Another Vacation? Obama Schedules Second Since Oil Spill...
Withdrew To Grove Park Inn & Spa As Flow Began To Grow...
Lack of Obamas' visit agenda leaves Chicagoans guessing
May 24, 2010 8:42 PM | 82 Comments |
WASHINGTON -- The news that President Barack Obama and his family will return to Chicago for the Memorial Day weekend has triggered a guessing game.
Where will they dine? What will they do for fun? With the Sox on the road and the Blackhawks skating into the Stanley Cup finals, might the first family ditch its predictable pastimes -- basketball, golf and tennis -- and go to the United Center for hockey?
According to a White House official, the Obamas will arrive Thursday and stay until Monday, when Obama will participate in a Memorial Day ceremony at Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood. The veterans' cemetery is about 50 miles south of Chicago.
A top adviser to Obama, David Axelrod, recently took in a play at the Goodman Theatre about the civil rights movement, and that has some speculating that the Obamas will show up for "The Good Negro," which is making its Chicago premiere.
Denise Schneider, the Goodman's publicity director, said the Obamas have patronized the theater in the past, and the president is known to have a high regard for the play's director, Chuck Smith, who is one of the city's top African-American directors. The play is a fictional examination of civil rights leaders including the Revs. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ralph Abernathy.
Talking about the Obamas, Schneider said: "We would love to have them." Hers is becoming a common refrain.
Said chef Tony Mantuano of Spiaggia, an Obama favorite: "We certainly would be thrilled if they stopped by here."
Obama has visited Chicago three times as president. His first trip, in February 2009, was for three nights; trips last June and July were in-and-out visits for part of a day. After winning the election, he predicted that the South Side would be his "Kennebunkport," a reference to former President George H.W. Bush's summer retreat in Maine. It hasn't happened.
First lady Michelle Obama has said the schedules of daughters Malia and Sasha -- extracurricular activities, sleepovers and such -- are among the reasons they haven't returned more often. Another concern is the disruption they cause when they visit, she has said.
The Blackhawks, no doubt, can handle the Obamas' star power. But a team spokesman said Monday there had been no contact with the president about him attending a weekend game.
Paul Kahan, a chef and partner at restaurants including avec and Blackbird -- other Obama top local picks -- said he hopes they'll drop in but knows they're busy.
"His White Sox are stinking up the American League. I think he's coming back to have a meeting with (Sox manager) Ozzie Guillen to straighten things out," Kahan said.
All kidding aside, Kahan said he has heard from friends including Chicagoan Sam Kass, the White House assistant chef, that the Obamas are homesick.
"Absolutely they are homesick," Kahan said. "They lived here a long time, they have a lot of friends here, and I assume they'll have a nice visit."
The Obamas are not considered likely to visit Valois, the Hyde Park cafeteria where they occasionally ate breakfast. As Obama's popularity increased, the family took to placing orders over the phone, said manager John Lathouris.
Should the first family swing by the cafeteria this weekend, Lathouris said, "We would have to shut down the restaurant. It would not be worth it."
Christi Parsons and Serena Maria Daniels contributed to this report.
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Obamas take a weekend break from Washington
By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 25, 2010; A10
ASHEVILLE, N.C. -- Don't call it a vacation, the White House says. It's a "getaway," or a "weekend away" or maybe just a "break."
Whatever you call it, President Obama and the first lady made it clear to their staffs that there would be no interviewing of Supreme Court nominees or big briefing books in advance of long meetings.
Instead, the Obamas took a step off the Washington treadmill from the moment they arrived here. They chowed down on some North Carolina barbecue and escaped for a Blue Ridge Mountain hike within moments of getting off their plane.
That's not to say that real life doesn't always intrude just a bit for Barack and Michelle Obama, even when the White House is temporarily tucked away in the side of a mountain, surrounded by lush forests and rolling green hills.
The president issued a statement on the anniversary of the slaughter almost a century ago of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks, for the second time passing up an opportunity to use the term "genocide," despite promising during his campaign to do so. Activists and officials from across the spectrum were quick to express disappointment.
On Sunday, Obama faces the grim task of eulogizing the 29 miners who died in West Virginia April 5 after an explosion rocked their coal mine.
But at least for a day and a half, aside from a few briefings, the president's usual packed schedule of meetings, speeches, motorcades and public events was replaced with more relaxing activities.
He had hardly checked into the Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa Friday afternoon before he was on the links for a quick nine holes, finishing after nightfall. Saturday morning, he was up at dawn for another round, this time a 5 1/2- hour full 18 holes.
Reporters were kept away from the action, though a handful were allowed to watch his final hole Friday night. The president took the wheel of a golf cart, steered it up near the green of the 10th hole and made several warm-up swings before putting.
The ball fell a bit short of the hole, but fellow golfers Marty Nesbitt, Eric Whittaker and Marvin Nicholson allowed him to take a gimme.
Asheville was ready to welcome the Obamas as it had previous presidential vacationers. In an eyeglass store in the quaint downtown, a sign read: "Welcome Mr. President. We can help you SEE the way out of the Recession!" A spice store announced: "Hey Mr. President, check out the spice girls. We voted for you."
The local newspaper, the Asheville Citizen-Times, blogged in real time about the president's activities. At one point, the paper noted the Twitter comments from deputy press secretary Bill Burton, whom the paper identified as "the official White House twitter person Bill Burton."
But for most of the weekend, the Obamas stayed within the secure confines of the resort, venturing out only for dinner Saturday night.
Michelle Obama played tennis Saturday morning, aides said. There was no official confirmation that she availed herself of the spa facilities, but several people reported stern-looking Secret Service agents standing outside the spa entrance Saturday.
The Obamas are expected to return to Washington on Sunday evening after the memorial service in West Virginia.
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