Obama treats himself to boys' weekend in Florida

[careless hal]

He has done such a good job, he deserves this.  WishI could thank him in person for the $4.15 gasoline.


T ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) — Faced with a lonely weekend of rattling around the White House without his wife and daughters, President Barack Obama arranged a golf outing with some buddies. In Florida.

Immediately after a speech Friday in his hometown of Chicago on building a stronger middle class, Obama flew into the airport in West Palm Beach and was driven for nearly an hour to coastal Palm City and behind the gates of the Floridian Yacht and Golf Club, an exclusive resort that will serve as the president's home away from home until he returns to Washington on Monday.

It's a weekend with the boys, presidential style.

Eyebrows might have been raised at the thought of the president, any president, high-tailing it out of Washington, without his family, for some "me time" hundreds of miles away from the Oval Office. First lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha are on an annual, President's Day weekend ski vacation out West.

As it turns out, a president going on vacation alone isn't all that uncommon.

And, Obama has taken "vacations for one" in the past, too.

During the weekend, Obama — an avid golfer — was expected to take full advantage of the club's private, 18-hole regulation golf course, which opened in 1996 and is owned by Jim Crane, a Houston businessman who also owns Major League Baseball's Astros, according to golfnow.com.

"A quiet weekend of golf," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

The president was not expected to leave the private club, which fronts the St. Lucie River, until he heads back to Washington. Members of the club and their guests have access to one of eight cottages, a 68-slip deep water marina, the club's 61-foot Viking yacht, a 24-foot Hurricane Deck Boat and the club's private helicopter service with two on-site helipads.

The White House arranged for the reporters who travel with the president to stay at a hotel in Port St. Lucie, about a 20-minute drive away from Palm City. They were not expected to see the president until it's time for the return trip home.

Obama's longtime buddy from Chicago, Eric Whitaker, joined him aboard Air Force One for the trip from Chicago to Florida. The two have played golf together in the past. Another regular member of Obama's golf foursomes is White House trip director Marvin Nicholson, who also traveled with the president on Friday.

America's presidents have been taking solo vacations for decades, according to Larry Knutson, a former White House reporter for The Associated Press who wrote a book about presidents and their vacations.

Although Bess and Margaret Truman visited him there just a couple of times, Harry Truman vacationed most often by himself in tropical Key West, Fla. Many aides, all men, accompanied him.

Truman enjoyed the male companionship and his wife may have stayed away out of a desire to not interrupt his cherished late afternoon and evening games of poker. Truman vacationed in Key West 11 times between November 1946 and March 1952; his wife and daughter joined him for the first time in November 1948, after his surprise win in that year's election campaign.

Franklin D. Roosevelt often visited his cottage at Warm Springs, Ga., alone; wife, Eleanor, didn't much care for the place or the Southern atmosphere. Roosevelt was at Warm Springs, on his own, when he died in April 1945. He also often traveled solo to his home in Hyde Park, N.Y., during World War II. The first lady often did not accompany Roosevelt on his wartime visits to Shangri-La, which is now the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, or when he traveled on the presidential yacht or on Navy warships.

In 1997, Bill Clinton was in southern Florida for fundraising and to play in a golf tournament when he stumbled on steps at the home of golf pro Greg Norman and needed surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right knee. He was treated at a hospital in West Palm Beach before being flown to Washington for the operation.

Obama's stay at the Floridian isn't his first vacation without his wife and daughters.

In 2010, Obama was left alone in Washington as his 49th birthday approached. The first lady had taken Sasha with her to Spain for a vacation with friends, and Malia was away at camp. Rather than stay in the big White House by himself, he fled, with family dog Bo, home to Chicago for an intimate dinner with friends there that included Oprah Winfrey, Whitaker and White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a fellow Chicagoan

[srotagtbs]

http://politic365.com/obamas-vacations-of-any-president-bush-racked-up-the-most/

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20509217/how-president-obamas-vacation-time-stacks-up

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/ad-lib/2013/jan/7/president-obamas-back-hawaii-how-many-vacations-ha/

[AmyHollar]

http://politic365.com/obamas-vacations-of-any-president-bush-racked-up-the-most/

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/20509217/how-president-obamas-vacation-time-stacks-up

http://communities.washingtontimes.com/neighborhood/ad-lib/2013/jan/7/president-obamas-back-hawaii-how-many-vacations-ha/

[careless hal]

    Of course spending time at one of your other houses isn't the same thing.  If Barry came and stayed at his Hyde Park home, none of the media would call it vacation.  But, obviously many are suckers for the media BS.  Enjoy your $4 soon to be $5 gas And, if you have kids, make sure they join the Obama youth core.  That way you stand a chance when the civil unrest starts.

