Places the Obamas Should Visit Instead of the Vineyard

Though he grants that the president may just want some peace and quiet from his upcoming vacation to Martha’s Vineyard, Max Linsky is disappointed by the choice “for a president keenly aware of symbolism,” he writes for the Stimulist. He suggests alternatives:

• California. The state’s budget debacle just forced it to slash welfare, health care, and college aid. Clearly, it needs tourism revenue, and the first family could set a good example.

• Baltimore. The city’s economic woes have, unsurprisingly, not been helped by the national recession. It, too, could use the boost of a presidential visit.
• New Orleans. Perhaps a city that’s been struck by a bona-fide disaster (and not a man-made economic one) deserves the Obamas’ attention the most.
• Texas. A recent Gallup poll says Texas is split pretty evenly between support for Republicans and Democrats. Maybe Obama could sow some goodwill for upcoming electoral contests?

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