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BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: Obama is at the Clooney fundraiser last night, where, by the way, the story on that is, the original expectation was ten million. That's what they were gonna raise. But then, our brave, courageous president went out there and said that he thinks the states ought to determine gay marriage, and that gay people should be able to get married. Lo and behold, the floodgates opened, and an additional five million was raised at the Clooney fundraiser. I'm not believing that either. The whole thing is a crock. They got 15 from the get-go. ou got Obama...

Blue collar Democratic voters, stuck taking depressing “staycations” because they can’t afford gas and hotels, are resentful of the first family’s 17 lavish vacations around the world and don’t want their tax dollars paying for the Obamas’ holidays, according to a new analysis of swing voters. “They view everything through their own personal situation and if they can’t afford to do it, they can’t enjoy it, they don’t like Obama using their tax dollars to benefit himself,” said pollster John McLaughlin. “In this case, they see him as out of touch. While they are struggling he’s not sharing in that...

I guess the weather is finally warm enough on the east coast for King Putt Obama to resume hitting the links. After all, there’s nothing really happening in this country or elsewhere that could affect this country. It’s not like we have skyrocketing gas prices, a lousy economy, Iran getting a nuclear weapon or anything like that. While Michelle Obama took the kids to Las Vegas to party it up on the American tax payer’s dollar (just a week after the oldest daughter went on a secret vacation to Mexico with 25 secret service agents on 12 friends) Hussein Obama...

14 million Americans remain unemployed in the U.S., a number that is unchanged from July. As a Bureau of Labor Statistics report stated today, the economy created exactly zero jobs for the entire month of August signalling the failure of the current administration’s economic policies. In reponse to the zero job growth, White House economic advisor Gene Sperling said, “This president doesn’t think this is anywhere near enough”. A survey of economists agreed – they had expected more than 70,000 new jobs. The report also held that the numbers that had been reported in June and July had been incorrect....

Reporting from Martha's Vineyard, Mass.— On vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, President Obama managed to squeeze in some family time Thursday afternoon after spending the morning taking briefings on the economy, the situation in Libya and Hurricane Irene. Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters spent the afternoon at a private beach, which they have already visited twice since arriving in Martha’s Vineyard last Thursday.

The Obamas' summer break in Martha's Vineyard has already been branded a PR disaster after the couple arrived four hours apart on separate government jets. But according to new reports, this is the least of their extravagances. White House sources today claimed that the First Lady has spent $10million of U.S. taxpayers' money on vacations alone in the past year. Branding her 'disgusting' and 'a vacation junkie', they say the 47-year-old mother-of-two has been indulging in five-star hotels, where she splashes out on expensive massages and alcohol. The 'top source' told the National Enquirer: 'It's disgusting. Michelle is taking advantage...

FLASHBACK--George W. Bush Gives Up Golf: ‘Playing Golf During a War Sends Wrong Message’ Monday, August 22, 2011 By Penny Starr (CNSNews.com) – The White House has released some information about President Barack Obama’s vacation on Massachusetts’ upscale Martha’s Vineyard including his golf games, but no open press coverage of his time on the links has been allowed. President George W. Bush, who routinely allowed journalists to accompany him on golf outings early in his presidency, told Politico in May 2008 that he decided to give up the game in August 2003 after a bomb attack on the United Nations...

VINEYARD HAVEN, Massachusetts (Reuters) - President Barack Obama has taken heat for taking a vacation when the U.S. economy is struggling, but aides are striving to make clear he is not neglecting the country's finances during his break. On Monday, Obama met with a top economic adviser and spoke to investor Warren Buffett and Ford Motor Co. chief executive Alan Mulally about the economy, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. Earnest also announced that Obama will travel to Detroit in two weeks to discuss the economy on the U.S. Labor Day holiday on September 5, setting up a major address...

Prepare for the rhetoric to heat up in the debate over border security, the Constitution and the use of executive power to selectively prosecute individuals who the administration deems undesirable. If you’re a coal company or a community bank, you’re screwed. If you’re a community organizer here illegally from Kenya or Juarez? Hurra! for you.  “Reacting to intense pressure from the Latino community and aware that President Obama will need their votes in 2012,” writes Albor Ruiz in the NY Daily News, “the White House announced with great fanfare last Thursday a plan to stop the deportation of some undocumented...

