The wisdom of Obama's vacation.

Not much here, I just wanted to comment on how refreshing it is to me to see Barack Obama make the wise choice, in the middle of a long and grueling campaign, to take a real vacation.

Campaign workers are tired, political advisors are tired, and tired people make mistakes. Senator Clinton has talked about this herself. Tired people lose their perspective. The Obama campaign has brilliantly destroyed the whole Pennsylvania expectations game by simply tending to other matters. It wasn't that long ago when the media seemed to be buying into the narrative that Pennsylvania was the only state left that mattered. Not that he is giving up on Pennsylvania. He still has a full month to campaign in Pennsylvania, he has the Wright matter mostly behind him, and he has had a chance to retool his stump speech and to stay focused on the big picture rather than the day-to-day back-and-forth. He is rested and ready.

This is wisdom. I seem to remember that he and Michelle actually had a date on Valentine's Day a little while back. I know that when I get too disconnected from my own partner, it saps all my focus and energy from other things. I hope he is somehow managing to stay connected with his children. All the signs are that he is smart enough to pay attention to the important things in his life.

This is why American workers need paid vacation days guaranteed.

•  It doesn't hurt

  ...that the Clinton campaign seems intent on doing Barack's work for him this week.

  by Chris in West Seattle on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:15:13 PM PDT

•  They went on a date for her bday too

  At the Bellagio, a few days before NV's caucus

  by LoLoLaLa on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:17:16 PM PDT

  •  And he made a joke about how

    expensive the place was.  He was very funny about it.

    by CeeusBeeus on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:18:25 PM PDT

    •  do you have a link to this story

      i really wanna see it!

      by foreign obesver on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:26:43 PM PDT

      •  Looking

        I was at this rally when he said this, it was too adorable

        LAS VEGAS — Michelle Obama got a night out in Vegas for her 44th birthday Thursday.
        It came at a cost, though — two long days of campaigning for her husband ahead of Nevada’s presidential caucuses Saturday.

        "I want to publicly proclaim my love and admiration for my wife, Michelle," Democratic hopeful Barack Obama said after she introduced him to a crowd of voters at Rancho High School, who sang "Happy Birthday" to her. He joked that it was only her 29th birthday.

        "Even though I’m campaigning, ladies, I just want you to know, I’m taking her out to dinner tonight," Obama said.

        Advisers declined to say where they would eat, except to say it would just be the two of them.

        http://elections.foxnews.com/...

        by LoLoLaLa on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:29:20 PM PDT

        •  thanks!

          by foreign obesver on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:31:24 PM PDT

      •  I don't know why I have in my head, Bellagio

        Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama admits he's dropped his name on occasion to get into a crowded restaurant. According to People magazine, he confessed he did it last month in Las Vegas for wife Michelle's 44th birthday Jan. 17, two days before the Nevada caucuses. During dinner he presented her with a necklace. He didn't say what it was made of, except to allow that "it wasn't fake," The Associated Press reported Wednesday.

        http://www.lvrj.com/...

        by LoLoLaLa on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:34:26 PM PDT

  •  and he took V-day off

    it's very refreshing to see a political couple who seem to genuinely love each other. actually one of the only other couples who seem so warm towards each other are the Governator and Maria.

    by terra on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:20:31 PM PDT

    •  He spent the day with the family

      and the night was for a date with his wife. So lovely!

      by LoLoLaLa on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:30:20 PM PDT

•  I agree, but...

  ... by that vacation metric, W would seem wise as all get-out ;)

  by mwmwm on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:19:44 PM PDT

  •  lol n/t

    by sand805 on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:22:55 PM PDT

  •  Well, it's true

    that combined with cluelessness, vacations can be a sign of being out of touch. Although, I can't say that having W in the White House paying attention to things was any better than having him on vacation.

    by Lawprofsr on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:25:43 PM PDT

  •  it can be taken to an extreme

    by which standard, w. qualifies in spades.  

    The timing is good for Sen. Obama too.  I didn't like Ned Lamont taking a vacation right after winning his primary.  It killed the momentum that he had achieved.  This is a great time for Sen. Obama to do it.  He'll be refreshed for the home stretch of the primary season and ready to start the GE campaign and not lose momentum.

    by dougymi on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:47:41 PM PDT

  •  The Dubya doesn't take real vacations

    Cutting brush on a former pig farm just doesn't cut it as a real vacation.

    by Ed in Montana on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:52:50 PM PDT

•  Taking his face out of the news

  for a bit will make the wright story one sided and by no responding (being on vacation) the clintons would have little to fight.

  Also, shows that he cares about family life and that he is not willing to win at all cost.

  I think the clever thing was to leave Hillary dealing with wright alone after his three speeches. This might show her, by returning to it, as desperatedly hanging on "old" news to find her way into "PA" and now NC.  Bet that Obama has something under his sleve upon return (maybe a big endorsement?)

  by chiri on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:22:58 PM PDT

  •  Are there any big endorsements left?

    Now if Bill were to endorse Obama, THAT would be a big endorsement!

    by YoGo on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:25:32 PM PDT

•  Guaranteed paid vacation days. Absolutely.

  If he does  not have this in his labor plans, it would be a good issue to bring up.

  by Chi on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:24:48 PM PDT

•  Going on vacation for a few days is fine

  and more candidates should be smart enough to take a little break. Mike Dukakis disappearing for a month after the 1988 Democratic convention is not. (Every Democrat I know who shudders at the idea of a candidate taking a break during a campaign still brings up Disappearin' Duke.)

