as they launch the first two official public rallies of the campaign here at Ohio State and later in the day at Virginia Commonwealth University with an eye on trying to revive the enthusiasm of young people on college campuses that helped carry him to a historic victory in 2008.

"The most important thing is getting youth involved," said Jones. "Everything that's happening right now is going to affect us." (read more)

Continuing his occasional tradition of making a big splash on the same day as a milestone in the Republican primary battle, President Obama is planning a major economic speech focused on tax fairness Tuesday.

That just so happens to be the same day GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney -- who has faced a barrage of attacks from Democrats and some Republicans about his wealth and relatively low tax rate -- will try to wrap up the race with a win in the Wisconsin primary.

At a lunch sponsored by the Associated Press in Washington, Obama will deliver what senior administration officials are billing as a major speech laying out what he sees as the important choices facing the country on the economy. 

The primary theme of the speech will be overall fairness in the tax code, which is shaping up to be the central focus of Obama's re-election effort. It's a message the president first previewed about everyone paying their "fair share" during a heavily-watched speech in Kansas late last year, followed by a call to action on the same issue in his January State of the Union Address. 

"Now, you can call this class warfare all you want," Obama said on Jan. 24. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense." (read more)

Current and former White House aides on Thursday rejected demands by a conservative group that a Super PAC supporting President Obama refund a $1 million check from comedian and talk show host Bill Maher because of coarse comments he's made about Sarah Palin and other Republican women.

While Obama earlier this week denounced similar comments that radio talk show host made about a college student, Sandra Fluke, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the president is not going to get involved in the Maher battle.

Carney said "language that denigrates women is inappropriate," but it is not the President's place to be the "arbiter" of every controversial statement.

"He chooses to lead by example or tries to," Carney said of the president, adding that "he chooses to try to practice that civility himself and he calls on everybody to do just that."

Earlier on Thursday, Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew charging Maher is a "serially vile misogynist" because of a list of nasty comments directed at conservative women. (read more)

GOP hopeful Newt Gingrich is planning to release a 30-minute long video on gas prices and the economy, a senior adviser to Gingrich told Fox News.

Gingrich quietly shot the video recently in Los Angeles. His campaign hopes the video highlights what they believe is their strength in the race: a long, substantive case against President Obama.

The campaign is planning on buying ad time on local TV stations in key states to air the video. The adviser says the first planned purchase of the video is in Spokane, Washington, where Gingrich has been campaigning heavily in preparation for the state's upcoming caucus.

In the video, Gingrich is seen speaking directly to the camera. He apparently was given a script, but tossed it and spoke off the top of his head.

Gingrich may have referenced the video in an interview with Fox News Channel Tuesday night, where he said he was "gonna find ways to communicate " with the American public.

"I like debates, happens to be good for me, if they're afraid to debate that's fine," he said. "I find other ways to communicate with people with or without their debating." 

Red, White & Blue Fund, the super PAC supporting Rick Santorum, is pouring another $600,000 into Michigan on Tuesday, just a week ahead of the Republican presidential primary in the state, an adviser to the political action committee told Fox News.

The money will pay for a statewide ad buy that will run through the primary. This is nearly double what the group is already spending on the air in Michigan. 

Mitt Romney obviously has plenty of super PAC money coming in, as demonstrated by filings released on Monday. But significant is Santorum's lead in the polls in Romney’s home state, and his advisers are trying to put the pedal to metal.

WASHINGTON -- Lin-sanity has now reached even the Oval Office.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney told reporters today that President Obama is an "avid sports fan" who has been closely following the rags to riches story of Jeremy Lin of the New York Knicks.

Lin was literally living on his brother's couch as an unknown basketball player from Harvard, but over the last ten days he has suddenly taken the sports world by storm, leading the struggling Nicks to six consecutive victories out of nowhere. (read more)

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will chair the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, according to Democratic officials.

This is another sign of the importance the Obama re-election campaign is placing on outreach to Latino voters.

Obama officials have said for months that Latino voters, particularly in Western states like Nevada and Colorado, will be pivotal to their re-election effort. 

The convention will take place the week of Sept. 3. Over 35,000 media, delegates and special guests are expected to attend the convention, according to its website.

Former Bush 2000 campaign manager Joe Allbaugh will be named senior adviser to the presidential campaign of Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a top Republican source confirms to Fox News.

The move was first reported by Texas Monthly, which noted that Allbaugh had previously offered his services to the Perry campaign only to be denied.

Given Perry's somewhat rocky start, it could help the governor regain his footing given Allbaugh's status as a member of the "Iron Triangle" -- along with Karl Rove and Karen Hughes -- that helped propel George W. Bush to victory in 2000.

One area that Allbaugh could help with immediately is helping bring along some support among other Bush veterans to the Perry effort after the well-publicized tension between the two camps.