President and Mrs. Obama are sharing in the sacrifice tonight at the Beach Plum Restaurant on Martha’s Vineyard, which features an array of overpriced selections for the first couple to choose from that could easily bring the bill within the range of $200. They might, for example, choose to start the meal with a $15 chunk of pizza cheese – I’m sorry, “Fresh Mozzarella” with “Fresh Basil, vine ripened tomatoes, aged balsamic reduction, and chive dill.” This is a good mix because some things are fresh, and some things are aged. But the sacrifice really gets serious with the entree,...

President Barack Obama ditched the Beltway grind yesterday to seek the pleasures of summer on the beaches of Martha's Vineyard - by way of two helicopter flights and a trip aboard Air Force One. And a further government jet was used by Michelle Obama as she arrived separately to her husband, with daughters Sasha and Malia, just a few hours before he landed. The President left the White House aboard Marine One on his way to Andrews Air Force base to hitch a lift aboard Air Force One. The President arrived on this wealthy Massachusetts island retreat as the stock...

There’ve been a lot of loud critics of President Obama’s vacation plans to Martha’s Vineyard -- even from some of his avid supporters. But when he touches down on this posh island in about six hours, he won’t find many here, if you believe Jenna Ware, a long time resident and driver for Stage Coach taxi service. Ware, sporting a dark tan you’ll see on most residents here, says that when the recession hit, the Vineyard remained unscathed. The island is pretty much recession proof, she says. When a passenger noted in a 2009 visit – the first time Mr....

"We're supportive of the president, but we're getting tired. We're getting tired. So, what we want to do is, we want to give the president every opportunity to show -- to show what he can do and what he's prepared to lead on," Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) told a Congressional Black Caucus-sponsored gathering yesterday in Detroit. "Our people are hurting," Waters added.

Fresh off three days of barnstorming in the Midwest, President Obama will spend the morning at the White House in two closed-door meetings, first with his senior economic advisors in the Oval Office then with his national security team in the Situation Room. In the afternoon, Obama heads to the island oasis of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, where he’s expected to spend the next 10 days vacationing with his family.

NEW YORK -- Turmoil returned to U.S. stock markets at Thursday's open as renewed concerns about the global economy sent major indexes plunging and pushed gold to a new record high. Investors were working through bad news on various fronts, including a dismal forecast from Morgan Stanley for global economic growth, and two U.S. government-issued reports on inflation and the job market.

Forget the bus tour. In 24 hours, it’s White House vacation time, punctuated by the outcry of those who say a presidential respite at this juncture is ill-timed and clueless. Meanwhile, angst is brewing in Martha’s Vineyard, now gearing up for President Obama’s arrival on Thursday, marking his third visit to the rose-strewn island, not to mention Blue Heron Farm, the 28-acre luxury retreat that will host the president for 10 days.

Jay Carney, meet Jay Carney.In 2001, the then-Time magazine reporter wrote a snarky piece criticizing President George W. Bush's month-long vacation that was billed as a "Home to the Heartland" tour. But almost exactly 10 years later Carney, now the Obama White House's press secretary, is defending President Barack Obama's Midwest job-creation tour and vacation at Martha's Vineyard."I don't think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the President would spend some time with his family," claimed Carney at a recent press briefing.But that's exactly what he, as a private citizen working for Time,

At a time when many more cash-strapped Americans are stuck at home instead of vacationing at the beach, President Obama next week will lead an entourage of several dozens to exclusive Martha's Vineyard island at a cost of millions to taxpayers. While technically he is paying for his estimated $50,000 a week rental of the 28-acre beachfront Blue Heron Farm in woodsy Chilmark, the dozens of U.S. Secret Service agents, communications officials, top aides, drivers, and U.S. Coast Guard personnel with him will be covered by taxpayers as with every other presidential vacation.[Get your Whispers on your iPad--subscribe to U.S....

When it comes to curbing unemployment, President Obama "will not rest" until everyone looking for a job can find one, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday. A couple of hours later, the White House put out an announcement that the president will soon begin a nine-day vacation in Martha's Vineyard. No one can credibly make the argument that Obama is loafing. He puts in the hours. But the trip is coming at a queasy moment for the economy and the markets. Stocks recorded another huge drop Wednesday, the third straight day of convulsive swings following Standard & Poor's announcement...

