President Barack Obama spent his summer vacation in each of the first three years of his presidency at Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
The president skipped his annual Vineyard vacation during 2012’s re-election campaign.
According to CBS News White House reporter Mark Knoller, who tracks presidential travel, a numerical look at vacation time taken by Barack Obama and his predecessor, George W. Bush, revealed:
14: Number of vacation trips taken by Obama since he took office in January 2009.
92: Number of days, all or in part, Obama has spent on vacation.
57: Number of vacation trips taken by Bush at this same point in his presidency.
50: Number of visits Bush made to his ranch in Crawford, Texas.
323: Number of days, all or in part, Bush spent at the ranch.
7: Number of trips Bush made to his family’s compound in Kennebunkport, Maine.
26: Number of days, all or in part, Bush spent in Maine.
The numbers do not include visits to the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland.
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So are you going to tell us *where* BHO went on his vacations and what it cost to set up a command center / Vacay Oval Office at all the different houses and hotels?
Compare and contrast to working from a “home office.” where the transportation does not involve setting up an entire command center at every different location, and also is fewer miles. How many vacations did Laura Bush, or even Jackie Kennedy or Lady Bird Johnson take which involve huge entourages including BFFs and millions of dollars? Shoot, I don’t think Hillary (and Chelsea) did as much vacationing as the present First Lady.
Oh — and you forgot to count he WH celebrity parties. (And Secret Service covered teen age trips top …the Atlantis in the Bahamas? Mexico?) Did you go back and look at how many times they party at the BHO WH? Even during the sequester when the WH was closed to the public. On whose dime?
Not against the occupants of the WH having vacations and a good time, but abusing the privilege (soaking the taxpayers) is really bad optics and disrespectful. Comparing Hawaiian and Martha’s Vineyard vacations and ritzy golf rounds [Palm Springs during the worst drought in CA history? Really?] ) to the Crawford Ranch is comparing pistachios and apples.
Not at all a fan of GB43, but I bet many of those Crawford trips were basically working-from-home trips where he could shed the public eye and be more himself. GB43s many public gaffe’s on speeches and general behavior clearly indicates him to be more introvert than most presidents but that does not mean he couldn’t be okay in private and with less lenses staring at him.
Imo, either president is taking too much time off. Give em 5 weeks and no more.
I would agree though that the WH kids, whether its the Bush twins, Chelsea or the BO kids, should never have to be punished for their dads being in office, while of cause not obusing it to lavish stuff they wouldn’t normally do. But I would be okay with a huge security bill to make sure they are able to have normal kid/teenage lives and can attend a regular high school and college education.