The Obamas: You take the Gulf, we take Maine
It is great that Michelle Obama is advising US citizens to vacation in the Gulf. There are, in the end, thousands of miles of beaches that the oil has not touched yet. Getting involved in the effort to help local communities and the overall economy while still having a blast during your vacation is something to admire. An example to set that other will follow and make sure people are stronger than the oil spilt in their waters.
“It is vacation time. Folks are looking for things to do with their kids, and this would be a great opportunity to do a few things — help this community, send a different message about the extent of the spill, and also think long term about how the rest of the country can help this economy and the folks down here,” Mrs. Obama said at the Panama City Welcome Center.
But is this PR move still brilliant when the Obamas themselves chose to vacation elsewhere, Maine to be precise? Isn’t taking your own advise proof that you believe in what you are saying and that you are also involved and doing, not just reciting PR speeches carefully crafted for you?
Maybe there is a perfectly good reason why the US President and his family have chosen Maine’s Mount Desert Island, home of Acadia National Park. Then again it’s a weekend mini-trip and the reason why it’s not the Gulf Coast for them as well is unclear to me.
It breathes hypocrisy and actually a poor PR strategy of the White House. I am sure people who knew Michelle Obama was to speak at the at the Panama City Welcome Center cheering for Gulf Coast vacations also knew where the First Lady and her family were planning to go. Couldn’t they connect the dots?
There is a Romanian saying stating you should do what the priest says, not what he does. Maybe it should be extended to presidents and their families as well.
What do you think of all this?
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