HONOLULU (AP) — An ocean away
from Washington worries, President Barack Obama opened his annual Hawaii
vacation Saturday on a quiet note — and hoped it would stay that way
for the next two weeks.
Every year,
Obama and his family prepare to return to his birth state here on the
sun-scorched shores of Oahu. And every year — until now — congressional
squabbling has forced the Obamas to delay their trip.
This
year, Obama was cleared for an on-time departure by Congress, which
defied pessimistic expectations last week by passing a bipartisan budget
deal, all but ensuring the government won't shut down over the next two
years. It was a far cry from presaging a new era of cooperation, to be
sure, but a silver lining for Obama a day earlier as he acknowledged a
year of frustrating "ups and downs" in an end-of-year news conference.
The
president, first lady Michelle Obama, daughters Sasha and Malia, and
first dogs Sunny and Bo hopped an overnight flight Friday aboard Air
Force One to Honolulu, where they were whisked by motorcade to a
beachside home in Kailua, a sleepy suburb with a five-mile stretch of
beach popular among windsurfers and tourists.
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