One of the entrances to the Blue Heron Farm in West Tisbury, Mass. on Martha's Vineyard, where President Barack Obama and his family plan to stay during their week-long vacation starting Sunday. (AP Photo/Stephan Savoia)
by Mark Silva
It's been a quiet week on Martha's Vineyard, where they are battening down the beaches for Hurricane Bill's pass, all the coves are good-looking and all the presidential vacations are above average.
"South Beach in Edgartown was closed to bathing today at noon, due to high surf,'' the old Vineyard Gazette reports. "South Beach and all of the beaches on Nantucket will be closed until Monday morning.''
Yet come Sunday, the pace of the isolated island resort off the coast of Cape Cod should pick up a little -- if only for the media circus in search of an elusive story. Isn't that Geraldo Rivera behind that rock?
President Barack Obama and his family, holed up at Camp David in the Maryland mountains tonight and tomorrow while the storm passes in the Atlantic, plan to land Air Force One at Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station Sunday morning and then chopper to the vineyard.
Hurricane Bill is expected to pass about 150 to 200 miles offshore. But this is an island long accustomed to the fuss stirred by Hurricane Bill - Clinton visited the island during all but one of the years of his presidency. Crowds greeted his arrival. Obama's will be more discreet.
"In sharp contrast to previous presidential visits, the public will be shut out when Barack Obama and his family arrive on the Vineyard somewhere in a five-hour window on Sunday afternoon,'' the Gazette reports of planning at Martha's Vineyard Airport.
"It will be what's called a closed arrival," airport manager Sean Flynn tells the Gazette. "There will be no opportunity at all, really, for the public to view it. That's the straight up, honest answer. You won't catch a glimpse of anything."
"The Obamas' stealthy approach bears comparison to those of the last presidential family to regularly visit the Island, the Clintons,'' the Gazette's Mike Seccombe notes.
"For their first visit, in August of 1993, thousands of flag-waving Islanders clustered at the airport and lined the roads. Edgartown school children stood on the tarmac to greet the president and his family, and a group of children from the Boys' and Girls' Club held a red, white and blue banner and sang Happy Birthday to the president. White House staff planned the public details long in advance and sought the cooperation of local media in publicizing them....
"While the possibility of some spontaneous interaction between the Obamas and locals cannot be ruled out, it does not look likely, going by intelligence filtering back from those few local officials who have been slightly informed of plans,'' our island colleague reports.
"No official engagements have been scheduled; the suggestion is that the first family will sequester themselves at their rented vacation house on Blue Heron Farm (The 28-acre, $20 million estate that the first family is renting for their weeklong stay - departing one week from Sunday.
"The only suggested activities off the farm were a couple of possible golf dates for the president and perhaps a private dinner or two.
"The lack of wider access maintains a pattern set in Mr. Obama's previous couple of visits to the Island, before he became president,'' the Gazette notes. "In 2007, when candidates Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards all visited in quick succession, the Clinton and Edwards campaigns held low-cost fundraisers -- Mrs. Clinton's drew several thousand people at $50 a head for the biggest ever event at the Oak Bluffs Tabernacle -- while Mr. Obama held only a $2,300 per-person, private event.
"If, as appears to be the plan, the Obamas lie low for the duration of their vacation, they will leave a growing media circus with no headline act.
"It is understood most of the major networks and cable channels plan extensive coverage,'' the Gazette adds. "Only yesterday it was revealed the Geraldo Rivera show, on Fox, plans to broadcast from the Island on Saturday evening.
Just to make Obama feel more presidential, perhaps, Cindy Sheehan,, the peace activist whose son Casey was killed in the Iraq War and who camped outside of former President George W. Bush's ranch near Crawford, Texas, on his vacations, plans a series of events -- including a peace vigil in Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs.
And for those counting Obama's vacation days in this, his first summer in the White House, it's worth noting that Bush spent a year's worth of weekends and vacation days at that Crawford ranch during eight years in the White House, the ranch house far out of sight of the slumbering media in Waco.
So it should be another quiet week in Martha's Vineyard.