[srotagtbs]

  Of course spending time at one of your other houses isn't the same thing.  If Barry came and stayed at his Hyde Park home, none of the media would call it vacation.  But, obviously many are suckers for the media BS.  Enjoy your $4 soon to be $5 gas And, if you have kids, make sure they join the Obama youth core.  That way you stand a chance when the civil unrest starts.

Nah, they would rather have Bush invade another half dozen countries under the banner of "eliminating" Weapons of Mass Destruction that don't really exist...

[careless hal]

Nah, they would rather have Bush invade another half dozen countries under the banner of "eliminating" Weapons of Mass Destruction that don't really exist...

Bush was far too liberal for my taste.  Tried to appease the Dems and we all know how appeasement works!  But, that has nothing to do with this.  George Ryan went to prison for accepting vacations from his "friends".

[Danville]

Nah, they would rather have Bush invade another half dozen countries under the banner of "eliminating" Weapons of Mass Destruction that don't really exist...

Damn, I never realized that Bush was still in office. Thanks for your reminder !!
How's that Benghazi thing going for you?

[srotagtbs]

Bush was far too liberal for my taste.  Tried to appease the Dems and we all know how appeasement works!  But, that has nothing to do with this.  George Ryan went to prison for accepting vacations from his "friends".

Appeasement works about as well as partisanship.

[srotagtbs]

Damn, I never realized that Bush was still in office. Thanks for your reminder !!
How's that Benghazi thing going for you?

 

[Jeremy]

When a dem is in office the republicans complain, when a republican is in office the dems complain. How it always works.

[AmyHollar]

I'd be more concerned about the "days off" my congressmen and women are taking.

[pezz97]

I'd be more concerned about the "days off" my congressmen and women are taking.

[careless hal]

I'd be more concerned about the "days off" my congressmen and women are taking.

 

They should take off for a year or two.  We have enough regulations as it is and the Prezz makes up plenty on his own.

[LVGaryD]

The one thing no one has pointed out here: When Obama is on vacation, he is not really f**king anything up worse that he already has.

I didn't like Bush all that much, but Obama makes me miss Bush more every day.

[careless hal]

Maybe Tiger can throw out his back on his next swing and never play again.  I knew there was a reason I didn't like the guy besides him being a slimball

Print......Related Content...
View Photo.Tiger Woods Joins President Obama in Florida For a Round of Golf
....President Obama spent President's Day weekend in some very curious company. The Commander in Chief, who had jetted south to Florida for a quick trip, spent some time on the green on Sunday, Feb. 17, with none other than golfing great Tiger Woods.

The 37-year-old athlete joined the President on the links early Sunday morning for what Golf Digest's Tim Rosaforte called a "historic moment" in the sport

"The president is arriving at The Floridian range," he tweeted. "Awaiting is Tiger Woods and club owner Jim Crane, Historic day in golf. Their first round."

The writer later continued his informative tweets, updating fans with the latest, including specifics about how each of the two golfers was faring.

PHOTOS: Love lives of athletes

"Not going to turn this into Tiger Tracker, but from pro shop at Floridian we received word TW holed out greenside bunker No.1 for birdie," he wrote.

Earlier in the weekend, Obama, 51, had taken lessons from Woods' former swing coach, Butch Harmon, at the newly-redesigned golf course at the Floridian Golf Club in Palm City, Fla.

Harmon also spoke with Rosaforte recently about Obama's constantly improving golf game.

"He's just like all of us that play golf," the coach said. "He wants to get better."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Tiger Woods Joins President Obama in Florida For a Round of Golf

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