I really do understand your point about the power of the White House compared to local officials, although local officials can cause a lot more problems for local media than the president can realistically cause to Free Republic, or for that matter, any other national-level media outlet.
For example, there is close to zero chance that a serious and sustained assault by President Obama on Free Republic would do anything to harm Free Republic's donor base, and actually would probably help Free Republic a great deal. Plus, Free Republic would get lots of support from top-level lawyers and politicians defending it. Look what happened with Rush Limbaugh; he seems to have won the boycott battle with no significant consequences. In two different newspapers I've had to face threats of advertiser boycotts. Each case was won by me or my bosses with no serious damage, but if I did something like going after the 13-year-old daughter of the mayor, I would expect financial consequences.
This is the wrong battle to fight. I'll totally defend stories on DWIs or drunkenness by presidential teenage kids, but this Mexican vacation isn't in that category — let's question the president's wisdom in sending his daughter to a dangerous country, but do it when she's home and no longer at risk without publicizing the details of her location. Going after the 13-year-old daughter of the president will gain Barack Obama sympathy, not the other way around.
As long as we're talking hot tubs, I have a sewer board meeting in half an hour. Things got so bad there a few years ago (allegations of insider financial deals, plus multiple spills of tens of thousands of gallons of raw sewage onto people's front yards and other private property, more than a hundred angry people showing up at meetings to scream at the board) that the state had to come in and do a special audit. Eventually all but one board member was replaced by the county commission. Things are better now, but as the old saying goes, “All politics is local.”
The message to remember is that in most cases, local elected and appointed officials can do tremendously more damage to ordinary people's lives than the federal government. If we want to get good elected officials at the national level, it's not a bad idea to seek state legislative candidates with experience in local government and congressional and senatorial candidates with experience in state government. You can find out a lot about elected officials from seeing how they conduct themselves on the local level.
Whoopsie: Down The Rabbit Hole Alice – Media Scrubs News Of Malia Obama Mexican Vacation. Why? Perhaps Because “Non-Essential Personnel Travel by government personnel and their families are prohibited” ???
Update @10:40am Politico is reporting the News Sites were scrubbed at the request of the White House: Kristina Schake, Communications Director to the First Lady, emails to confirm this was a White House effort: