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Obama Vacations at GOPer's House, His Own Expense

By Kevin Spak,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 13, 2009 8:06 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Obama clan will head to Martha’s Vineyard on Aug. 23 for a low-key summer vacation, the Washington Post reports, and they’ll be staying in enemy quarters. The president will be renting out the private estate of noted Republican donor William Van Devender, a Mississippi timber merchant who backed John McCain. In an unusual move, Obama will also pay his family’s portion of the week's rent, which will likely be around $25,000.

Typically, taxpayers pick up the tab for such accommodations, with the White House and Secret Service splitting the tab. Obama says he’s not worried that the getaway will seem unseemly amidst a recession. “Do I think the American people think that because of those hardships I shouldn’t spend some quality time with my daughters?” he said recently. “I don’t think that’s what the American people think about.”

Barack Obama departs the South Lawn of the White House with Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, top right, in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. Behind them is Obama's mother-in-law.
Barack Obama departs the South Lawn of the White House with Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia, top right, in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 1, 2009. Behind them is Obama's mother-in-law.   (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
A mother and daughter pilot a kayak in a pond on Martha's Vineyard. Decades before Obama's expected August visit, the island was a summer sanctuary for middle class black families unwelcome elsewhere.
A mother and daughter pilot a kayak in a pond on Martha's Vineyard. Decades before Obama's expected August visit, the island was a summer sanctuary for middle class black families unwelcome elsewhere.   (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
This July 1, 2008 file photo shows  then-candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle  arriving at a park to watch their daughter Malia's soccer game in Chicago.
This July 1, 2008 file photo shows then-candidate Barack Obama and his wife Michelle arriving at a park to watch their daughter Malia's soccer game in Chicago.   (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong,File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
cognitivefilter
Aug 14, 2009 3:43 AM CDT
HAH....politicians paying for their own vacations! lord knows they make enough money a year. follow the obamas' example !!
Reader65069154
Aug 13, 2009 7:58 AM CDT
perhaps he's making up for his million dollar taxpayer "date" in Manhattan he took a few months back
wwwonderer
Aug 13, 2009 5:25 AM CDT
I knew GWB was the President to take the most vacation time, but PLEASE don't tell me it was 1/3. I know 2001 he had taken lots of time, before 9/11. If you cite a factual source I'll have my soul blackened just a little more. The GWB administration just keeps getting better and better each day.

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