Obama's Summer Vacation

The cost of taking a week's vacation when you are the President of the free world is undoubtedly high; but the President knows that family time is priceless. Unlike his predecessor, George W. Bush, who had a sprawling ranch in Texas, President Obama does not have own a vacation home that he can escape to with his family. "My Kennebunkport is on the South Side of Chicago," he told the Chicago Tribune last year, referring to the Bush family's compound in Maine.

The President and First Family will pay for their own one-week getaway at the end of August, and it's not cheap. The Obamas (well actually the Secret Service) have found a 28-acre, $20-million property on Martha's Vineyard Island, off the coast of Massachusetts, called Blue Heron Farm. The 10,000-square-foot retreat has everything a president wanting some downtime needs, including a swimming pool, basketball court, and golf tee. And it is even dog-friendly. Rents in the area run from $35-$50,000 a week for similar homes. While it may seem elitist in mid-recession to turn up at an exclusive resort, consider this: The Secret Service rejected some 20 other vacation spots before Blue Heron Farm got the seal of approval.

The Obamas are reported to be determined to pay their way — unlike the Clintons, who stayed at Martha’s Vineyard regularly during their years at the White House but who were always put up by other people and thus stayed rent-free. George W. Bush loved to escape to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, for a break — he spent one sixth of his presidency there. Mr. Bush took more time off from the White House than any other US president, spending 1,020 days out of the office, including 490 days at his ranch.

As the Associated Press notes, the Obamas visit is not as bad as you think—it actually adds to the rich history of the place: In the old days, black families vacationed on the island because they were unwelcome elsewhere. Now prominent African Americans who choose to spend their summers there include director Spike Lee, Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. (yes, that Henry Louis Gates), and Obama's Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett.