[HCCN] New Venue for Pres. Obama in Bar Harbor

Sat Jul 17 00:48:23 UTC 2010

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Lisa Savage <lsavage3 at gmail.com>
> Date: July 16, 2010 12:26:27 PM EDT
> To: Lisa Savage <lsavage3 at gmail.com>
> Subject: NEW VENUE for Pres. Obama in Bar Harbor
>
> VENUE CHANGE for Sat. July 17 to Bar Harbor Village Green.
>
> Join CODEPINK Maine & allies to ask Pres. Obama to Bring Our War $$  
> Home!
>
> Dear friends,
> We have learned that College of the Atlantic will not be accessible  
> due to road closure near the Regency Hotel where the first family  
> plans to stay. Instead we will make our way to Bar Harbor's  
> downtown Village Green where a rolling vigil will begin at 1pm and  
> continue through early evening.
>
> Those coming from the Bangor direction may meet up at Caroll's  
> Market in Trenton (near Bar Harbor airport) to ride the free bus  
> service into Bar Harbor. I will try to board the bus around 5pm,  
> but if you get there earlier or later, hop on a bus and know that  
> you will not be alone when you reach the Village Green.
>
> More info on that option thanks to local organizer Starr G.:  
> Downeast Transportation--288-4573; other than a detour around the  
> Regency, buses will be going as scheduled--they leave from  
> Carroll's every 30 minutes on the hour & half hour arriving at the  
> Village Green, around 50 minutes later... the last bus leaves Bar  
> Harbor at 10:30pm.
>
> Please contact me with any questions: 207-399-7623 (backup #  
> 207-399-7624). I hope to see you there!
> peace,
> Lisa
> ---
> Lisa Savage
> CODEPINK Maine Local Coordinator
> ☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮
> p.s. Related story below:
> Obama vacation brings rest, relaxation and rebuke
>
> By Kristi Keck, CNN
> July 16, 2010 11:11 a.m. EDT
>
> (CNN) -- 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, North Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; and now Maine.
>
> Obama has also faced criticism for scheduling a trip up north,  
> instead of vacationing in the Gulf, as he advised other Americans  
> to do.
>
> "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.
>
> "Presidents have to be cognizant of the fact that everything they  
> do is going to be scrutinized," said Blakeman, who also is a  
> professor for Georgetown University's Semester in Washington program.
>
> Democratic strategist Jamal Simmons said the Republican criticism  
> is "galling," considering Bush's frequent trips to Camp David and  
> his home in Crawford, Texas.
>
> "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," he said.
>
> CBS's Mark Knoller, who keeps track of presidents' comings and  
> goings, calculated that Bush spent all or part of 977 days at Camp  
> David or in Texas during his two terms.
>
> Blakeman noted that visits to those locations were working trips  
> and not getaways. Bush's staff would travel with him, and work  
> would continue as usual. The Crawford ranch was known as the  
> "Western White House" because of the infrastructure there.
>
> As for calls that Obama should vacation in the Gulf, Simmons said,  
> "Where he chooses to take his days off should really be up to him.  
> We don't want to get into a situation where the president is making  
> familial vacation decisions based upon polling or political  
> maneuvers."
>
> Scott Stanzel, Bush's deputy press secretary who often traveled  
> with the president when he was away from the White House, said that  
> changing locations provided a good opportunity to escape the hustle  
> and bustle of Washington.
>
> "President Bush, on the weekends, would often go to Camp David  
> because the size of the bubble you are in expands, so you can go  
> out for a walk or bike ride without having to arrange security  
> detail," he said.
>
> Stanzel was in Crawford with Bush for a number of crises that could  
> not have been planned for, like the conviction of Saddam Hussein,  
> the death of President Ford and the assassination of Pakistani  
> politician Benazir Bhutto.
>
> Bush was notified of Bhutto's death immediately and delivered a  
> statement to the press pool. "It would have almost been like we  
> were at the White House in terms of the teams that would convene  
> and talk about the issues surrounding that assassination," Stanzel  
> said.
>
> The problem for Obama, Stanzel said, is the visuals that could come  
> out of his trip. A picture of Obama playing golf alongside images  
> from the Gulf could send a negative message.
>
> Paul Begala, a CNN contributor and former adviser to President  
> Clinton, said that vacationing or not, "The president is the  
> president wherever he is.
>
> "I thought it was silly when people attacked Bush for going on  
> vacation, so I'll be consistent and say it's silly when people  
> attack President Obama for going on vacation," he said.
>
> "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."
>
> ##
>
> -- 
> ---
> Lisa Savage
> CODEPINK Maine Local Coordinator
> ☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮☮
>
> PINKTank blogger: www.codepink4peace.org/blog
>
> CODEPINK is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice  
> movement working to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, stop new  
> wars, and redirect our resources into healthcare, education, green  
> jobs and other life-affirming activities. Won't you join us?   
> www.codepink4peace.org
>

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