For the third year in a row, the Obama administration is hosting a “Big Block of Cheese” day, and again using a video featuring actors from the iconic TV show “The West Wing” to promote it.
The event is a “virtual” extension of the day in 1837 when President Jackson ordered a 1,400-pound block of cheddar cheese delivered to the White House’s main foyer so any citizen — all were invited — could ask him and his staff about their government while nibbling on some hunks of cheese.
All day long, White House officials are answering questions from voters on various social media portals, such as Twitter and Facebook using #AskTheWH, about the nation’s business.
The White House first reached out to the West Wing cast when it decided to take a page from fictional President Bartlet (portrayed by Martin Sheen) and re-instate the tradition around 2014’s State of the Union address.
The video features White House press secretary Josh Earnest trading bad cheese puns on the phone with actors such as Sheen, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Bradley Whitford, Dule Hill and Mary McCormack. This year’s video was a major expansion from the first, which only featured Malina and Whitford.
The White House announced it by saying that Big Block of Cheese day was back and “feta ever.”
