The first headline from Friday’s installment of the president’s island vacation? No golf. The second? No POTUS sightings, either.
While complaints circulate about President Obama spending too much time golfing during his Martha’s Vineyard vacation (eight rounds in his first 12 days) and not enough on important affairs of state (Iraq, Ferguson, journalist James Foley’s horrific murder), media members officially following Obama on a daily basis — we joined the merry crew on Friday — have another complaint: too little face time with POTUS himself.
For most of the past fortnight, save for a couple of somber speeches and golf-course snapshots, the President has been the Vineyard’s version of the Invisible Man. Friday was no exception. No meet-and-greet public outings. No book shopping with first lady Michelle Obama and daughters. No trip to the island’s annual fair, a corn dog photo-op waiting to happen.
Instead, he and the first family have been doing their thing in private, mostly, well out of view ofthe “pool” — media members who accompany the president whenever he leaves home. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, poolers will tell you.
True, Bill and Hillary Clinton were more visible on their Vineyard summer sojourns, if not more accessible, many say. On the other hand, observed one local, the Obamas have seemingly embraced the spirit of a true Vineyard vacation: solitude and relaxation.
Into this vacuum, boredom and idle speculation have flowed. Is it true one of MV’s private golf clubs has considered charging Obama to play there? Might the first family buy their own place here once their White House days are done? Seems possible.
Play along at home, then, as we break down what a 17-hour day on POTUS watch looks like:
8:15 a.m.: Bus pickup at elementary school in Vineyard Haven. Press pool credentials issued.
8:36: Arrive at transfer spot near Alley’s General Store in West Tisbury.
9:13: Driven to motorcade holding area in Chilmark, where pool members are wanded by the Secret Service.
9:30: Press told we’ll almost certainly not be seeing Obama today. Bummer.
10:02: White House says POTUS and FLOTUS are “hiking” on and near their Chilmark compound. “Actually, more like walking,” we’re told.
10:40: Vans depart for Vineyard Haven and Edgartown. Lid (no coverage) on until 5 p.m.
1:30 p.m.: At Edgartown press briefing, deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes and deputy WH press secretary Eric Schultz address serious topics — Iraq, Ukraine, the Islamic State, Foley — raised by the regular WH media contingent, not the van gang. Asked about the wisdom of Obama being photographed golfing right after his emotional speech about Foley’s death, Schultz says he “understands you’re asking about the optics” but notes that sports and leisure have always been good ways for vacationing chief executives to “clear the mind.”
6:05: Pool reassembles in Chilmark. Serious security protocol. Many black vans and windowless trucks, explosive-sniffing dogs, etc.
7:12: Motorcade rolls toward Oak Bluffs, where first family will dine with WH adviser Valerie Jarrett and friends, then take in the town’s annual fireworks show. OB is packed for the event, with hundreds of well-wishers waving and cheering as our convoy rolls through. Local reporter is astonished we can even get near the downtown area on this celebratory night. “Only the President of the United States could do this,” he marvels.
9:41: Fireworks finale.
10:00: Pool members regather to await first family’s departure. And wait. And wait. And wait some more.
12:40 a.m.: Motorcade rolls toward Chilmark.
1:08: Lid on.
Just a few hours later, the POTUS press pool was back on duty, following POTUS to the golf course Saturday morning, where he joined regular playing partners Alonzo Mourning, Cy Walker, and Joe Paulsen. Down the road, meanwhile, media members could anticipate another five-hour wait, their quarry as elusive as ever.
“Golf?” one reporter said Friday. “That’s when you work on the novel.”