Let’s be clear about something….George Bush took more vacation days than anybody else as president….He was frequently ridiculed about this especially once America started fighting two wars and then later when America slid into an economic downturn.
I think some of the current criticism of Obama’s vacation time is silly….The grasping at straws of the Fox News distortion team who never found molehills they couldn’t make a mountain out of or videotape they couldn’t distort or someone they couldn’t unfairly slander.
But like it or not there is a certain appearance of uncaring, and appearance of aristocratic apathy towards economic suffering that one gets when they see the First lady in Spain doing aristocratic things and hanging out with the wealthy and with royalty or seeing the president relaxing at wealthy vacation hotspots like The Hamptons or shooting baskets with NBA players.
Obama and family fall right into the hands of the Fox News gang when they are seen engaging in activities such as these during times of high unemployment and home foreclosures….Herbert Hoover, who contrary to popular belief, was not solely responsible for the great depression was tagged for the blame because people didn’t felt he was engaged or cared.
Going back to my earlier point, George Bush did take many vacations but the vast majority of them were to his ranch in Crawford where he was seen to clear brush and other “common” pursuits.
I’m not saying Obama has to re-roof his house or be seen fixing the plumbing but the a lot of the battles this presidency has lost have been on the public relations front….It’s as if the ass kicking political team who won the election were replaced by mushy headed drones when it came to actually being the president and the day to day .
What I’m saying is Obama doesn’t need any more PR headaches….Tone down the fancy vacations….Go somewhere more low key where it can appear he is contact with people and can share what their lives are about….It’s too bad but we do live in a photo opportunity culture.
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