Free Republic

President Obama and his family are expected to leave Washington later this week for a 17-day vacation in Hawaii. This will be the First Family´s sixth Christmas in Hawaii since he was elected president, and in keeping with tradition they are expected to spend it on the island of Kailua. The White House announced on Friday that the Obamas will depart next week after what is expected to be a light work schedule for the president in Washington.The president and his family traditionally spend their Christmas break in a rented private beach front residence with spectacular ocean views.

George W. Bush unseated Gov. Ann Richards in 1994 by depicting her as more interested in being a pop-culture darling than governing Texas. She cultivated celebrity through the mass media -- Jay Leno and David Letterman included -- leaving her open to the complaint that she was more comfortable in Hollywood than with real people. Obama is making the same political mistake today, but on a grander stage. His use of popular media to pander to the hip and youth vote is trivializing his presidency. I bet it will lose his party more votes overall than it will win. Obama...

The longer he is in office, the more it appears that Barack H. Obama doesn't really want to be president but only to play at being president. He doesn't seem interested in dealing with the messy, day-to-day responsibilities of the president's job. He doesn't want to be the Chief Executive and propose legislation that will move the country forward to new heights. He doesn't want to be Commander-In-Chief of the military and execute a necessary war. He doesn't take on the fiscal responsibilities required of the executive to deal with our economic issues. He doesn't want to be leader of...