We're going to Martha's Vinyard. "Let'em eat cake."

 
"Is there anyone in the White House with nerve enough to tell Barack Obama that Martha’s Vineyard is the last place on earth that the president of the United States should find himself next week?"  Colbert King

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Someone in the White House is focused on the presidency as an achievement to be enjoyed rather than an opportunity for duty to be done.  The family "junketing" across the world, the educational trips for the daughters, the birthday party in the midst of catastrophe, the heavy stage entertainment schedule at the White House, all of these things point to a view of the president's term as an experience to be savored rather than a very hard job.

Has President Obama just given up on the job?  If so, then he should resign or state that he will not run again.  As it is, his chance of re-election is steadily declining.  His departure, now or in 2013 would enable his party to contest what is bound to be a very difficult election.  pl

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/its-no-time-for-a-presidential-vacation/2011/08/12/gIQA4c7wBJ_story.html

Comments

[William R. Cumming]

Spot on! The ego and hubris and incompetence of this Administration is stupendous. Yes I did vote for the man and am a fuzzy headed liberal. But this guy is not black or white but of unknown origins. I suspect he has personally set back the cause of racial justice another century. This may be his real contribution to the history books. WAPO says that 57% of eligible white voters in 2008 voted for McCain/Palin! (An underground consensus building that if any other VP candidate picked by McCAIN he may well have won)!
And instead of the usual 4-7% eligible black voter turnout for the Presidential election--16% of eligible black voters turned out with over 90% voting for Obama. This won him Virginia and N. Carolina. My many black blue collar friends in area where I live in Tidewater Va state they will not vote next fall because neither DEMS or Republicans get their issues and problems. And they are delighted Obama won but think that history made and just want to see him leave office safely. Don't care about any second term as far as I can understand. And yest they largely don't vote nationally or local elections. Hey I could be wrong.

[J]

Colonel, WRC,

The President was repeatedly 'cautioned' against taking a vacation in such a public way and at such an inconvenient time with all the bad press (debit commissions, market down turns, etc.). And we see what decision was made by the head cheeze, its obvious that he doesn't care and would rather tend to his own feathers than the pain of the nation.

[steve]

I see the president is going to Peosta IA. It's a shame that at 160 miles, it's too far for me to go to heckle. A waste of gas money too.

[steve]

WRC--

I have read some stats that state that no democratic nominee for president has gotten a majority of white votes since LBJ in 1964.

[Babak Makkinejad]

All:

How did Roosevelt behave during the Great Depression?

Does anyone know?

[Patrick Lang]

mussowhatever

Don't be a partisan idiot. my critique of the bush/cheney regime is well known and has cost me. Do your homework. pl

[William R. Cumming]

Steve! Believe you are correct. Also FDR's cottage at Warm Springs not the large house he stayed in just burned down. His wife
Eleanor of course even went down into several mines.

I don't think it is lack of empathy or sympathy in the President, just maybe P___y whipped.

[graywolf]

Obama doesn't scare me.
The people who voted for him terrify me.

[arbogast]

Agreed.

[arbogast]

Roosevelt. Roosevelt did not hesitate to demonize the bankers, etc. He didn't need them.

Obama is in bed with them. And, because you cannot demonize the bankers and the poor simultaneously, he is demonizing the poor as much as he can, given that they voted for him.

The poor will be demonized in the US until society falls apart. I don't know how long that will take.

Food stamps might be a good indicator. Right now 45,000,000 and counting. How many people on food stamps before the American way is no more?

Oh, and Obama is an intellectual light weight. He is everything his detractors said he was.

Will I vote for Rick Perry? No. Will I vote for Obama? No. None of the above.

[Green Zone Cafe]

William Pfaff,
The Man Who Doesn't Want to be President

http://www.williampfaff.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=532

[jonst]

@Babak......I would suggest that FDR behaved, at all times, like the patrician he was. IOW....he enjoyed a good time! At all times. And he did his duty, at the same time.

As to the MV vacation...here is one of the rare times I totally disagree with the Col. If I was advising him I would tell Obama to give a a 'go shit in your hat speech'. Sorta like the updated version of the Nixon (Pat's gonna keep the cloth coat) speech. (sorry for the colloquialism) I would bring out the wife and kids...well, kids and dog, anyway, and say 'we as a family earned this vacation (leaving aside whether that is true or not) and we're takin it! Period. Where we want...too!". I'd toast my critics with a glass of Chardonnay, and say 'have at it'. Anything, anything, that would demonstrate strength and determination in the face of opposition. No matter what...American love that kinda shit.

