Tell us how you REALLY feel...

President Obama and his family arrived Friday for a weekend getaway in Maine with plans to spend the weekend on Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. The problem? His quest for a little rest and relaxation comes with criticism that the POTUS  is taking it easy with the Gulf of Mexico oil crisis in a critical phase.


To add fuel to the not yet blazing fire, the RNC has launched a website with the tag line "Mr. President, Play Golf or Save the Gulf" and features the option to share which 5 of the President's leisure activities or missteps during this environmental disaster have made you the most angry.

Obama has also faced criticism for scheduling a trip up north, instead of vacationing in the Gulf, as he advised other Americans to do. In the spirit of sharing quotes, Scott Stanzel, former deputy press secretary for President George W. Bush, told Fox "we chop and screw our facts" news, "at a time he could be setting an example...he has chosen not to do that."

It seems the criticism is never ending. The POTUS is often scrutinized no matter what he is doing. I remember in the wake of the foiled terrorist attack aboard Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day, he was on the receiving end of criticism for remaining on holiday in Hawaii while details of this crisis unfolded. Its not just President Obama, many past Presidents have been criticized for taking vacations during a time of crisis including both Bush 41 during the first recession, Bush 43 during 9/11 & Hurricane Katrina and Reagan for his approach to economics.

What people are saying: 

"Presidents are certainly entitled to vacation, just like everybody else, but there is a fine line as to when presidents should do it, what they should and where they should do it," said Brad Blakeman, a former member of President George W. Bush's senior staff and the deputy assistant for appointments and scheduling.

"Barack Obama is working as hard as any president that we've had in recent history and certainly harder than the most immediate previous President..."
-Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons 

Paul Begala, a CNN contributor and former adviser to President Clinton, said that vacationing or not, "The president is the president wherever he is...of all of the concerns that Americans may have, they do not need to worry whether President Obama is a hard-working man. They may agree or disagree with his policies, but there is just no doubt that the guy is busting his rear end."

 
You know how these people feel now its your turn to share. Tell us how you REALLY feel about President Obama's vacations.  Is our POTUS taking too many vacations? Do you think his vacays are needed considering his job requires him to "carry the weight of the world??"