WHITE HOUSE

Obama to School Students: Yes, I Know Justin Bieber

Updated: October 18, 2011 | 4:39 p.m.
October 18, 2011 | 4:37 p.m.

President Obama visits with Bluestone High School students in Skipwith, Va., Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. One student, center, asked Obama if he knew Justin Beiber, the president replied "I do, a very nice young man." ((AP Photo/Susan Walsh))

President Obama switched gears from policy to pop culture on Tuesday, stopping to answer the question of a high-schooler in Virginia during his swing through Virginia.

"Do you know Justin Bieber," a female student at Bluestone High School in Skipwith, Va., asked the president, according to a pool report. "I do," Obama said, adding later but "I think he's got a girlfriend."

Obama toured the school, meeting students and stopping at a robotics classroom where he saw "Skrappy," a robot made of spare parts from area businesses. He called their work "outstanding," shaking students' hands and posing for pictures with them. 

The president's swing through Virginia and North Carolina is part of his push for lawmakers to get behind his jobs bill.

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