I know what you’re thinking. “It seems like just yesterday that he was talking about a ‘new sense of urgency’ on deficits and job growth.” You’re wrong, though. It was two days ago. Maybe the mood passed? Over to you, Zero Hedge guy: We bring you this special announcement courtesy of the White House which has informed that American plebs that following a fantastic job well done, in which the market is now back to pre-QE2 levels, unemployment is near record highs, delays for presidential press meetings compare with Newark airplane take offs, pessimism is at record highs, America’s credit...

Joe Biden and his wife have escaped the heat and political squabbling of Washington to spend the rest of the week vacationing in the Hamptons. Although the VP’s official schedule says only that the Bidens are set to “visit Long Island,” they traveled to their annual vacation spot in Southampton earlier today and plan to stay through Monday. President Obama will follow his number two’s lead later this month when he and his family travel to Martha’s Vineyard for a little R&R. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney confirmed today that, despite the staggering economy, the president still plans to...

President Barack Obama and his family will spend their summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard again this summer. He was here last summer, too. He was here in 2009, but the weather blew. The First Fam keep their vacation plans pretty close to the vest for security reasons, but people in the Know tell me it's coughcoughAugustcough. Those same people tell me that he'll be in Chilmark, again enjoying the 28 acre Blue Heron Farm. The farm overlooks Tisbury Great Pond, and has a pool and a boat house. They also have a basketball hoop at their disposal, so I might...

Under sunny skies this afternoon, it was back to the golf course for President Barack Obama - this time a round at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. Today's game is the first on his 10-day Martha's Vineyard vacation at the semi-private Farm Neck course. Obama golfed twice at the Vineyard Golf Club and late yesterday at the nine-hole Mink Meadows Golf Club in Vineyard Haven.

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. (AP) -- Seizing on a day of bright summer sunshine, President Barack Obama hit the links on Thursday for another vacation round of golf. The visit to the Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs was Obama's fourth golf outing since he arrived on Martha's Vineyard last week for a 10-day vacation. It came a day after skies over the island off Cape Cod finally cleared following four straight days of drenching rain....

After her sterling public image took on some tarnish from her recent vacation to Spain, the White House announced that first lady Michelle Obama will appear with Laura Bush for Sept. 11 observances in Pennsylvania. The deft public relations move by the administration will place the two popular first ladies side-by-side for the first time since the 2008 inauguration. (Snip) An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll after the Spain trip found just 50 percent of Americans had a positive opinion of the first lady, down 14 percent from the same poll in April.

An end of the season tribute to summer....the fireworks at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs. Excited for the bright lights, Sally Caron said she'd like to picnic with Barack Obama, because he's popular. "Soooo?" I asked. "I'd like to be popular, too," she answered. Islander Joanne Connolly already has her story to tell. She said, "It's the first time I've met a president. I've met a Pope and it's right up there with that!" Connolly works at Bunch of Grapes Bookstore in Vineyard Haven on Martha's Vineyard -- and had about 5 minutes to prep before the President and first...

The WH and Dems are obviously stunned by the recent Pew Poll showing that about 1 in 4 Americans believe that Obama is a Muslim. Pundits, for the last few days, have been saying that we'll soon see him publicly attending church far more often. So, Freepers, does he or doesn't he attend tomorrow? Is it too soon..would it look too obvious? What say you all??

VINEYARD HAVEN — The first family had an answer yesterday to those who said they were perhaps a little too reclusive while on the island. On the first full day of their Martha's Vineyard vacation, the Obamas were almost Clintonesque, first traveling to a Vineyard Haven bookstore before the president took in a round of golf in the early afternoon, followed by the first appearance of first lady Michelle Obama, who took the girls for ice cream in Oak Bluffs. At a press conference yesterday, White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said President Barack Obama has a relatively spontaneous...

