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- iHaveNet.com: Politics
by Paul Bedard
As president, Bill Clinton always wanted to take summer vacations on ritzy Martha's Vineyard. But instead he headed west because then pal and pollster Dick Morris said it would boost his slumping re-election polls. Clinton shifted to Jackson Hole, Wyo., adopting a rugged Rockies image.
"I polled to convince Clinton to go to Jackson Hole and the Rockies on his vacation rather than to the Vineyard," says Morris, who was Clinton's secret adviser during his first term before the split. "The public was sick of the photos of his hobnobbing with celebrities and cruising on their yachts and the polling showed that they would rather see their president camping in the Rockies. So he went for two vacations -- 1995 and 1996 -- and hated it but it helped his polling."
Now 15 years later, President Obama is getting some similar vacation advice intended to bolster his image, especially with those upset with his administration's handling of the Gulf oil spill cleanup. On one hand, Gulf tourism officials think he should visit the area to help show it's still a good vacation spot while on the other hand the public wants him there to do some public service.
Gulf officials think that Obama, who is off to Maine this weekend for a short pre-vacation before a longer one likely in Martha's Vineyard, would help them with their sales bid to the rest of the nation. They say pictures of Obama and his family, beamed around the world through the huge
"It would be an honor to have President Obama and the first family vacation on the Alabama Gulf Coast," says Patti Culp, executive director or
The public has another reason, according to our Whispers poll conducted by Synovate-eNation. They want Obama to spend part of his vacation doing public service in the Gulf helping to clean up the region. Some 46 percent our poll said he should help with the cleanup, though 30 percent think he should be allowed to take a break at the Vineyard. The rest think a stint on a Detroit unemployment line or working side-by-side with AmeriCorps volunteers helping rebuild New Orleans would be good.
The Whispers Poll
As President Obama readies for another vacation in Martha's Vineyard, some want him to try something different, like a volunteer project. Which should he do?
Help the Gulf oil cleanup: 46%
Stick with the Vineyard, he deserves a break: 30%
Help out in a Detroit unemployment office: 17%
Help AmeriCorps workers rebuild New Orleans: 7%
Source: The Synovate eNation Internet poll was conducted July 1-July 6 among 1,000 nationally representative households by global market research firm Synovate.
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The Political Fix: Changing the Game of American Democracy, from the Grassroots to the White House
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