The swine flu may have hit the White House. An aide working for the Obama Administration who had accompanied the President on a recent trip to Mexico became sick with flu-like symptoms, which looks to be a probable case of swine flu, the White House announced today. Three of his members also contracted the illness.

“This individual never flew on Air Force One,” press secretary Robert Gibbs said. “He was asked specifically if he ever came within 6 feet of the president and the answer to that was no.”

Gibbs said that the aide arrived in Mexico on April 13 and became ill on April 16. He developed flu-like symptoms on April 17, the day Obama left Mexico. The aide, who has not been identified, flew back via commercial airline to Dulles on a United flight on April 18.

“Obviously we’ll do everything in our power to ensure that what can be done to alert them will be done,” he said.

Gibbs added that Obama has had no symptoms of swine flu and doctors see no need to conduct any tests.

In 1979, President Carter installed a $28,000 solar water heater on the roof of the White House, which Reagan removed in 1986. Ironically, it was George W. Bush who brought solar power back to the presidential home (mostly due to pressure from environmentalists) with a grid of photovoltaic cells.

Now President-elect Barack Obama told Barbara Walters in an interview that he vows to make the White House green. In fact, that is one of his first tasks on his agenda when he moves in. None of the details have been hammered out but Obama said he plans to sit with the chief usher to elevate the White House’s energy efficiency; showing the American people that it is “not that hard” to make your home more eco-friendly.

Even though Obama has not nailed down any solid strategies yet, there have been a lot of people proposing ideas on what he could do to make the White House a little more green; for instance, turning the lawn into an organic garden.

Personally, I really think he can pull it off better then his predecessors. He has the green frenzy on his side. It seems that everyone and everything is jumping on the eco wagon, all he needs to do is set a great example and I believe that America people will follow in conserving energy in their homes.

Here is a piece of the discussion from the interview:

Barbara Walters: Are there sacrifices that Americans as individuals can do?

Barack Obama: Yes. The first thing, I think, is for the American people to draw on that reservoir of confidence and stick-to-it-ness and perseverance that my grandparents had during much tougher times during the Great Depression. The second thing: Each of us have a role to play in not being wasteful when it comes to energy. For us to turn off the lights when we leave the house, to make sure that we’re unplugging the chargers that we use on our cell phones.

Walters: You talk about light bulbs and so forth. When you’re in the White House, are you going to green the White House? Are you going to turn off the light bulbs, tell the kids to turn the – you know?

Obama: Absolutely. One of the things I want to do is, is to – I’ve already met the chief usher there, a wonderful man, a former Admiral of the Coast Guard, and one of the things I want to do is to sit down with him and, let’s do an evaluation. How are we using energy in the White House? Part of what I want to do is to show the American people that it’s not that hard.

Walters: Are you going to tiptoe around at night and turn out the lights?

Obama: Well, you know, I’m not going to be obsessive about it. But I do that in my current house. So there’s no reason why I wouldn’t do it in my next one.

Click here to see the full Barbara Walters and Barack Obama interview video.