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Obama's First Facebook Post Brings Up Hawk Named By NH Students

WASHINGTON (CBS) -- President Barack Obama finally has his own page on Facebook, and in his first post, he gives a shoutout to some New Hampshire elementary school students.

In the video posted Monday afternoon, the commander-in-chief gives the world a short tour of the White House grounds – his backyard for the past seven years.

Hello, Facebook! I finally got my very own page. I hope you'll think of this as a place where we can have real conversations about the most important issues facing our country – a place where you can hear directly from me, and share your own thoughts and stories. (You can expect some just-for-fun stuff, too.) I'm kicking it off by inviting you to take a walk with me in my backyard – something I try to do at the end of the day before I head in for dinner. I say this often, but that's because it's always at the front of my mind: We've got to preserve this beautiful planet of ours for our kids and grandkids. And that means taking serious steps to address climate change once and for all. Now, we've made a lot of progress to cut carbon pollution here at home, and we're leading the world to take action as well. But we've got to do more. In a few weeks, I'm heading to Paris to meet with world leaders about a global agreement to meet this challenge. I hope you'll join me in speaking out on climate change and educating your friends about why this issue is so important. At a time when nearly three in four adults online use Facebook, this feels like a great place to do it. Share your thoughts in the comments, and pass this message on to folks you think need to see it. If we're all in this together, I'm confident we can solve this and do right by future generations.

Posted by POTUS 44 on Monday, November 9, 2015

"There's a lot of critters out here," Obama says. "There's a hawk that some kids named Lincoln, who flies around here."

"Some kids" are the students at Lincoln Akerman School in Hampton Falls.

Back in March, the fourth graders made a name for themselves when they went to the New Hampshire House of Representatives to propose making the red-tailed hawk the state raptor. They were rejected, with one legislator making an abortion reference and another saying "we'll be picking a state hot dog next."

But their story caught the attention of the White House, who reached out to the students for help naming a hawk that had recently made its home on the grounds of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. They settled on "Lincoln."

"The name recognizes the visionary leadership of our 16th President and the proximity of the Lincoln Memorial to the White House—all with the added bonus of sneaking in a plug for their school," The White House said.

The president's video was shared more than 2,000 times on Facebook in just an hour. He said he hopes to use his own Facebook page to talk about climate change and other important issues facing the nation.

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