World Celebrations

Obama eases into Hawaiian holiday

By Julie Pace (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-25 07:45

US President Barack Obama waves upon his arrival for a vacation in Hawaii on Wednesday. [Kevin Lamarque / Reuters]

HONOLULU, Hawaii - US President Barack Obama eased into the first day of his Hawaiian vacation, opting for privacy over publicity after wrapping up a frenzied lame-duck legislative session.

The president began on Thursday with what's become a familiar routine during his trips to Hawaii - a workout at a gym at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. He returned to the base later in the morning to play a round of golf with two of his childhood friends from his years growing up in Hawaii, as well as a family friend from Chicago.

Obama has no public events scheduled during his 11-day vacation, and aides said he planned to spend much of his time at the luxurious oceanfront home his family was renting in Kailua.

"He is, as much as anything, anxious to spend time where he grew up with his family and to see his sister," White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said.

Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng, and her family live on Oahu. The president planned to visit with several childhood friends while on the island, and he was also being joined on vacation by Chicago friends Marty Nesbitt and Eric Whitaker.

On the president's vacation reading list: President Reagan: The Role of a Lifetime, Lou Cannon's biography of the Republican president.

The president's vacation won't be all rest and relaxation. He was to be briefed by advisors daily, and he also planned to spend time working on his State of the Union address, scheduled in January, and a staff review headed by interim Chief of Staff Pete Rouse.

Obama spoke by phone on Thursday with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. The two leaders hailed the Senate's ratification a day earlier of a US-Russian nuclear arms pact as a historic event.

The White House says Obama and Medvedev agreed to continue cooperation on a range of critical issues.

Security near Obama's home was briefly heightened on Thursday afternoon when a man evading arrest by Honolulu police led officers on a high-speed chase that went through a security checkpoint near the neighborhood where the president is staying. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said the man was arrested a short time later and incident was not related to the president's visit. The man didn't go through a security barricade that's closer to the Obama vacation home.

Local resident Rhea Yamashiro took pictures of a Secret Service agent sprinting toward the pickup truck and pointing her gun toward the driver.

An Associated Press photographer working near the Obama home heard several police sirens in the neighborhood, and saw at least one officer running away from the home with a hand on his weapon.

The president was golfing at the time of the incident. Donovan said the incident never posed a threat to the first family.

Obama arrived here shortly before midnight on Wednesday after having pushed back his scheduled Saturday departure to stay in Washington while lawmakers wrapped up their legislative session.

He began his vacation on a high note, having secured victories on the nuclear arms treaty with Russia and the repeal of the ban on openly gay service members. He also struck a deal with Republican lawmakers to allow tax cuts for all income earners to continue, a compromise that angered some liberals.

At a Washington news conference on Wednesday, Obama said the accomplishments of a post-election session of Congress demonstrated "we are not doomed to endless gridlock". He described the six-week lame-duck session as "a season of progress for the American people".

The waning weeks of 2010 provided the president a much-needed boost following a volatile year and a self-proclaimed "shellacking" in the November midterm elections. Awaiting Obama in January: an economy still struggling to achieve steady growth, a Congress more laden with Republicans, and a host of GOP challengers poised to run for his job in 2012.

Associated Press