There has been a lot to say in the media lately about the President’s vacations. How much time he spends on vacations and where he goes seems to be the subject of much attention. Some are saying that with oil leaking into the Gulf still a problem among many other matters of immediate import, he should be deferring his vacations until the problem is solved. Some say that he is taking more vacation time than did his predecessor. Other say that’s not true, but in fact the reverse.
I say this. Having been a self-employed entrepreneur for the last seven years of my life, I have had no more than three weeks of what any normal person might call a vacation. Not three weeks all at once and not without business phone calls and emails interrupting my plans for any given day. Being an entrepreneur requires a special kind of motivation and endurance not found among the majority of people in this world. And I know why. Certainly I cannot see anyone attempting it without the potential for a substantial return. There would be little point in it. Sure, the personal satisfaction of running your own show and being successful at it is some motivation, but hardly even close to the level necessary to sustain it for many years. Money in the bank is the only real motivator.
But money or not, it is often difficult for entrepreneurs to find the time to take any kind of vacation. Even some of the most successful entrepreneurs are hard-pressed to take time off. So why is it that our nation’s Commander’s-in-Chief, the people with the greatest responsibility on the planet, never seem to have any problem finding time to go on vacation? It is unimaginable to me that having spent the better part of one’s life working toward the singular goal of becoming President of the United States, that once there, it is okay to go on not one small vacation, but several in any given year? Having dedicated my own personal life to the relatively simple task of trying to run my own business for a few years, this is astounding to me.
A single term in the White House lasts only a fleeting four years. If you do a reasonably decent job, and that’s about all American’s seem to require to give you a second term, you get re-elected for a mere four more. Then you’re done. Forever. Retired. It’s vacation time forevermore after that. If the people fire you after your first term, then permanent vacation comes even sooner. Knowing this and knowing just what kind of responsibility comes with the Presidency of the United States, how can anyone take a vacation at all during their time in office? And I mean any time at all on vacation.
Having been through the fire, and still in it quite frankly, to me, going four years without a vacation seems like a chip shot, a cake walk, there’s nothing to it. Surely your wife and children would understand. You are, after all, POTUS, which is not a position granted to just any old Joe walking down the street. Although judging by the character of our current POTUS, that’s not far off. That notwithstanding, if I were President, I am absolutely certain that not a day would pass during my first term in office that would be spent on vacation. I couldn’t do it. Even as a mere small business owner, I find it difficult. Even now, when I have taken the little time off that I have, I have felt irresponsible and a strong need to get back to work so I can stay on top of things. I feel an obligation to everyone who relies on my business to do my part to keep it going and, hopefully, growing.
Were I POTUS, considering the magnitude of the responsibility that goes with that job, I could not find it within myself to take a vacation. My responsibility would first be to the people who elected me. So how is it that our Presidents do not seem to feel the same way? How do they find the time to go on vacation? This is a mystery I’ll likely never know the answer to. If I were POTUS, I wouldn’t take a single day of vacation until I had at least completed my first term. Then, and only then, if the electorate saw fit to approve of my performance and re-elect me, would I take a little time off and call it a vacation. Otherwise, I’d retire!
E pluribus unum