No vacation from attacks on Michelle By: Kendra Marr and Amie Parnes August 16, 2010 02:37 PM EDT It’s been a long time since Michelle Obama has been attacked like this. The first lady’s lavish Spanish vacation was the lead story in the Drudge Report for days. Political columnists and commentators lampooned her as a 21st-century Marie Antoinette, unwinding at a luxury resort while unemployment lingers near 10 percent and President Barack Obama’s poll numbers fade. And headlines set off political sirens: Scandal! Tone deaf! Elitist! The attacks from right-wing commentators — and a handful of left-leaning pundits — produced...

While Newsweek's David Graham is hard at work defending President Obama's summertime leisure -- "A Short History of Presidential Vacation Outrage" -- by insisting that the press corps always complains about any president's vacation habits, it's instructive that he failed to indict his own magazine. "War on terrorism stalled, economy on precipice, time for a month on the Crawford ranch." Accompanied by a disapproving down arrow, that's how the August 5, 2002 Newsweek feature "Conventional Wisdom" derided President Bush's working vacation a mere three months before midterm elections in his first term.

As President Obama headed to the Florida Panhandle for a vacation with the family, he felt the need to drag his teleprompter along.

The White House today confirmed what many islanders have been anticipating for weeks: The first family will return to Martha's Vineyard for vacation next month. President Obama and his family are scheduled to vacation on the island from Aug. 19 to Aug. 29.

There’s a lot of talk about Michelle and Sasha Obama’s mother-daughter trip with 40 friends to a ritzy resort on the coast of Spain, and some of the commentary is a little harsh. Andrea Tantaros of the New York Daily News calls the first lady a “material girl” and a “modern-day Marie Antoinette”--but she also brings up a valid point about the cost to taxpayers of taking an estimated 70 Secret Service agents and Air Force Two on an overseas vacation. Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post writes that the attacks are unfair and that it’s not reasonable to expect...

This guy Obama is so out of touch -- he is so devoid of reality, living in such a self created fantasy world, so full of himself and his own lies -- that he's starting to believe all of his own BS. To go out and campaign at a Ford plant and take credit for their jobs? They didn't get any bailout money. Ford is surviving in spite of Obama, as is everybody else in this country who is succeeding. Whoever is enjoying success, whoever is making a go of it is doing so in spite of Obama. He's jetting...

Michelle Obama today faced a fresh wave of attacks over her lavish break in Spain with 40 friends which has cost U.S. taxpayers tens of thousands of pounds. The First Lady has been lambasted for her extravagance at a time when the economy is still struggling. One blogger went so far as to brand her a modern-day Marie Antoinette. The exact cost of the trip is unclear as Mrs Obama, 46, and her friends are footing personal expenses - including accommodation at Marbella's five-star Hotel Villa Padierna - themselves. But the taxpayer will have to pick up the tab for...

The First Lady is in Spain - and they adore her. It's a huge trip, at huge expense, but it's paying off in goodwill - at least over there. Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha, 9, were greeted by smiling crowds chanting "Obama" and "guapa," which means beautiful, as they spent the first full day of their adventure touring a cathedral in the city of Granada. They were cheered again when they tried to beat the Andalusian heat by hitting one of Granada's popular ice cream parlors. Mother and daughter - and their entourage of pals, aides and Secret Service...

ESTEPONA, Spain — Spanish police have cleared off a stretch of beach for U.S. first lady Michelle Obama and daughter Sasha to relax by the Mediterranean after a busy day of sightseeing. Police used palm trees Friday to mark off the boundaries of a 100-meter (100-yard) expanse for the American delegation. On either side, onlookers gawked. As the first lady rested inside a canvas hut ...

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters yesterday, in answer to a query about First Lady Michelle Obama's Spanish vacation where she is protected by 70 Secret Service agents, 250 Spanish law enforcement officers, will meet with Spain's king and queen and is staying at a luxury hotel where she has reserved 60 rooms, that it is none of the American people's business because she is a "private citizen."Lynn Sweet reported at the Chicago Sun-Times that Gibbs was asked about "the appearance" of Obama's vacation and that Gibbs blew it off by asserting Michelle Obama is a "private citizen":"The...

