A spokesman for President Obama took a timeout from politics today.

Opening up a press briefing shortly before 2 p.m., White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, a graduate of N.C. State, called on Charles Babington, an Associated Press reporter who graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill (and used to cover Washington for the N&O).

"Mr. Babington, start us off?" he said. "Let the record reflect that an N.C. State alum has asked a Tar Heel to start the questions."

Babington made reference to the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament in Atlanta.

"Very kind of you," he told Gibbs. "And good luck tonight."

Gibbs added: "In the spirit of what can only be said is bipartisanship."

The brief exchange drew laughs from the roomful of reporters, though the question Babington then asked — about a missile strike in Pakistan — quickly turned the briefing in a more serious direction.