Quit whining about Obama's vacation

Every August the usual Washington suspects pen their usual Dog Days Summer lament: The president shouldn't go on vacation, least of all to anyplace remotely nice. "Is there anyone in the White House with nerve enough to tell Barack Obama that Martha’s Vineyard is the last place on earth that the president of the United States should find himself next week?" bemoans Colbert King, wringing his hands raw. "Don’t get me wrong. I don’t begrudge the chief executive a little time off from the Oval Office." King then begrudges away with both hands and a baseball bat.

He asks, what is Obama thinking? The president wants "to spend 10 days luxuriating in an affluent, New England summer town" when Americans are jobless, mad at Washington and "anxious about their futures?" I mean, how dare he! King wants to know why Obama cannot simply take a small-budget "staycation" instead. After all, he huffs, "It’s not as if the Obama family is living in deprivation in Washington. ... they have access to five full-time chefs, a tennis court, a bowling alley, a swimming pool, a jogging trail, a putting green and a movie theater that shows first-run films on demand," he writes. And all "without leaving the White House grounds." Which of course is the problem.

To the Obamas, literally trapped in the White House for most of the year, a staycation amounts to doing more "hard time" in a maximum security prison ― albeit a very fancy one ― without the possibility of parole. I can just imagine Michelle Obama's reaction to staycationing: "Honey, bowling is not my idea of romantic. Either you get us out of here or you better get used to sleeping on the couch, buster." And think about the poor Obama kids: "Daddy, why are the guards making us watch Cowboys & Aliens for a sixth time? Daddy, do we have to have Molten Lemon Cake with Simmered Summer Blueberries for dessert again? Daddy, my teacher said the sky is blue. Is that true? Why won't they let us see the sky, daddy?"

What is it with these dour, grumpy columnists who begrudge the president (and his family) some well-deserved downtime in a place of his choosing? Congress left town weeks ago. Much of the elite DC press (the ones who are not already in Martha's Vineyard) is either vacationing in Europe or on some sunny beach someplace. It's not as if the president can pass laws and run the government by himself. And ― here's the kicker ― America could care less about which spot the Obama family chooses to vacation. Most think he would be nuts not to pick a fancy place. In short, Colbert King should quit whining and take a vacation himself. He clearly needs one. Go ahead, Mr. President. Luxuriate to your heart's desire in Martha's Vineyard ― and let Sasha and Malia see the sky.