UPDATE: More details on First Lady's visit is in this postFirst Lady Obama was photographed today shopping at a Target store in Alexandria, Virginia. The shots were taken by AP photographer Charles Dharapak, who regularly covers the White House. Mrs. Obama, "incognito" in sunglasses and a baseball cap with a Nike logo, was snapped standing in the checkout line with an aide, as well as pushing a grocery cart while carrying plastic Target bags.
Secret Service agents scoped out the Target store, located on Rt. 1 about 20 minutes from the White House, about a half hour ahead of Mrs. Obama's visit, reported AP. The First Lady's Director of Communications, Kristina Schake, declined to confirm if photographer Dharapak had been tipped off about Mrs. Obama's citizen outing, which lasted between 30-40 minutes as she browsed the aisles.
"It is not uncommon for the First Lady to slip out to run an errand, eat at a local restaurant or otherwise enjoy the city outside the White House gates," Schake told CBS News.
One of Mrs. Obama's more notable "slip outs" was to DC's BLT Steak restaurant in April, when she ran into hockey dynamo Alex Ovechkin. The puckish superstar tweeted a photo of himself with his arm around the First Lady. (Above: Mrs. Obama checking out)Target also tweeted Mrs. Obama's visit to their store.
"First Lady Michelle Obama may be incognito but there is no denying those signature @Target red carts!" was tweeted from the @Bullseyeview account. @Target retweeted it.
Mrs. Obama has a historic public private partnership for the Let's Move! campaign with Walmart, Target's biggest competitor. Walmart has pledged to trim fat, sugar, and salt from its private label food products, as well as build markets in "food deserts." Target has made no such commitment.
One of the photos of Mrs. Obama at Target wound up above the banner on Drudge Report for much of the afternoon, with the odd headline "A Woman's World." The Target shopping shots are in contrast to Dharapak's photos of Mrs. Obama snapped on Monday at the White House, when she made an announcement about womens' STEM career issues. (Above, Mrs. Obama entering the East Room for her announcement)*Updated
*Photos by Charles Dharapak/AP