Local reaction to the president's vacation

Fresh off three days of barnstorming in the Midwest, President Obama will spend the morning at the White House in two closed-door meetings, first with his senior economic advisors in the Oval Office then with his national security team in the Situation Room.


In the afternoon, Obama heads to the island oasis of Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, where he’s expected to spend the next 10 days vacationing with his family.


The trip, the Obamas’ third consecutive to the Vineyard, comes in spite of some criticism from Republicans and members of his own party that he remain in Washington to focus on the economy.


"We've got to be doing every single thing we can, every minute of every day" to help the American people,” Obama told a crowd Wednesday in Alpha, Ill., the last stop on his bus tour.


White House press secretary Jay Carney has said Obama will continue to work on the economy even while he is away.


"I don't think Americans out there would begrudge that notion that the president would spend some time with his family,” Carney told reporters last week.


He added, "There's no such thing as a presidential vacation. The presidency travels with you. He will be in constant communication and get regular briefings from his national security team as well as his economic team. And he will, of course, be fully capable if necessary of traveling back if that were required. It's not very far.


If I were president today, I wouldn't be looking to spend 10 days on Martha's Vineyard. Martha's Vineyard is in my home state of Massachusetts, so I don't want to say anything negative about people vacationing there, but if you're the President of the United States and the nation is in crisis - and we're in a jobs crisis right now - then you shouldn't be out vacationing."


But outside North Station in Boston, some commuters who were on their way to work today had a different opinion.


"He deserves a vacation, come on -he works hard!" said one commuter.


"We all need vacations. He works hard and there's lots of pressure on him. But I'm sure he'll be working there anyway." said another.


President Obama has taken less vacation time than his Republican predecessors. A CBS News study found, at this point in his term, President Obama has taken 61 vacation days. George W Bush had taken 180 days off at this point of his presidency, and Ronald Reagan had taken 112 days off.


Still, when it comes to presidential vacations… timing is everything.


"I think everyone's entitled to a vacation, but given the circumstances right now, his focus should be elsewhere." said one Boston commuter, "Given the economy and the fact that we have wars going on right now. It's a double edge sword.