Letterman Knocks Obama For Latest Vacation

[RamboLiberal]

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) — A storm that curtailed outdoor activities for much of President Barack Obama’s vacation was forecast to end Wednesday, but he said he’s been able to fight off cabin fever.

Not only has he been able to sneak in two rounds of golf, but he told reporters Tuesday he’s “doing a lot of reading” at the farm compound he’s rented for the first family. “I’m having a great time,” he said.

The president made the remarks, his first in public since heading out on vacation last week, as he escorted first lady Michelle Obama from the State Road restaurant.

Obama has faced some criticism for his latest vacation, his sixth since taking office. At a time when painful unemployment numbers continue to bear down on the tattered economy, many are frustrated that the nation’s leader is enjoying another luxurious trip. On CBS’ “The Late Show” Tuesday night, David Letterman took a jab at the president, saying: “He’ll have plenty of time for vacations after his one term is up.”

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2010/08/25/letterman-knocks-obama-for-latest-vacation/

[WI_DEM]

1. Letterman should talk. Anyway I don't begrudge a president for taking some time off

They should compare the days--I'm sure Obama hasn't taken as many days off as Bush did--or Reagan. They would go for a month at a time.

[RamboLiberal]

13. 48 days to 115 days

Yep that Obama is some vacationer compared to that workaholic W. :sarcasm:

Veteran CBS News White House correspondent Mark Knoller, a fastidious keeper of presidential statistics, has kept count. By his tally, Obama has embarked on nine "vacations" since taking office, bringing his total days off to 48. Some of those trips lasted a day and some, like his Christmas holiday in Hawaii, more than a week.

By comparison, Bush had visited his ranch in Crawford, Tex., 14 times at this point in his administration and spent 115 days there. And yes, Democrats let him have it, too, complaining that he was a chronic vacationer.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/21/AR2010082102399.html?hpid=topnews

[gort]

42. And Bush was off an entire month IIRC before 9/11

I thought that was odd to take a month-long vacation after not even one year on the job.

Facts are stubborn things.

Expose the Koch Brothers to sunlight. They are the true enemy of Democracy.

They sell astroturf. It's a fact.

[Connie_Corleone]

2. With friends like these, who needs enemies.

If Obama waited until every problem was solved in the country, he would never be able to take a brief vacation.

What happened to taking time to "recharge the batteries"?

[impik]

22. Gibbs was 100% right. That's why there was such an outrage. They knew he was right

[okieinpain]

3. forget president obama, he knew what he was getting into when

he asked for the job. I don't feel sorry for him and they should lay into him for taking time off when there is work to be done.

[MattyGroves]

6. Agreed

That's why the "I inherited the recession, war, etc..." routine is getting old with people and won't work through the 2012 cycle.

He didn't inherit anything. He voluntarily asked the public for the job knowing full well what he'd be walking into even before he got the nomination.

[jenmito]

9. "He didn't inherit anything"??? REALLY? Of COURSE he inherited the terrible economy

and the two wars, and he has saved the economy from losing 750,000 jobs a month to gaining private sector jobs for the last 6 months, ended combat operations in Iraq, and is doing as promised in Afghanistan, too.

He has never complained about the job he was getting into, he always says he knew what he was getting into, the buck stops with him, and never said otherwise. If you have a problem with him taking some time off to refresh himself and recharge, too bad.

[okieinpain]

11. well if he keeps it up and things don't turn around those jokes will

become more and more frequent and will start to seem like it's all he cares about. which won't do him or any other dem any good going into elections.

[Arkana]

20. He DID inherit those things, no matter how much you wish he didn't.

[impik]

21. And the Republican replacing him in 2012 will not inherit anything either

[jenmito]

7. I'm sure Obama couldn't care less about Letterman and others joking about vacation time...

but for you to say (or imply) that he shouldn't be "taking time off when there is work to be done" is ridiculous. There's ALWAYS work to be done when you're president, and Obama has had to do more work than most presidents (and he HAS). He deserves his vacation time to recharge his batteries. He's nowhere close to the amount of time BUSH took off at this point in his presidency.

[okieinpain]

12. it's more about image then it has to do with work. he has too

look like he is trying, that's why president clinton did the whole "I feel your pain" deal.

[impik]

17. He's one of the most hard working presidents ever, you can all bite him

Any way, in 2012 this whole Obama nightmare will be over, for you, and for Letterman and the rest of the professional left.

[okieinpain]

25. you can work your ass off, but if your image is that you're always

doing something other then working. then guess what your image is. right now president obama is on vacation instead of working his ass off.

we he asked for the job he didn't say hey i'm going to need time off every now and then, he said i got this. well he's got what he wished for so don't go complaining now. If it was me i would be on this 24/7, the complaint would be I'm always on somewhere and they wished I would take a break.

hey i voted for the guy, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to judge him.

