Politically charged atmosphere makes it harder for presidents on vacation

[TomCADem]

Source: Washington Post

KAILUA, HAWAII -- Before heading to a luau on Wednesday, President Obama did something much more somber, his aides said: He called CIA Director Leon Panetta to discuss the deaths of seven agency officers in a suicide attack in Afghanistan.

On Thursday morning, before taking his family to a private viewing of the movie "Avatar 3-D," Obama called his counterterrorism and homeland security advisers for updates on an attempted airline attack a week earlier.

On New Year's Eve, after more than five hours of golf, the president "cleared the decks" for work, aides said -- sequestering himself for several hours to study some preliminary assessments of intelligence failures in the airline case.

* * *
"It's clear that he finds being out here rejuvenating. ," said Denis McDonough, chief of staff on his National Security Council, who spent many hours with the president throughout the trip. But, McDonough said, Obama was often the one turning the subject back to national security. "He has a hunger for this stuff. He is always asking: 'What if we did this? What's the latest? What more can we be doing?' " he said.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/01/01/AR2010010100701.html?nav=hcmodule

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Of course, nothing is mentioned of the fact that George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan hold the record for vacation time while President. Still, why let the facts stand in the way of a good GOP talking point.

[Captain Hilts]

1. And for everybody else now. You can't get away from work. Ever. nt

[TomCADem]

2. Well, You May Not Have A Choice If You Get Furloughed...

...As noted in the story about California state workers.

[PatrynXX]

6. Take the Furlough!!!

At least you'll have a job to come back to. If a Furlough woulda saved my job I would have taken it.

[GoCubsGo]

8. That was the excuse the rethugs used when Junior was on vacation

Remember? "The President is ALWAYS working. He always has people keeping him informed no matter where he is, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah..." The only difference now is that President Obama does actually work even on vacation, unlike his useless, incompetent predecessor.

[defendandprotect]

3. I'm sure that was an interesting conversation with Panetta . .. !!!

Did he know about this scam . . . is he trying to find out where it came from . . .

how high/how low . . .

Obama isn't the first president to be betrayed by the CIA --!!!

[murielm99]

4. Obama looks awfully thin and drawn to me.

If he needs time to relax, he certainly is entitled to it.

His sense of responsibility keeps him checking back into work. His predecessor would not have cared nearly as much.

[Oldtimeralso]

5. K & R and proud to be # 5 n/t

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. Bush never let ANYTHING stand in the way

of a long vacation. He had his priorities.

[HughMoran]

9. "He has a hunger for this stuff. He is always asking: 'What if ..."

Good to hear - this is why I hired him for the job.