Obama Takes Another Vacation

Frankly, I wish he would go on vacation permanently, but considering the milieu, is Obama really that tone deaf?

Presidents are never really off the clock, even when they go on vacation. But President Obama's decision to skip the traditional Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington while on his second vacation since the BP oil spill began has some wondering what the schedule says about his priorities.

On "vacation," Obama still holds staff meetings, occasionally attends local events and often gets his "relaxation" time swallowed up by pressing national and international business -- his vacation to Hawaii in December coincided with the attempted Christmas Day airline bombing. The retreat this weekend is marked by a side-trip to Louisiana to inspect the damages from the oil spill.

But some conservatives, still smarting over the criticism George W. Bush fielded for his frequent trips to Crawford, Texas, say Obama's trip to Chicago over Memorial Day weekend is conspicuously poor in its timing.