Obama on Vacation! Again! What a Slouch!
Republicans are making hay out of Obama’s 10-day vacation, of course. Saying he is the “Clark Griswold” president, a reference to National Lampoon’s Vacation movies, and that he doesn’t “deserve” a break. After all, after this vacation ends, Obama will have spent a total of eighty days on vacation so far! How lazy can you get?
Let’s see. At this point in his presidency, Ronald Reagan, also facing a long, worrying recession, was in the middle of a 17-day vacation, having spent a total of 77 days at his ranch alone, and a total of 110 days altogether, if you include Camp David and his 5-day vacation in Barbados.
At this point in his presidency, George H. W. Bush, immediately after Iraq invaded Kuwait and after he sent troops into the field, took off on a 4-week vacation at Kennebunkport, having racked up a total of 91 vacation days thus far.
And let’s not forget that at this point in his presidency, George W. Bush, as our troops were on the ground in Iraq, and as Bush was trying to gin up evidence and ramp up the call to start the ultimately disastrous Gulf War, took a full-month-long vacation, having racked up an impressive 225 total vacation days.
Of course, all opposition parties make political hay of the presidents’ vacation, and we all know that presidents work through these “days off.” It’s the image that makes for good political attack fodder.
The thing is, Obama has taken the least time off than any other president in recent history (not since that evil guy Carter took less time off during his campaign to destroy America), and the last president, a Republican, took so much time off that it makes Obama look like he has a pretty strong work ethic. As a result, Republicans are looking even more like hypocritical doofuses than they usually might.
What you write may or may not be true. But I’ve read that Obama spends more time on the Golf course than any recent President. Not to mention Basketball games.
Personally, I don’t mind that he’s on vacation. If he and Congress took a holiday from now until January, we’d all be better off. Sadly, they may return to “work” and do more damage.
Carter was the devil dont cha know, I mean he was a peanut farmer and peanuts kill people. But nobody had peanut allergies before Carter was president so he must of made super evil peanuts to kill off true patriotic Americans so that the Islamofascists could take over the country. See I can be a delusional crackpot like just like you, Geoff.
Ah, but there’s a difference. I believe it *all the time*. You only do when the drugs kick in. Which seems to have been the case in your post above.
I felt Kerry missed a big opportunity in the 2004 debate when Bush said “It’s hard work”.
Kerry should have pounced on that big time citing Bush’s massive amount of vacation time: “Hard work? Your on vacation HALF the time, maybe what you are really telling us is that you aren’t really suited to the job. Born with a silver spoon in the mouth? Maybe you’ve never had a real, full time job. If you find working half the time is ‘hard work’ maybe you shouldn’t be President, maybe you should take a job more suited to your disposition, iike part time gardner at a golf resort or movie theater usher or something like that.”
See Geoff, that is where you are wrong. I do believe – all the time- that you are a crackpot.
There’s also a little dog whistle that accompanies the “Obama is on vacation all the time” meme… it’s that he’s lazy. Ie, shifty (black) lazy (black) slacker (black) guy who doesn’t work hard (black).
I always figured that the best way to deal with this would be for the White House staff to simply keep the guy’s “hours” online for everyone to see. Clock his time, like a lawyer does, in 6-minute increments, and post the results every week.
I’m sure that just about EVERY President (even that lazy SOB Bush) puts in a heck of a lot of hours on legitimate duties- certainly more than 40 hours a week.