(The old beach cottages above at Oak Bluffs catch the last light. The way most tourists get to Martha's Vineyard is via the ferry to Vineyard Haven from the mainland above. Once there, a smaller ferry shuttles between the Vineyard and Chappaquiddick Island. The point at Gay Head, above, has nothing on Lover's Leap along the Brazos River in Waco, Texas. There are a few pebbles at beach at Chilmark, below. Photos by Win McNamee, Getty Images.)
Comments
Nomen est omen.
What Bill could a hurricane bearing down on Barack's vacation spot be named after?
Could it be the Bill that made radio commercials urging voters in my district to re-elect Bobby Rush in 2000?
Possibly. Quite possibly.
Posted by: ornery | August 21, 2009 4:51 PM
I wonder if BO will ponder this while he is spending time with his family
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE57K4XE20090821
This is probably President Bush's fault
Posted by: Terry | August 21, 2009 7:02 PM
Remember how the media covered Cindy Sheehan 24/7 when she was protesting Bush? Remember how many articles the Swamp Democrats devoted to her--when she was protesting a war under the Bush administration?
Now she's protesting the same war, under Obama's watch.
And just watch the same media ignore her now. Just watch how here one-time fellow protestors won't show up for this protest.
You'd almost think the point of anti-war protestors, and their media allies, was to diss Republicans, and not to make a statement on war! Almost....
Posted by: Howard Beale | August 21, 2009 7:21 PM
With news such as this, no wonder Obama is fleeing Washington:
"WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration expects the federal deficit over the next decade to be $2 trillion bigger than previously estimated, White House officials said Friday, a setback for a president already facing a Congress and public wary over spending.
The new projection, to be announced on Tuesday, is for a cumulative 2010-2019 deficit of $9 trillion instead of the $7 trillion previously estimated. The new figure reflects slumping revenues from a worse economic picture than was expected earlier this year. The officials spoke only on the condition of anonymity ahead of next week's announcement."
A $2 trillion "mistake"!!!!
Are the people making these "estimates" the same Obama appointees who couldn't figure out their income taxes?
Posted by: Community Organizer | August 21, 2009 7:27 PM
What an absolutely moronic headline. Oooooooh, Bush spent 400 days in Crawford, TX. Mark, was White House staff with Bush while he was in Texas? Yes. Mark, did Bush get daily presidential briefings while in Texas? Yes. Can a president still run the country while in Texas or in Massachusetts? Yes.
Hey, Mark, what about all the days Obama has spent on the road?
And, hmmmm, with Obama's vacation time are you counting the days spent in Wyoming? Arizona? Chicago? Other places? Or how about the night out on the taxpayer dime to catch a dinner and theater in New York?
Mark, is Obama working on Saturdays and Sundays?
More journalistic crap from the Chicago Crapune.
Posted by: John D | August 21, 2009 10:25 PM
Fantastic choice of vacation spots, I must say! This should be a wonderful learning opportunity for the Obama girls. A mere 14 mile scenic drive from their vacation compound, they can see the bridge of infamy. Hopefully, they will be awakened as to why it is ill-advised to get into a vehicle with a drunk Massachusetts Democrat.
Enjoy the fried clams, 1st family! And remember: the shark was IN THE LAGOON! :)
Posted by: Chris | August 21, 2009 10:45 PM
Don't go there, Replicans---
"there" being differences between W and Barack.
Unless you want your heads handed to you.
Maybe your attack dogs did too good a job shredding Cindy Sheehan--maybe that's why there's not much coverage of her now....
When Obama takes a trip out of DC it's to conduct official business, to conduct a town hall, to make an address.
Not like W who was sequestered on the "ranch" far away from the press and everyone else, so he could sit in the veranda, get sloshed, and ignore the memo in his in box that said "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside U.S."
But here's one comparison we'll let you make:
What are the Replican "contenders" doing at the moment?
Mittster?
Jebidiah?
the Huckster?
Judy Ruliani?
Palin?
Ensign?
Sanford?....
Woops. Sorry, I forgot.
I've got a little List......
The last two won't be missed...
Anyway, none of your lot can keep up with Obama.
He's made more major speechs, more town halls, more press conferences already than W did in his entire, 8 sorry-assed years in office.
And that's a fact.
