Beat the Press: High-flying Obama plays to win

On a five-hour flight from Washington to Oregon late Thursday, the Illinois senator came to the back of his charter plane for a spirited word game against reporters, and it was clear he did not intend to lose.

In "Taboo," a player under time constraints must prompt teammates to guess words or names without using obvious hints. For instance, in giving clues for "equator," the player is penalized if he says "Earth," "center" or "line."

Obama and a half-dozen aides took on a team of journalists, mostly young TV network reporters who have traveled with him for months. The senator jumped in eagerly and often.

When his communications director Robert Gibbs gave the clue, "I've got a good," Obama called out, "vibration!"

"Shorter than that," Gibbs said.

"Vibe," Obama guessed correctly.

Many clues touched on politics. Campaign aide Jen Psaki asked about something President Bush said on an aircraft carrier, and Obama quickly answered "mission accomplished." Close, but another aide and teammate, Reggie Love, later got the right answer: "mission control."

When Obama was giving clues, he ventured: "Thomas Jefferson called for it once in a while." Seeing the blank looks, he admitted, "that's too obscure." He then tried, "the Beatles did a song about it," and a teammate correctly answered, "Revolution."

Love, a former football and basketball player at Duke University, took a turn at giving clues, asking for a mall store "where gays go to buy clothes."