13 heartwarming images of President Obama delivering hugs

Three-year-old, Arianna Holmes wraps her tiny arms around the POTUS in the Oval Office, on Feb. 1, 2012.

(Image credit: CC BY: The White House)

In honor of the endearingly unnecessary holiday National Hug Day — which is a real thing — and the coincidental fact that it falls this year on President Obama's second inauguration, we present 13 images of people — famous and not, Republican and Democrat, young and old — getting hugged by the president. Enjoy:

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After this bro-tastic hug on Sept. 8, 2012, is it any wonder that Republican Charlie Crist made the jump to the Democratic Party three months later? (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A little girl makes a jump for the president's legs as he pats her on the back in return during a meet-and-greet for wounded warriors and their families on July 5, 2011. (CC BY: The White House)

Lauren Hansen produces The Weekâ€™s podcasts and videos and edits the photo blog, Captured. She also manages the production of the magazine's iPad app. A graduate of Kenyon College and Northwestern University, she previously worked at the BBC and Frontline. She knows a thing or two about pretty pictures and cute puppies, both of which she tweets about @mylaurenhansen.