A blog about politics.

Okay, Now They Are Just Bragging...

These pool reports from the Obama press office are killing me. Note the time on this one:

Dec. 26, 2008
Pool report No. 3
Kailua, Hawaii

The wonderful Samantha Tubman called a lid at 9:27 a.m., so your pool is
returning to Waikiki Beach. President-elect Barack Obama is not planning
other movements today, but if he decides to leave home again your pool will
be called back to Kailua.

Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

URGENT UPDATE: The lid is blown! Cue the Drudge Siren! Having survived his brush with seaweed and Spam, the President-elect now apparently has been in close proximity with an "interactive dolphin." High Sheriffs, I implore you: We must dispatch a correspondent (preferably one with the seasoning, judgment and razor-sharp reflexes of, say, our National Political Correspondent) to Hawaii at once. Look what we have already missed: Dec. 26, 2008
Pool report No. 6
Waimanalo, Hawaii

President-elect Barack Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha left Sea
Life Park about 1:40, after spending 90 minutes at the marine amusement
park. Pool is now in motorcade and may make another stop before returning
to the Kailua vacation home.

Your pool was not allowed inside the park. Obama did not pose for pictures
or talk to reporters, but your pool could see him, the daughters, his
half-sister Maya and several other family friends leave the park from the
interactive dolphin area.

Tourists who were inside showed the pool photographs they took of
President-elect Barack Obama and his family and friends. Obama is wearing a
casual cream-colored shirt tucked into olive shorts and sandals.

The Obamas and friends were seen attending the dolphin show, the tourists
said. It is unclear whether the Obamas swam with dolphins, and Obama's
clothing did not appear wet.

When they left the park, about 50 park guests, many wearing life vests,
stood near the motorcade to see the president-elect. When he came out, they
screamed, "We love you, Obama" and "Obama Ohana!" (Ohana means "family" in Hawaiian.) Obama stood and waved at them and smiled.

Several kids joined Malia and Sasha, as well as several adults. Your pool
has been promised a full list of those attending the park with Obama and we
will distribute that when it's available.

More to come. Stay tuned.

Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

There's more! Money changing hands! And a blatant attempt to bribe the Fourth Estate. Paging Patrick Fitzgerald:

Pool Report No. 7
Hawaiikai, Hawaii
Dec. 26, 2008

Pres-elect Barack Obama and his family and friends at 1:55 entered the Koko
Marina Center in the Hawaiikai neighborhood near Honolulu for a sandwich
and shave ice. Obama entered Koko Marina Paradise Deli and said, "So what
are we going to get?"

"Let me get a tuna sandwich," Obama said, asking for it on 12-grain bread,
tomatoes and no mayo.

"Actually, can you melt cheese on that?" He asked. "Can you make like a
tuna melt with cheddar cheese?"

Obama then approached the pool to say hello. He placed his shoulder on this
pooler who was scribbling notes and said, "You don't really need to write
all that down."

Then Obama walked with Sasha,
Sasha Obama, wearing a purple, yellow and white dress, to Kokonuts shave
ice. There were mobs of dozens of onlookers swarming the crowded parking
lot snapping pictures and saying hello. Obama waved, said hi, merry
christmas. At one point on the sidewalk, Obama dropped his sunglasses, bent
down and picked then up.

Inside Kokonuts, Obama, with his blackberry on left hip, ordered shave ice
for the kids and friends. He told Malia, "We're going to do it one at a
time." Some ordered banana coconut, pina colada. Sasha ordered a medium
banana.

"Everyone, once you've ordered, step back," Obama instructed the kids.

Obama pulled cash out of his wallet and Eric Whitaker pitched in to pay the
bill. Obama ordered mixed berry shave ice for Sam Tubman and offered shave
ice to the pool.

"Guys, here's your chance," he told pool. "No? I'm telling you, this is
really good.... I don't think this is against policy. You want one, I can
tell."

The pool declined the president-elect's offer.

Then Obama, Sasha, Malia and other kids sat at a blue picnic table enjoying
their shave ice. He asked the kids, "how is it? Good?"

Michelle Obama is not here.

Were still at the shopping center. More details to come.

Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

Okay, Philip Rucker is now my favorite pool reporter:

Dec. 26, 2008
Pool report No. 8
Kailua, Hawaii

President-elect Barack Obama, his daughters and family friends left the
Koko Marina Center at 2:25 p.m. After winding along a narrow two-lane
highway overlooking the Pacific arrived at the Kailua vacation home at 3:02
p.m.

