20vineyard

WASHINGTON - As the Obamas prepare to alight in Martha's Vineyard this weekend, the getaway comes with a painful political truth: As goes the economy, so goes the first presidential vacation. Unlike his predecessor, who spent a month at his Texas ranch, President Obama is treating himself to just one week's respite.

``I think there'd be a backlash if he took a long vacation, given what the economy is,'' said Joe Lockhart, who was White House press secretary during the Clinton administration.

And even if the stock market were strong and unemployment low, Obama still has the daunting task of recapturing momentum on the health care debate and can't be away for too long, Lockhart added.

``He realizes if he takes two weeks off, coming back is going to be impossible,'' Lockhart said.

Other presidents have managed to squeeze in a bit more time off, and, as Lockhart notes, there is nothing wrong with that. Clinton took a 17-day vacation in Jackson Hole, Wyo., in 1995, and went six times to Martha's Vineyard, spending up to three weeks at a time in the bucolic spot. Both Presidents Bush enjoyed long vacations: George H. W. routinely spent the month of August at his family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine, while his son, George W., spent the hot summer month on his ranch.

But Obama is settling for a Sunday-to-Sunday sojourn. The White House has not released details of the Obamas' plans, but locals say the first family has rented the Blue Heron Farm in Chilmark, a 28-acre estate owned by William and Mollie Van Devender, both donors to Republicans. The property includes a swimming pool, access to a private beach, even a place to whack golf balls.

``It's obviously a nice place, and probably meets some of the criteria of the security people,'' Dukes County manager Russell Smith said of the property rental, which was first reported last month by the Vineyard Gazette. ``It's not remote, but set off by itself on the edge of a pond,'' giving the first family some privacy, he said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said yesterday he didn't know how much the Obamas were paying for the weeklong rental. Similar properties on the island rent for $35,000 to $50,000 a week. The Obamas are paying their family vacation tab themselves, administration officials said.

White House aides insist the week will be a real vacation - no public events, no announcements. Speculation abounds that Obama will try to visit his friend Senator Edward M. Kennedy, who is in nearby Hyannis Port battling a brain tumor, but presidential deputy press secretary Bill Burton said there are ``no plans'' for Obama to visit the ailing senator.

The Vineyard is an ideal vacation spot for the Obamas, Smith said, since its residents are used to seeing famous people. Walter Cronkite and Jimmy Cagney vacationed there; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had property there, and the Kennedy family is a short ferry ride away. In addition, two of Obama's friends, Harvard professors Charles Ogletree and Henry Louis ``Skip'' Gates, regularly vacation on Martha's Vineyard.

Celebrity sightings don't cause much of a stir on the island, where the 15,000 permanent residents and 85,000 summer visitors have an unspoken agreement to leave each other in peace, Smith said.

``The idea is that everybody's welcome here, but you attempt to fit in with the existing culture,'' Smith said. ``You keep it low-key and respect other people's privacy.''

Past commanders in chief have learned that the term ``presidential vacation'' is often a cruel oxymoron.

The first President Bush spent one summer vacation dealing with the dismantling of the former Soviet Union, and another handling the buildup to the first Iraq war. ``What is it about August?'' the former president wondered aloud to the press corps traveling with him on his Maine vacation in 1991.

Clinton spent one vacation at the Vineyard, shortly after the disclosure of his relationship with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky, keeping a low profile with his wife, Hillary Clinton, during the trip. Princess Diana died in Paris during another of his visits.

The second President Bush was excoriated for his long vacations. In 2002, a golfing Bush famously denounced ``terrorist killers'' who set off bombs in Israel, then added, ``Now watch this drive'' and hit another golf ball.

In 2005, antiwar protesters camped out near Bush's ranch, and critics complained that it was unseemly for the president to take a lengthy vacation when US forces were in Iraq. Bush did return two days early from his break, but only because Hurricane Katrina had devastated New Orleans, and he was criticized for what critics said was a late and lackluster response to the crisis.

Presidents also rarely get a break from public scrutiny. Daily photo-ops are expected, and White House staffers end up weighing in on how the most powerful man in the world should present himself on vacation, said Steve Rabinowitz, who served as Clinton's director of design and production before forming his own public relations company.

``All of a sudden the staff guys like me take over and think, `What's the picture of the day going to be? The president swimming? Shirtless? Not shirtless? They're going out to dinner. Loafers with no socks?' '' Rabinowitz recalled. It was a conversation that could exasperate the first family, he said.

Smith hopes the Obamas can avoid the stress and pressure of Washington while they are in town.

``It's only a week,'' he said. ``I hope he gets the chance to have a vacation that's actually invigorating, and to get some down time.''