What is a President to do when faced with an image of taking too many vacations, especially at the wrong time? The answer is simple of your name is Barack Obama and the current President of the United States of America. You wish to take a vacation without the press.
His statement on ‘Meet the Press’ Sunday night will not be one he wish he said. It will come back to haunt him, and democrats, and liberals as they try to defend the statement.
They will pint to the numerous vacations Bush, Bush Jr, and even Reagan took while President. And to an extent they are right, they did go on many ‘vacations’. Take Bush Jr, he did take a lot of vacation time, but if you look at where he went, the majority of time it was to his ranch in Crawford, Texas set up as an other White House, away from the press.
The problem Obama faces with his vacations is his timing of such vacations.
Several crisis came up during his last vacation, including the one image which everyone shares. US journalist Foley was beheaded by the radical muslim group, ISIS. The President went, gave a below average speech, then went out and less than an hour later was out on the golf course paling around with others like he had no care in the world.
When he was asked if he regretting the golfing outing, Obama replied with the following:
“It is always a challenge when you’re supposed to be on vacation because you’re followed everywhere, and part of what I’d love [would be] a vacation from the press,” he said.
Of course Obama didn’t make things any better a bit later by saying this about his job:
“Part of this job is the theatre of it.”
Not sure the family of Foley would be pleased to know he was acting. What’s worse, is if he was acting during his speech, it was not very good unless he wanted to show how disconnected he is with reality.
This has been a President who is trying very, very hard to control every aspect of what is printed about him. It also shows again, how he cannot take criticism, and his narcissistic attitude.
He wants a vacation away from the press.