  I think this is where 'going on vacation during a campaign' really got its negative to panic about it reaction from Democratic voters.

  Mike Dukakis went on vacation immediately after he secured the 1988 Democratic nomination, and virtually vanished. George Bush had a month to bash him with nobody minding the store, and did, mercilessly.

  Most people forget that Mike Dukakis was literally mauling George Bush in the polls at one point. That long break allowed Bush to tear down Dukakis with a Fox News like advantage in the age before Fox News.

  I know, I was in Massachusetts pulling my hair out at the time.

  At no point was Obama out of reach, or off the radar, and he was clearly on top of taking care of himself and his family while keeping his eye on the ball.

  That's a brilliant way to take a break.

  Also, Hillary Clinton's "Bosnia Moment" happening just as he heads out of town didn't hurt, either.

  by LeftHandedMan on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:24:49 PM PDT

  •  Dukakis time

    Hey, I was in Massachusetts that Fall, too! Joined the campaign when he was 12 points up. I've always thought it was my fault....(but seriously, Dukakis had issues other than taking a break from the campaign.)

    by Lawprofsr on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:29:18 PM PDT

    •  But my point is

      Dukakis vanished for a month.

      Nobody was defending him on TV.
      He went on vacation and his campaign went AWOL.

      There is a smart way to go on vacation while a campaign was on, and a stupid way.

      Obama is doing it right, and Dukakis did it wrong.

      by LeftHandedMan on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:33:58 PM PDT

  •  Not to mention

    the ill advised Kerry "windsurfing" vacation !!

    by nerdngeek on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:30:02 PM PDT

•  His Family is important to him!!!

  how refreshing!!!!

  by ijarne on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:25:05 PM PDT

•  He also bought his wife something from...

  Tiffany's...because they accidently took it out of the campaign funds.  

  Not a good story...but, I'm sure it was an accident and rectified.

  Honestly, I don't mind if my 50 bucks went to buy Michelle Obama a gift...she deserves it.

  by David Kroning on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:26:03 PM PDT

  •  This must have come from Drudge.

    I never heard of it until now. How long until it becomes another $400. haircut story? Anything to avoid talking about the war, the economy and what is happening to the Antarctic ice shelf.

    by blindyone on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:32:17 PM PDT

    •  I read it on Huff Post

      Let me see if the link is still there. BRB.

      by David Kroning on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:33:08 PM PDT

      •  It's not there anymore...anyone else see this?

        by David Kroning on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:37:45 PM PDT

      •  Here it is:

        http://www.nydailynews.com/...

        by David Kroning on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 01:29:19 PM PDT

  •  I thought it was someone from his campaign

    who used their card? No one said Barack used it to buy something for Michelle.

    by LoLoLaLa on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 04:27:26 PM PDT

•  tell me about it

  I've got my European vacation booked for May, and it can't come fast enough.  It's been over a year since I took a long vacation, and I'm feeling burned out and am starting to make dumb mistakes here and there.  In my case, no one cares but my boss and me, but you get the point..

  by cgvjelly on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:31:27 PM PDT

•  Notice that it is a real vacation too

  Sen. Obama is not retiring to some fake ranch to cut brush for a few weeks.

  by Ed in Montana on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 12:50:50 PM PDT

•  Obama took 3 days off!

  I'm sure he was working the whole time.  He'll be in NC tomorrow.  What the hell you people expect?  He needed to something different to revive.

  by Char on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 01:06:06 PM PDT

•  what is the average paid vacation

  in EU social democracies?

  we practice hyper-predatory captialism morphing into

  disaster capitalism ( shock doctrine )

  we have one Senator Bernie Sanders ( D-VT )

  who identifies with the principles of social democracies; the DLC are hyper-predatory capitalists and NAFTA - NAU morphing into disaster capitalists;

  the DLC will do anything through the backdoor passed GOP legislation to stamp out social democracy; they are MORE THAN JUST going along with the agenda passively; DEMOCRAT is IMO just a retail brand unless or until concerned democrats take back their party to  FDR  principles of social democracy;

  BushCo-neocons seven years rule has turned USA to Milton Friedman's flimflam disaster capitalist economic model; creating a boutique democracy designed as the 'ownership society'

  I am supporting Obama but he said he is in favor of 'free markets' yikes that is

  Friedman economics.... folks he is 100% better than HRC; Edwards was my choice but between HRC - Obama

  the choice is Obama;

  our country has been deeply deeply restructured by the neocons and passive Dem-congresscritters; if Obama actually intends to restore the middle class and succeeds then maybe we have a chance;

  McCain's economic advisor and likely choice for  Sec. of Treasury would be Phil Gramm

  google search term:

  Phil Gramm + Enron
  Wendy Gramm + Enron

  Molly Ivins said of Gramm that he (and one other former GOP representative) were the 'meanest' politicans in USA;

  by pollwatch on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 01:11:49 PM PDT

•  DEF a front-runner move, displaying confidence...

  in how the "game" is shaping up, too. if you aren't that confident in how things are going, you sure the heck aren't gonna go on a tropical vacation. good strategic move in that respect, as well, i feel...

  by another cascadian on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 01:12:08 PM PDT

•  I like that he's spending time with his kids too.

  He can't tell other people to take time to read to their kids if he's not doing the same.

  I wonder how much happier we'd be as a country if we had more vacation time, like Europeans do.

  by Katie71 on Tue Mar 25, 2008 at 01:32:28 PM PDT