Obamas Heading Back to Hawaii

[Hope And Change]

For president-elect, a brief taste of normalcy at home

A routine, yet surreal, existence sequestered in a security bubble

By John McCormick | Tribune reporter
November 22, 2008



President-elect Barack Obama greets the lunch crowd at Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli on South Jefferson Street as he stops to pick up sandwiches and pie. (Terrence Antonio James / Tribune / November 21, 2008)

There is some irony that it took winning the presidency for Barack Obama to settle into a schedule that borders on humdrum.

For now, he wakes up in his own bed, works out in the same fitness center each morning, goes into the office, comes home and has dinner with his family—a far cry from the frenzied campaign life of the previous 21 months.

While offering more routine, his existence is also more surreal, as he moves through Chicago largely sequestered in a security bubble even more robust than at the end of the campaign. Still, Obama seems to be savoring his time between Election Day and the move to the White House, one of the longest stretches he has had at home in five years.

On Friday, he made time to leave the office briefly to pick up a corned beef sandwich and cherry pie from Manny's Coffee Shop & Deli, a favorite spot for Chicago politicians.

"I'm just glad to be out," Obama said amid applause and shouts of congratulations from surprised diners.

One extended absence from Chicago is expected in late December, when the family goes to Hawaii for its annual Christmas vacation. The trip will likely include a memorial service for Obama's grandmother, who died the day before the election.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-obama-life22nov22,0,6767514.story">Full article here

[Turbineguy]

1. I hope he has his

Passport and his shots.

Wingnuts contend Hawaii is a foreign country.

[ellacott]

2. lol