David A. Graham: A Short History of Presidential Vacation Outrage
[David A. Graham is a reporter at Newsweek.]
The only thing worse than having to work while lots of people are on vacation must be having to work in the press pool covering people on vacation. Because just as predictable as the pundit machine's August fixation on silly stuff is that the press corps will find something scandalous to say about a presidential vacation. Not just Obama. Every president. Despite White House spokesman Bill Burton's suggestion that the Obamas are being harassed with unprecedented attack for their recent leisure travels, this is nothing new. As Kenneth Walsh says, criticizing the president's cottage destination has become a cottage industry in D.C.: "No matter who is the president, the opposition party delights in criticizing him for taking time off, billing it as insensitive to the problems of struggling Americans, demonstrating aristocratic excess, or betraying some hedonistic character flaw." The only thing new are the creative methods of finding fault with taking time off. In that spirit, here's a short guide to how to turn a presidential vacation into a "scandal."
The Obamas
Vacationing in an Elitist Enclave: For their first major vacation since President Obama took office, the first family chose to visit Martha's Vineyard in August 2009. The press breathlessly described the island off Cape Cod as a playground for "the liberal elite." The New York Times hosted an online debate about how much Democrats love the resort. When the first family announced its plans to return to Martha's Vineyard a year later, conservative commentator Michelle Malkin was outraged at the "spendapalooza." When Michelle and Sasha Obama traveled to Spain, they were hounded for taking too lavish a vacation, with one columnist claiming the first lady was a "modern-day Marie Antoinette."
Recklessly Rubbing Elbows with the Hoi Polloi: In June 2010, President and Mrs. Obama took a romantic getaway to the Big Apple for a weekend. The RNC, seizing on news that GM was about to file for bankruptcy, issued a release attacking the president: "Putting on a show: Obamas wing into the city for an evening out while another iconic American company prepares for bankruptcy." Other critics grumbled that the Obamas were wasting taxpayer dollars by visiting a big city where they required a large and costly security detail.
Traveling Too Far from the Heartland: When the so-called "Underpants Bomber" attempted to ignite explosives on a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, Obama was with his family in Hawaii, the state where he was born. GOP strategist Kevin Madden earned attention (and ridicule) for telling CNN, "You have to also remember the fact that the president being on vacation in Hawaii, it's much different than being in Texas. Hawaii to many Americans seems like a foreign place."..
Read entire article at Newsweek
The only thing worse than having to work while lots of people are on vacation must be having to work in the press pool covering people on vacation. Because just as predictable as the pundit machine's August fixation on silly stuff is that the press corps will find something scandalous to say about a presidential vacation. Not just Obama. Every president. Despite White House spokesman Bill Burton's suggestion that the Obamas are being harassed with unprecedented attack for their recent leisure travels, this is nothing new. As Kenneth Walsh says, criticizing the president's cottage destination has become a cottage industry in D.C.: "No matter who is the president, the opposition party delights in criticizing him for taking time off, billing it as insensitive to the problems of struggling Americans, demonstrating aristocratic excess, or betraying some hedonistic character flaw." The only thing new are the creative methods of finding fault with taking time off. In that spirit, here's a short guide to how to turn a presidential vacation into a "scandal."
The Obamas
Vacationing in an Elitist Enclave: For their first major vacation since President Obama took office, the first family chose to visit Martha's Vineyard in August 2009. The press breathlessly described the island off Cape Cod as a playground for "the liberal elite." The New York Times hosted an online debate about how much Democrats love the resort. When the first family announced its plans to return to Martha's Vineyard a year later, conservative commentator Michelle Malkin was outraged at the "spendapalooza." When Michelle and Sasha Obama traveled to Spain, they were hounded for taking too lavish a vacation, with one columnist claiming the first lady was a "modern-day Marie Antoinette."
Recklessly Rubbing Elbows with the Hoi Polloi: In June 2010, President and Mrs. Obama took a romantic getaway to the Big Apple for a weekend. The RNC, seizing on news that GM was about to file for bankruptcy, issued a release attacking the president: "Putting on a show: Obamas wing into the city for an evening out while another iconic American company prepares for bankruptcy." Other critics grumbled that the Obamas were wasting taxpayer dollars by visiting a big city where they required a large and costly security detail.
Traveling Too Far from the Heartland: When the so-called "Underpants Bomber" attempted to ignite explosives on a flight to Detroit on Christmas Day 2009, Obama was with his family in Hawaii, the state where he was born. GOP strategist Kevin Madden earned attention (and ridicule) for telling CNN, "You have to also remember the fact that the president being on vacation in Hawaii, it's much different than being in Texas. Hawaii to many Americans seems like a foreign place."..