Posted by: ornery | August 22, 2009 7:53 AM
Oh, and Mark, those "400 days" Bush spent in Texas were at his HOME! How much time did FDR spend at his home in upstate New York? In fact, wasn't the Taconic Parkway built specifically to make the journey to his New York home that much easier?
Obama's week on Martha's Vineyard is at someone else's place. Isn't it costing Obama, or the taxpayer, tens of thousands of dollars JUST for the Obama family to be there that week? Will staff still be in the vicinity while Obama is there? Will Obama still get presidential daily briefings?
Now for the real questions: When will the Chicago Tribune get back to real reporting? When will the Chicago Tribune reporters actually begin working for their readers and not the Obama administration or the Democratic party? When will REAL JOURNALISM actually get practiced at the Chicago Tribune?
Posted by: John D | August 22, 2009 9:54 AM
Actually, yes, the president gets the daily briefing every day no matter where he is. and there is a lot of cost in moving all the staff and security to the vicinity of where the president vacations, so there was all that cost involved for the public every time Bush went to Crawford, which he did more than 400 days during his terms, and there is for Obama next week. So Bush owned the ranch where he stayed, and Obama is paying for his vacation rental, that's their business. The only costs for the public are the associated travel and relocation of staff and security -- which Bush compelled more than 400 days during eight years. This is Obama's first week off. There will be more, but it's going to be hard for Obama to match his predecessor's personal -- and publicly subsidized recreational travel. As for the reporting, we know all this from reporting it, fella.
Posted by: Mark Silva | August 22, 2009 10:02 AM
You know, there's something else about those Replican "ranchs" and "compounds".
Like Ronnie's spread in Calif.
Nixon's compound at Key Biscayne.
"Pilot" Bush's compound at Kennybunqueporte.
"Junior" Bush's "ranch" in TX.
They got a lot of free stuff. Lots of acreage to cover, right?
Like security fences and guard houses and a lot of other little amenities that could serve dual purposes--all at taxpayer expense.
Replicans are very good at that, aren't they?
Posted by: ornery | August 22, 2009 10:36 AM
Mark, the point is, which you answered yourself, is that whether the president is at Crawford or at Martha's Vineyard, he is still on the job. He still has staff, he still has staff meetings and he still gets his daily briefing and whatever.
Also, during this 400 days, didn't foreign dignitaries also visit there? Is that still considered "vacation" time?
The other point, Mark, is that you folks in the state-run media count the days Bush was at Crawford as "vacation" time even though you know full well that regardless of where he is, he is still on the job, which is the case no matter who is the president.
I do not begrudge anyone taking some time off, whether it is Bush or Obama. The country can still manage, and frankly often manages better when the politicians aren't in DC. We don't need (or at least most of us don't) some leader holding our hands to lead us to the playground.
Posted by: John D | August 22, 2009 1:19 PM
Mr. Silva,
With your reporting resources, how much does it cost to the taxpayer to provide " the associated travel and relocation of staff and security"?
Posted by: Terry | August 22, 2009 1:44 PM
When will REAL JOURNALISM actually get practiced at the Chicago Tribune?
Posted by: John D | August 22, 2009 9:54 AM
*************
You wouldn't know good, balanced journalism if it bit you on the brain you're sitting on, Johnny D.
Posted by: Kenny Bunkport | August 22, 2009 8:52 PM
It didn't much matter whether Bush (or Reagan) was on vacation anyway. Whether the Connecticut Chicken was cutting himself trying to figure out how to hold a saw for a photo-op, or the senile B-movie actor was passed out in his chair, neither one of them could figure out which button to push to get an operator on teh phone, much less listened to a single word of any reports.
President Obama was "on the job" from the minute McFlipflop conceded defeat -- and the rightwingnuts were blaming Obama for the eight years of bushdick disaster within ten minutes afterward.
Nor can you blame the man for wanting to get his family away from the crazies, the half-wit hicks, the psychos and idiots who get their "facts" from the hate-head lip-flappers who are terrified only of having to pay 35% taxes on their hundreds of millions instead of 28%.
The Trib is owned by a corporate conglomerate. They only print what their corporate masters tell them to. But if you think THEY'RE tools of the conservatoads, you'd puke your guts out at the limpdick-lovers in teh major Florida papers.
Posted by: TheDieHard | August 23, 2009 9:50 AM