Here are two addendums to previous pool report:

Barack Obama ate his sandwich before his shave ice, saying he wanted to set
a good example for his girls by eating healthy food before dessert.

Also, note that shave ice (not shaved ice) is like a snow cone. Barack
Obama ate orange and green colored shave ice. We don't know what flavor
that is.

After what your pool now is dubbing "Waikiki-gate," we are holding outside
the Kailua home awaiting word on possible future movements.

Philip Rucker
The Washington Post

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Comments (93)
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  • 1

    So is this going to mean more favorable coverage for Obama? Or is the guilt and bonhomie going to lead the pool to overcompensate with down stories.

  • 2

    Am just remembering a few days ago Ed Henry was embarrassed when it turned out he was filing in Bermuda shorts, which his cameraman was induced to pan down and show. Yesterday he was turning it into a story, lolling on the sand and yes, just bragging.

  • 4

    I have heard reports coming out of Hawaii reports of an ornithological nature.

  • 6

    .
    Do you think that Joe Biden's new comm dir is overseeing the press coverage over there?
    .

  • 7

    KT - that is the pits. But now we're just whining, aren't we. But that's okay, I would be too. :-)

  • 10

    OK, what's a "lid"? I know they grow a lot of weed in Hawaii, but that definition is pretty archaic.

  • 12

    Very simple. Once a "lid" is declared, everyone does tons of drugs and stares at the Drudge siren. Did you ever really stare at the Drudge siren?

  • 13

    Ah. And Drudge rules their world. So I guess these lids are called pretty frequently.

  • 14

    Ok, I've resisted up until now. I knew it wouldn't be appropriate. But you've left me no choice:
    .
    My Christmas photos:
    .
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/phd9/sets/72157611690473042/
    .

  • 16

    KT:
    Depends on whether you mean the dead-tree:
    http://www.dailynewsvi.com/
    Or The Internet-Only:
    http://www.onepaper.com/stthomasvi/

  • 17

    An excerpt from KT's link at 9.: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, on a U.S. Senate run in 2010 to replace the retiring Mel Martinez. Politico's Amie Parnes finds that Bush is "getting green lights from would-be contributors and blessings from Republican Party leaders."
    .
    What happened to democracy's "Of the people, by the people"? Sounds more like communism's "Of the party, by the party wealthy."

  • 18

    Sounds more like communism's "Of the party, by the party wealthy."
    Except under Communism, there are no wealthy....
    Or so I've been told repeatedly!

  • 19

    Paul: "Except under Communism, there are no wealthy....
    Or so I've been told repeatedly!"
    .
    Yep. And sorry to have gotten so cranky in a fun thread, and sorry also if I live way far away in the land of midwestern make-believe. It just struck me how often it is that the voters typically only get to select from a very narrow field, picked by people who already hold and want to protect their power. Obama may be the first to come along in many years who wasn't already a member of that club, his junior senator status notwithstanding.

  • 20

    Oops......forgot the

  • 21

    PD: One of the greatest lies ever told. This notion of system A or system B was what made them "evil countries" (as if that is even possible). In every case, and I would love for one to correct me here if I am wrong, history has shown that the failed countries or those looked upon poorly had the singular commonality of a leadership that lived under a different set of 'rules' than the populace they presided over.
    .
    It doesn't matter if it was matriarchs, kings, religious leadership, military rule, communism, socialism, republics, capitalism, or anything else. Rome was the "great republic", but Ceasar and the ruling council lived a separate life detached from the limits of the people and reality of the means. Hitler's Germany was labeled socialist, but he and his generals were not living the impoverished life of the countryside, the same for the Soviet Union's Stalin. Every system has it's positives and negatives, but in the end it is not the system, it is the people. Specifically, it is the leadership becoming relatively disconnected from the rest of the people that leads to the failures of societies throughout history. Taking that hypothesis to task, see the United States of America since the end of WW2.

  • 22

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  • 23

    @KT: Ot looks like the only thing missing in Hawaii is a grillmeister...any news on whether (in the ongoing spirit of bipartisanship) McCain is available? Happy Holidays!
    .
    @pourmecoffee: Is this your idea of a alternative to Rickrolling?
    .
    @PhD9: Kool pix. Merry Christmas!

  • 24

    Hanging out in Crawford in August is so much better. Obama should punish the pool when they act bad by vacationing at Bush's ranch.

  • 25

    Trifecta-
    .
    This may be part of a broad Obama strategy to undermine press hatred. Who can be cranky in Hawaii? Way better than Arizona BBQ.
    .
    It'll be great to see Tweety with the hang loose hand gesture.
    .

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