Obama's In Martha's Vineyard, But Can He Really Relax?
VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — In the first full day of a Martha's Vineyard vacation, President Barack Obama set aside some of the cares of office Friday to work on his family's summer reading list.
At a bookstore in this upscale New England resort, Obama chose for his daughters a fiction classic set in the Jim Crow South – and for himself a sprawling summer epic about the downfall of a family that moves from the Midwest to Washington.
Parallels anyone?
Obama – wearing a polo shirt and ball cap – emerged from the Bunch of Grapes bookstore carrying a brown paper bag and preceded by Sasha, 9, and Malia, 12, who's rejoined the family after her first summer camp.
Inside the bag was "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen, aides reported. The novel portrays a family of urban homesteaders in St. Paul, Minn., who decamp to the nation's capital. It's not on sale yet, but the store gave him an advance copy. The president also purchased "Tinkers" by Paul Harding and "A Few Corrections" by Brad Leithauser, the bookstore said.
For the girls, the president bought two volumes: "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee and "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck, a cashier said.
Lee's 1960 novel, a staple in English classrooms, centers on a rape trial in small-town Alabama and a white lawyer who defends a black man accused of the crime. A lesson in tolerance and integrity, it's seen through the eyes of the lawyer's 6-year-old daughter.
The bookstore visit set the tone for the Obamas' 10-day sojourn on Martha's Vineyard: learned, laid-back and family oriented.
Despite regular briefings on intelligence and other matters, the president was hoping for a stay dominated by downtime – from drowsing at the beach to stops at trademark ice cream shops.
Driver from www.huffingtonpost.com
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