[CakeGrrl]

27. You're judging him through the filter of media bias

Your concerns and criticisms seem to be driven by perceptions that the MSM has helped define.

He IS working and working damned hard, but the corporate-controlled, Bush-friendly media is not going to go to any trouble to point this out.

Have you seen any comparisons in the MSM to the relative amounts of vacations taken by #43 and #44? No? And I doubt you will.

Why are you "judging" by what the MSM says? Why do people come back to this board all up in arms over what they heard in the MSM? Why do they get credit for any reliability?

[okieinpain]

36. well where do you think voters get their info from. n/t.

[impik]

28. Sure you would be on this 24/7. You're Superman. Maybe you should

run for office, there's an opening coming up in 2012.

[okieinpain]

37. do you mean for president obama's job. that's pretty good n/t.

[Phil The Cat]

14. Sleep should be out, too!

Break out the Red Bulls and the 5 Hour Energy Shots! He should be on the job 24x7x365 until everything is right with the world! Goodness knows I do my best work during periods of sleep deprivation! :hangover: :argh:

If he can't handle it, he should step aside for someone who can! There are plenty of TRUE Progressives willing to spend ALL eight years IN the White House working on the people's business around the clock and deferring vacation until the end of term!

:crazy:

Translation (for the sarcasm impared): Cut the man some slack! (A) He is STILL working on "vacation", and (B) we really DON'T want tired, stressed, cranky people to be in charge of the most powerful war machine in history!

He is a smart, caring human being, and considering what we have been through, we are lucky to have him! Just keep in mind the "human being" part, as in "not a machine"!

[jonnyblitz]

18. apparently since Obama hasn't taken AS MUCH time off as

Bush he is above criticism on this issue. " BUSH DID IT, TOO MOMMY!!!!1" :crazy: Letternman is a fucking ENTERTAINER he goes after EVERYBODY. People whining about THIS of all things look STUPID.

[bigwillq]

24. I agree

ALL politicians are fair game for these late night hosts. It's how they make their living. Don't like it, don't watch. I happen to LOVE Letterman! :hi:

[DailyGrind51]

44. He is showing poor judgement by appearing disengaged, like his predecessor.

[jenmito]

4. Letterman said something about Obama being on vacation Monday, too. When he mentioned

Obama's name, the audience applauded (before the punchline of the joke was made). He asked, "Are you clapping for Obama or vacations?" (They were obviously clapping for Obama.)

[frazzled]

5. Six vacations. Really?

I don't know what CBS/AP counts as a vacation, but in my book, a weekend away is not a vacation. It's a weekend getaway on non-work days. And taking your family sightseeing for a day while you are on state business is not a vacation in my book either. According to my count from the following list, the Obamas have taken 3 vacations: one-week trips to Martha's Vineyard last year and this, and a week in Hawaii at Christmas. The rest were brief trips taken on the weekend or stopovers on business trips. (That's less time altogether than Bush's full month at the ranch in his first six months in office.) If there is only one date listed on the following entries, it should hardly be counted as a "vacation." Neither should the first lady traveling on her own without the president.

February 13, 2009 - The First Family spends a weekend in their former home of Chicago, Illinois.<3><4><5> and returns to the White House to give his first nationally-televised press conference.<3>

June 5, 2009 - In Paris, President Obama and his family took part in sightseeing, including visiting the Centre Georges Pompidou.<6> Obama then arrives in Paris, visits the Eiffel Tower with his family, and meets French President Sarkozy.<7>

August 16, 2009 - Obama visits the Grand Canyon in Arizona with First Lady Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasha Obama.<8>

August 22-30, 2009 - The Obama family visited Martha's Vineyard with their dog Bo. The family stayed on a 28 acre estate.<9> While there the Obama's faced anti-war protests for their ongoing support of the War on Terror. Persons expressing opposition to the Obama policy included "Peace Mom" activist Cindy Sheehan;<10>

October 2, 2009 - President and First Lady Obama, along with Oprah Winfrey, travel to Copenhagen, Denmark, to give a speech to the International Olympic Committee in a failed attempt to bring the 2016 Summer Olympics to Chicago.<2><11>

December 24, 2009 - January 3, 2010 - The Obama family arrives in Oahu, Hawaii for a 10-day holiday vacation. <12>

April 23–25, 2010 - President and Mrs. Obama are in Asheville, North Carolina for a weekend vacation.<13>

July 16-18, 2010 - President Obama and the First Family traveled to Bar Harbor, Maine for an extended weekend vacation, including a trip to Acadia National Park and the Bass Harbor Head Light in Tremont.<14><15><16><17>

