(Aug. 18) -- It wouldn't be an official presidential summer vacation without her. Cindy Sheehan is going to follow President Barack Obama to Martha's Vineyard.
The "peace mom," who famously protested the Iraq war by camping out near President George W. Bush's Texas ranch during his vacations, plans to arrive on the island Aug. 25 -- two days after the first family gets there. Sheehan's son was killed in Iraq five years ago. A statement on Sheehan's blog says she and "other like-minded peace activists" want to remind Obama "the body bags aren't taking a vacation."
The Washington Examiner's Byron York gives Sheehan credit for consistency, but thinks "her days are over." He says the anti-war forces that rallied around her when Bush was in office have fallen silent and moved on.
Sheehan and the Obamas will find the Massachusetts resort all decked out for the presidential visit. The New York Times notes they could chill out with an "Obamarita" at Sharkey's Cantina or shop for T-shirts bearing slogans such as "Barackin' the Vineyard."
While the president's vacation will give a boost to the island's economy, one columnist is urging Obama to opt for a "stay-cation." Tracie Powell writes on CQ Politics that with health care reform hanging in the balance, it would be better for Obama to stay home -- even if it's just for the sake of "good public relations."
Not Dead Yet?
The classic Monty Python "Bring Out Your Dead" bit -- recently deployed by bloggers to spoof the "death panel" rumors -- might now be applied to the "public option" tug-of-war.
Signals that the White House might give up on the idea of a government-run health insurance option has ignited what Politico calls a "revolt" among liberal lawmakers.
Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says it's "bizarre" that the administration doesn't seem to understand how important the public option is to progressive activists.
But author Mike Lux insists the public option is not dead yet. On the Huffington Post, he lays out several possibilities for keeping it in the health insurance overhaul legislation.
Amid all the hand-wringing on the left, the White House insists nothing has really changed. That has 'The Daily Show's' Jon Stewart wondering "Why can't you guys just stay on message?"
The Daily Beast's Lee Siegel blames the president's chief messenger. He says press secretary Robert Gibbs comes off as smug, arrogant and self-satisfied. And just as Stewart says Team Obama needs the sales skills of the previous administration, Siegel thinks Gibbs should take a lesson from a predecessor -- Bush's spokesman, the late Tony Snow.