Elizabeth Palmer reports from CBS news desk: New York Tabloid Calls First Lady Marie Antoinette for Taking Daughter on Lavish Trip during Poor Economic Times; Michelle Obama's Spain vacation is drawing fire from some who say it was bad taste in these difficult economic times. Michelle Obama will meet with the King and Queen of Spain during her solo trip there but some eyebrows have been raised about the cost to taxpayers. CBS News Investigative Correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports. When Michelle Obama visited the Gulf coast, she reminded us that many beaches were still open and suggested it was a...

Back then, Obama compared himself to a janitor, but he was cleaning up healthcare - not oil. No word on costs yet to attend the gala, but we doubt any BP discounts will be handed out. It cost about $15,000 to eat dinner with the president in October. Might we see a LeBron James and Chris Bosh siting when the Head Democrat in Charge comes to town? It's almost a lock D-Wade will be there. As for the politics, Obama's help is desperately needed to boost the U.S. Senate chances of Kendrick Meek, who is trailing both Gov. Charlie Crist...

The White House today confirmed what many islanders have been anticipating for weeks: The first family will return to Martha's Vineyard for vacation next month. President Obama and his family are scheduled to vacation on the island from Aug. 19 to Aug. 29. The White House did not provide details on the getaway, but the Globe reported earlier this month that a reservation company has been holding rooms across the Vineyard for the contingent of staff who travel with the president.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama is taking his family back to Martha's Vineyard, Mass., for summer vacation next month. The White House announced the vacation plans on Friday, one day after disclosing that the Obamas would overnight somewhere along Florida's oil-threatened Gulf Coast on the weekend of Aug. 14.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama and his family will vacation on Florida's Gulf Coast next month, the White House said Thursday. The Obamas are scheduled to travel to the coast on Aug. 14 and stay the weekend. More details about precisely where they would stay were to be released later, the White House said. Obama has made four trips to the Gulf region, including one overnight stay, since an underwater well began spewing oil into the Gulf of Mexico in April. First lady Michelle Obama is making her second visit to the area on Friday.

The First Family's weekend getaway in Bar Harbor ended on Sunday as Air Force One took off a little after 10:00 in the morning. For the folks around the Bar Harbor area things have started to return to normal. Matthew Schneider, the General Manager at the Qarterdeck restaurant, says he's already looking ahead to the rest of the summer. "It's gonna be business as usual," he says. "We have a big cruise ship coming in tomorrow. 2200 people coming off that boat. Our normal everyday tourists are here, yeah it's back to business as usual." But for some of the...

President Barack Obama has played a remarkable 41 rounds of golf since becoming president, easily outpacing his predecessor and possibly damaging his ability to portray himself in 2012 as a populist advocate of average folks. With the excursions lasting on average at least five hours, the president has devoted a total of more than 200 hours to golf, not counting time spent on the White House putting green. That’s the equivalent of twenty five eight-hour work days, or five work weeks spent smacking golf balls. The former community organizer’s 41 trips around the links – a standard of recreational activity...

President Obama and his family leave Friday for a weekend getaway to Maine, but along with a little rest and relaxation comes criticism that the president is taking it easy with the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis in a critical phase. The Obamas plan to spend the weekend on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. The trip marks the president's third vacation since the oil disaster began in April. The Republican National Convention launched a website blasting what it considers Obama's "leisure activities or missteps" during the oil disaster, like playing golf, attending concerts and vacationing in Asheville,...

Camp David's woodsy confines lure him to 10th visit WASHINGTON - -- Why hasn't President Barack Obama kept his pledge to make Chicago's South Side his "Kennebunkport"? Two words: Camp David. The ultra-private, presidential mountain retreat -- a half-hour from the White House by helicopter -- has quickly found fans within the First Family. Their stay for Labor Day weekend was Obama's 10th visit.... ...With Obama's return Sunday, he has logged all or part of 26 days at Camp David, White House officials say.

Have yourself a little getaway after 2 vacations, everyone needs it, I wonder what the carbon footprint on all this is?

President Barack Obama and his family returned to the White House today from a weeklong vacation on Martha's Vineyard interrupted by some big national stories. But the president is planning to take the rest of the week off. "The president will continue his vacation through the end of the week,'' the White House press secretary announced this evening -- with a note that the media will be informed "if any public events are added to the schedule.''

Here is video from "Fox News Watch" showing some clips of the late night comedians taking a few shots at Obama's vacation. (Watch Video)