August 1-9, 2010 – As Barack Obama spent his 49th birthday at the White House, Michelle Obama spent the week with Spanish Royalty at what is considered Spain’s finest 5 star hotel.<1><18><19>

August 14-15, 2010 - Panama City Beach, Florida. The Obamas spent the night at the Bay Point Marriott.<1><20> The visit included a boat ride, ice cream, miniature golf and a trip to Wonder Works.<21>

August 20-31, 2010 - The Obamas travel to Martha's Vineyard for the second time of the Presidency bringing along the White House head chef.[

[Milo_Bloom]

16. +1

I remember getting REALLY ANNOYED at someone when I had to stay home to take care of my kid when he was sick and someone made the comment about me "taking the day off".

Not ALL trips are vacations.

[NatBurner]

34. how dare you come in this post with your fancy logic and facts?

we're trying to bash over here

[Enrique]

8. ha ha, CBS puts the Letterman joke in the headline because it's a CBS show

the AP story is just a routine story on Obama's vacation, and mentions Letterman's generic politician joke in passing, but CBS makes it the headline.

[BeyondGeography]

10. I remember Letterman condescending to Obama back in 2007

Complimenting him non-stop on the suit he was wearing as a way of minimizing him (when he wasn't trying to nudge Barack to say he'd be happy to be Hillary's VP nominee). This was before it was apparent to most people that Obama had a good chance to be the next President. And now, at the first sign of "weakness," he's going with his initial instinct.

Wrong then, and wrong now, asshole.

[catgirl]

15. I used to like David Letterman n/t

[Beaverhausen]

19. Comedians have to try and poke at the president. If this is the best he can do for Obama...

...Obama has nothing to worry about.

Letterman clearly supports the president, this 'joke' notwithstanding.

[grantcart]

23. Letterman is getting kind of crotchety.

It seems as if he is in fact getting persona with Brian Williams about going on Leno

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/24/david-letterman-to-brian-_n_692566.html

In any case he isn't as funny as he used to be.

[BlueIris]

26. I absolutely cringe whenever I see the President on vacation.

I don't begrudge him the occasional day off, nor do I think the First Lady and his daughters aren't entitled to their trips--but that's because his spouse and children aren't the CIC at a time of unparalleled national crisis. For the most part, I think he should be working around the clock, like the rest of us are.

[CakeGrrl]

32. Huh??

"Around the clock?" What kind of hours do you assume DUers or the nation at large puts in on average?

How do you know what kind of hours the President puts in when he isn't caught by paparazzi or pool photographers? Despite the perception the MSM wants to perpetrate, I doubt he's in front of a camera for a significant percentage of any day.

You don't think he works "overtime"? I sure as hell do.

Do you think he wasn't working phones to get the legislation we've got? If you doubt he was, then you and I strongly disagree.

[Skittles]

48. mmmmmmmmm

I know whenever I "work around the clock" (like now I am doing 10 straight nights of 12 hour shifts) I start to lose focus and feel really off my game - would not want that happening to a president.....I believe we keep hearing about Obama's vacations because the corporate media squawks about them more than when bush spent half his "presidency" on vacation

[4lbs]

29. Interesting that Letterman would light into President Obama for having taken a total of 4 vacation

days the last month, while Congress is on it's 20th vacation day now?

[Divine Discontent]

30. he's a comedian... he has to rib him for something... too many people getting throw under the bus.

[AngryAmish]

31. Jail this racist has-been.

[onenote]

33. for anything in particular

or simply for telling jokes you don't like?

[Beacool]

39. You forgot the sarcasm emoticon

:eyes:

[Ter]

40. Go away

n/t

[Beacool]

35. Let's see...........

Letterman was a hero when he kept bashing Palin and her daughter, but he's now in the dog house because he made a very mild joke about Obama?

:crazy:

[1stlady]

46. Please

if the joke was on HRC, you would be up in arms too!!

[dflprincess]

47. Letterman has told a lot of Hillary jokes over the years. n/t

[Mass]

38. This is his job. He is an humorist. He has to make jokes every day about the news.

And he certainly criticized Bush and Cheney a lot more than Obama.

I guess you must hate Stewart and Colbert too, because they are a lot more brutal about Dems than Letterman is.

[DrToast]

43. Letterman likes Obama

He makes jokes about everyone.

Gah...people are so sensitive.

[Phx_Dem]

41. At least he's not scr**ing his staffers, David.

The man's allowed to take vacation with his family. Every other President has, and alot more often and for longer periods than this one so STFU.

[craigmatic]

45. It's not like he has a magic button to press to fix things but the vacation looks bad.

I guess I wish he'd do the FDR thing and make people feel better about the situation instead of reading and golfing.