Girl with jobless dad hands Michelle Obama his resume

WASHINGTON – Michelle Obama’s annual question-and-answer session with the children of Executive Office employees took a serious turn Thursday when a 10-year-old girl in the front row told the first lady that her dad had been out of work for three years. Then the girl popped up to hand the first lady his resume.

The first lady seemed a little taken aback but then explained to the other children, who might not have heard the girl’s comment, that the matter was “a little private, but she’s doing something for her dad.” Mrs. Obama promised to deal with the matter later.

When the event ended, Mrs. Obama gave the girl, Charlotte Bell, a hug and then reached back to grab the resume off a table as she left the East Room. The first lady played host to the children at the White House on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.

Charlotte’s family had joked over the weekend about making a job pitch to the first lady, but her parents didn’t know she would give it a try, according to her mother, an executive branch employee who did not want to be identified.

Charlotte’s father, Ben Bell, has been looking for a policy job for more than two years and recently has been trying to get a job with the Obama administration. He worked on the Obama campaign in 2012.