The President and Mrs. Obama are taking their kids to the beach this summer for a little family bonding time. The beach in question? Marthaʼs Vineyard.
Some have raised their eyebrows because itʼs a pricey choice. Then again, where does a family go when Dad is the Leader of the Free World who must travel with a huge security entourage, receive classified satellite communications, and make sure the nearest neighbors can pass an FBI background check? What vacation rental provides a private entrance sufficiently distant from prying paparazzi to allow (say) a high-profile ambassador, a cabinet secretary, or a relative to drop by for lemonade and a confidential chat?
Martha's Vineyard
People in power need to rest and recharge, but their vacations can cost so much that reporters sometimes distort this as some kind of illicit luxury. If youʼre a person of power, then you know what it is to look for a getaway that includes a guard shack, surveillance systems, and a helicopter pad. They’re necessities. Indeed, this is why so many people who are blessed with privilege, find theyʼre better off buying a second home than looking for a vacation rental. (The Adirondack chairs and tennis courts ‒ those are afterthoughts.)
Itʼs a Kid Thing
This is the First Familyʼs first summer under the public microscope, and the most important thing for the Obama family is to give the girls a summer vacation. They deserve the freedom to splash in the ocean, play on the sand, collect shells, run on the grass, show off for their parents, tease the dog, ride bikes, dash through the sprinklers, and maybe get Mom or Dad to barbecue hamburgers for dinner. After all, this is what Americans do when schoolʼs out. For Sasha and Melia, itʼs a kid thing, not a political thing. At Marthaʼs Vineyard*, these simple joys abound. (And possibly a sailing lesson as well.)
Bush, LBJ, Reagan, Nixon, FDR …
Other Presidents have also faced the vacation dilemma, of course. President Bushʼs family, which has substantial financial assets, owns a ranch ‒ a retreat large enough to accommodate aircraft landing, the needs of the Secret Service, and even to host visiting heads of state. The ease of this solution allowed the Bushes to get away with some frequency. But President Bush was not the first to use a ranch as a solution ‒ Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan both did the same.
President Nixon bought a modest home in Floridaʼs Key Biscayne; but what began in modesty turned into a full-blown construction project for the government, which had to buy up and remodel a group of adjacent houses and add a helipad to accommodate the security mandates of a presidential domicile.
Franklin Roosevelt, a president with private wealth, was able to build a home in Georgia at what was previously a hot springs resort. He acquired the property before taking office, and used it to gain some relief from his polio during his time as president. In an era that didn’t have a 24/7 news cycle, FDR was able to preside over the nation during the Depression and World War II, for three-plus terms, without the nation realizing the extent of his suffering, in part because his vacation retreat helped him deal with it.
And what about an expensive Marthaʼs Vineyard rental? I say let the the Presidentʼs ‒ any president’s ‒ vacation be a vacation, and save the politics for his time on the job, not off.
*By the way, Passport Newsletter has visited Marthaʼs Vineyard a couple of times in the past two years. Please click the link if youʼd like to read about the lodgings and restaurants we reviewed.
– Peg Prideaux, CTC
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