- Nov 25, 2012
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A very nice 2012 news article, want to update that a year or so?
If you had taken the time to read it you would have noticed that from November of 2012(when it was published) until now, not much has changed as it relates to the amount of "time off" that the current President has taken compared to his predecessors. So here is a cut and paste from the same article for those of you who are so obsessed with wishing for him to fail:
2. Obama has taken more vacation time than any president in history
This isn't even remotely accurate either, but first, some context from Nancy Reagan: "Presidents don't get vacations they just get a change of scenery. The job goes with you." The responsibilities, the pressure, the officer with the "nuclear football" it's all with a commander-in-chief at all times. No exceptions.
But how much time away from the White House has President Obama spent, and how does this compare with predecessors?
POTUS Tracker, compiled by The Washington Post,*shows that from January 2009 to October 31, 2012, Obama spent all or part of 72 vacation days in a variety of places, mostly Hawaii in the winter and Martha's Vineyard in the summer. That's about 10 weeks away in three-and-a-half years, hardly extravagant. Through May 18, according to data from CBS's Knoller, he also visited Camp David 22 times, spending all of part of 54 days there.
What about his predecessors?
·*In 1798, President John Adams left the capital for seven months to care for his ailing wife Abigail; his enemies said he practically relinquished his office.
·*Thomas Jefferson and James Madison routinely went away for three- and four-month stretches.*
·*Abraham Lincoln, during the Civil War, was blasted for spending about 25 percent of his time away from the White House.
·*Dwight Eisenhower took long summer breaks in Denver and spent almost every single weekend at Camp David.
·*John F. Kennedy rarely spent a weekend in the White House, staying at family homes in Palm Beach, Hyannis Port, and the Virginia countryside.
·*Lyndon Johnson spent 484 days in five and a half years at his Texas ranch.
·*Ronald Reagan was away for 436 days, usually at Rancho del Cielo (his mountaintop retreat in California) or Camp David.
·*Bill Clinton, who didn't own a vacation home, loved to party with his elite friends in Martha's Vineyard and the Hamptons.** *
·*George W. Bush spent 32 months at his ranch (490 days) or Camp David (487 days) an average of four months away every year.
Time off doesn't mean goofing off. President Bush, for example, met with a variety of foreign leaders at his ranch. President Obama held a G-8 summit at Camp David. Just like you might check your email while sitting on the beach (you fool, you), presidents never really unplug. But if anyone deserves a vacation, it is the person who serves in the world's most stressful and demanding job.