The Prez and Vice-Prez eat lunch together every Wednesday. This may seem silly, but they're busy guys, and they make a point to break bread together at least once a week. I think that's nice.

What's more interesting is where they eat. Often enough, they do it up in the White House. But not always. They stopped by Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington on this most recent Wednesday. The Prez got a burger and asked for "some kind of Dijon mustard." You can see this on YouTube. Sean Hannity and friends have been going nuts about the Dijon. And the fact that the Prez asked for "French" fries. My God, you'd think SarBruni had taken up permanent residence in the Lincoln Bedroom or something.

I don't worry about a man's mustard choices. I like the idea that the Prez and pals hit the city (and environs) for a meal. And the Prez doesn't need to hang with his Vice to enjoy the fine local cuisine. He and the missus have a date night once a week, and they go out. To a real restaurant. Where real people eat. They generally don't clear out the dining room for these visits, either, though the Secret Service does take up some space.

The First Lady also does the town with her own staff. She has also favored local burger joints and other casual eateries recommended by folks in the know.

There is a political calculus in all this eating, of course. Presidents like to be known as "one of the people," a desire that isn't necessarily just a calculation. With the exception of the Bushes and John Kennedy, the post-World War II presidents have come from humble beginnings. Ronald Reagan did arrive in the White House accustomed to the finer things after years in Hollywood, but he didn't have a particularly privileged youth.

One could argue that this conspicuous food consumption might also be targeted at convincing folks to loosen their purse strings and help the economy. As the Prez is notoriously detail-oriented, I'm sure he's aware of this.

However, few recent presidents have been as visible in our nation's capital as the current one. The last president almost never showed his face outside the White House fence--unless he had an event in a hotel where he could be limoed out of the White House basement and into the basement of the hotel. The previous Vice was known for his residency in a variety of "undisclosed locations," though he's being somewhat less circumspect about his whereabouts these days.

But now we have a presidency about town. And it's not just eating. Both the Prez and First Lady have visited all sorts of schools, organizations and businesses in the area. My wife and I have a friend who works at a community health center in the Adams-Morgan neighborhood. She wasn't in the office the morning that Michelle Obama stopped by, but she reports that everyone in the office (which sits behind a non-descript steel door) was quite heartened by the visit.

You might well say, "Of course they were happy with the visit. It's the First Lady!"

True enough. And while there's no arguing that anyone would be happy with a personal visit from the Prez or First Lady or (maybe) the Vice Prez, there's also no denying that such visits are important. Remember that picture of a young Bill Clinton shaking JFK's hand? You think that moment didn't matter?

Folks commonly call the president of the United States "the most powerful man in the world." In terms of geopolitics, this might be true. But the Prez can't drop by Chevy Chase Wine and pick up a case of Bell's Two Hearted Ale on sale. For that matter, the Prez can't drive the fam out to Great Falls and check out the flooding Potomac crash down 350 feet of cascades. Well, he can, but it takes a lot of planning. The rest of us just pack a picnic, sit in line and pay $10 at the gate.

Even the most people-friendly presidents tend to give in and hunker down in the White House. Bill Clinton started his presidency jogging over to McDonald's for some fries. By the end, scandals kept him almost completely locked up.

Maybe that'll happen to Obama, but I hope not. As a certified inside-the-beltway resident (if not an actual district denizen), I'm glad to see the Prez out and about. The folks here love him, and they're always happy (if a little shocked) to see him queue up with the masses and lay down a few bills for some serious hamburgers.

It's always good to be the Prez at Ray's Hell Burger, even if you do ask for Dijon mustard.

Jon Worley would like to recommend Nava Thai up in Wheaton for the Prez's next date night. Parking's a bit tricky, but he could always take the Metro.