'They're friends with Beyonce': Obama

                                                   Though the girls were not present for the interview, which was excerpted online, they appeared to be the only ones picking pop culture favorites as the President remained diplomatic when asked who he would rather spend the day with: Duck Dynasty or Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

The question was a loaded one- since Mr Obama has previously criticized Keeping Up With The Kardashians and called Kanye 'jacka**' after the rapper interrupted Taylor Swift's acceptance speech.

The women: Mr Obama said that he is surrounded by 'opinionated, strong, tall women' (seen together at a Christmas event on Sunday)                                                                                                                          

The women: Mr Obama said that he is surrounded by 'opinionated, strong, tall women' (seen together at a Christmas event on Sunday)

Any old grievances were ignored, however, when President Obama was talking to People.

'The Duck Dynasty family seems like a pretty fun bunch, so I can see how that would be pretty fun. Kanye's music is outstanding, though. I've got a lot of his stuff on my iPad. If it was a concert, then I might not mind listening to him,' Mr Obama said.                                                                                                                  

He may have been trying to avoid a skirmish with Kanye but incidentally ended up on a landmine as the timing of this article is a bad one for the Duck Dynasty clan. 

Patriarch Phil Robertson was quoted today as bashing gay men and lesbians in a recent interview and GLAAD has called for an apology.                                                                                                                

While the celebrity connections that come with the presidency undoubtedly prove popular with the first daughters friends, the same doesn't always translate for the President himself.

'Malia had friends over, and there was a question about whether she was going to even introduce them (to her dad), because sometimes he gets a little formal, asking them about school and interests. She says "I don’t know if my friends can handle that." But she said that you actually did quite well,' Mrs Obama said.

'I acquitted myself well. I did not embarrass her,' Mr Obama said.                                                                  

One thing that the entire family gets on board with is their light-hearted criticism of their father.

'Look, I've got three opinionated, strong, tall women, and if they get together, they can have fun about my ears or being too loud or how I dress,' he said. 

He does credit his daughters for being the ones to introduce him to social media tools, even though his administration and campaigns have touted their prowess for years. 

'Technology is an area where they still help us old fogies out. You know, Instagram, Vine, those are all things that I first heard from them,' Mr Obama said.

                                          The Obamas were interviewed as part of the magazine's Most Intriguing issue, and they did touch on heavier subjects like the NSA surveillance program and the beleaguered health care roll out but only briefly.

He said how he was both 'frustrated' about the Snowden disclosures that prompted him to make an awkward call to German chancellor Angela Merkel after it was revealed that records of her phone calls were collected, and he found the sign up process for healthcare.gov 'frustrating'.                                                      

One thing that he did seem upbeat about was the prospect of having more good news to report when he meets with People Magazine again next year- though even that promise will leave many upset. 

The White House Press Corps are currently in a public battle with the administration due to their restrictive access guidelines that prevent regular interviews with the President and forbids photographers from attending largely ceremonial events that they were previously invited to cover.                                                                 

'These so-called private events include meetings with world leaders and other visitors of major public interest — just the sorts of activities photojournalists should, and used to, have access to,' Santiago Lyon, the director of photography for the Associated Press wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times.                         

 posted by Emanto Ngaloru Nov 18, 2013.