[Patrick Lang]

jonst

he hasn't "earned" anything. He is rich from writing his books. We pay him an adequate salary plus all his expenses and those of his expensive wife. what has he done for you to say that he has earned a vacation among the rich on this quaint little island? pl

[J]

Colonel,

With all the money expended, unnecessary taxpayer money expended, is it too much to ask that the President/Vice-President be sequestered to the White House for their entire elected term of service? Think of all the moola plus headaches it would save U.S..

What about $100k per annual as the salary for the President/Vice Presidents, and $50K per head for each member of Congress, be they Senator or Representative doesn't matter. That is a figure that IMO our U.S. could live with.

The President/Vice President/Members of Congress are way overpaid for the work they give U.S.. They all need to understand that they are NOT American Royalty.

[Nancy K]

greywolf, Rick Perry scares me the, the people who will vote for him amuse me. He probably will become president, because the country did so well under the last christian president from Texas. Have you people no memory.

[Ken Hoop]

I'll bet you.... I truly hope....otherwise admirable antiwar (and Single Payer advocate)leftist Dennis Kucinich is unconfortable he sold out to Obama on the health care compromise just about now.

[Walrus]

Is it possible for Obama not to receive the Democrat nomination?

[fred]

Obama certainly couldn't vacation in Traverse City, a beach town in a state with a 10% unemployment rate since that would spread all that money from him and his entourage in a place that needs it, just like he'll ned their votes. Oh, no salt water? here the salt goes on the margaritas, not the water.

[Cieran]

Graywolf can't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that most folks who elect Democratic presidential candidates are not voting FOR anybody. They're voting AGAINST the idiots the GOP keeps nominating.

And from the looks of what's happening in Iowa these days, that trend will continue for the foreseeable future

[Will Reks]

I've never been one to get too worked up about stuff like this.

But, I do think it's tone-deaf that no one in the WH understands how this might look to some people.

GWB spent 1020 days of his Presidency on vacation, mostly in Crawford and Camp David. But he wasn't dealing with a terrible economy on this scale.

Obama doesn't represent the working class. None of them do. He protected the bankers and his policies have mostly benefited the rich.

Now I realize why the President comes off as as inauthentic when discussing labor issues. He hasn't done anything to bring back jobs to the US or to prevent further offshoring. He promotes free trade agreements and not restoring balance to our trade through tariffs. And there's more.

One word describes Obama. Mediocre.

[J]

Nancy K,

Rick Perry reminds me of a snake-oil salesman, that old west towns would frequently toss out on their counterfeiter ears.

[graywolf]

A must read in today's WSJ;especially for the 40-50% middle-of-the-roaders:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903918104576502093021646166.html?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop

[steve]

@J

And the remarkable thing is, there would be plenty of qualified candidates for whom $50,000 with great benefits would be a great job.

Plenty of laid off police, firemen, teachers, former military, and so on.

Forget the bunk about having to have a high salary to attract "quality". These folks would be far better than what we have now.

I'm no great Nader fan, but 20 or so years ago, he said that congressional salaries should be about $25K.

[J]

steve,

Congress should not be allowed to set their own salaries. It's like leaving the hen house security to the skunks to guard. We have seen over the years where the congressional skunks have snuck out egg after egg after egg, till they don't even hide their theft, they just reach their hands in breaking the shells and go for the yellow yolks. They are worse than an egg-sucking dog IMO, once started you can't stop them except to put them or yourself out of their egg-sucking misery.

We have had to witness for far too many years where the candidates of both the Oval Office and the Congressional House and Senate put self ahead of nation. That sordid trend needs to be stopped cold and reversed in its tracks. There needs to be an 'ego polygraph' at the race's entrance for all candidates for the Presidency or the Congress, if the 'ego meter' registers as they're being poly'd, then they are automatically disqualified. Then we would not have to worry about post-election Nero-complex syndrome that we are currently witnessing in our nation's highest office.

[confusedponderer]

"Graywolf can't seem to wrap his mind around the fact that most folks who elect Democratic presidential candidates are not voting FOR anybody. They're voting AGAINST the idiots the GOP keeps nominating."

Cieran, spot on. If I was American I would do the same. The Republicans currently nominate a bunch of nuts, Romney being the improbable exception, and even he would have to please the nutter wing of his party. I like Ron Paul on foreign policy, but economically, good grief ...

Enter the real kooks: Rick Perry and Michelle Bachmann - who IMO have a good chance on winning the R nomination as the P/VP team. A nightmare. I'd rather have Bush and Cheney back then, and I think that they are dangerous miscreants.

If the two win, I'll probably be looking where I can build a decent fallout shelter; they are too enraptured with Armageddon for my comfort. Look forward to war with Iran, which will be where they will break the American empire.