x

Politics

Obamas, Clintons On Martha’s Vineyard

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. — America’s two foremost Democratic families — the Obamas and the Clintons — mingled on Aug. 15 as politics mixed with summer repose on swanky Martha’s Vineyard.

President Barack Obama, halfway through his annual two-week getaway on the Massachusetts island, teed off in the afternoon with former President Bill Clinton, trading compliments on the first hole.

Later in the day, both presidents joined Democratic Presidential front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton at another Democratic luminary’s birthday party.

“Good!” said a spry-looking Clinton, donning light blue pants and a dark shirt, after Obama made his putt on the first hole at Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs.

The former President then kneeled down to scope out his own putt before joining Obama on a golf cart to be driven to the second hole.

Occasional golf partners, Obama and Clinton had crossed paths the day before as both played separately on another golf course on the Vineyard.

Rounding out their foursome on the waterside course were former Ambassador Ron Kirk and civil rights figure Vernon Jordan. Both Clintons were on the guest list for Jordan’s 80th birthday party, along with the President, First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia.

For former President Clinton, the photo-op came as his wife, Obama’s former Secretary of state, struggles to demonstrate to the party that her candidacy is as infallible as was once believed.

Hillary Rodham Clinton’s poll numbers have dipped as criticism of her use of a private email server for government business mounts, leading some Democrats to give a renewed look at Vice President Joe Biden as a potential 2016 challenger to the former first lady.

As the current leader of the Democratic Party, Obama’s preference in the race has been the source of intense interest, as Democrats assess which of the current or potential candidates poses the best prospect for securing his legacy and carrying it forward.

Obama hasn’t tipped his hand, praising both Clinton and Biden effusively. He isn’t expected to endorse a candidate in the Democratic primary.

Reporters covering Obama’s vacation here were given a brief peek, with a baseball-capped Obama taking practice shots.

But the soiree was deemed private, though there were some 200 guests in attendance, including Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, American Express CEO Kenneth Chenault and former Baltimore Orioles player Brian Roberts.

Even from a distance, guests could be heard rocking out to the Bruno Mars and Mark Ronson dance hit Uptown Funk. The Obamas departed the party roughly three hours after they arrived.

An attorney and business executive, Jordan advised President Clinton and played a prominent role in the civil rights movement. He’s known the Obamas for decades.

Last year both Obama and Clinton attended a party Jordan hosted on the island, where Jordan and his wife summer each year.

Offering a toast at the party, where guests dined on a menu of surf and turf and birthday cake, Obama praised Jordan for his wisdom, generosity and kindness, the White House said. President Clinton also toasted his former adviser.

Hillary Rodham Clinton, who also planned to hold campaign fundraisers while on Martha’s Vineyard, arrived late in the day from Iowa, where she insisted she never sent or received emails marked classified through her homebrew email server.

She accused her Republican opponents and GOP lawmakers of partisanship as the email affair continued to overshadow her campaign.

Obama and his family vacation every August on Martha’s Vineyard, and he’s spent most of this year’s trip on the golf course, at the beach and dining at the island’s upscale restaurants. Obama returns to Washington on Aug. 23.

Later in the month, the Clintons will vacation in the Hamptons in New York, where Clinton also plans to attend fundraisers for her campaign.

(JOSH LEDERMAN)

RELATED

NEW YORK – New York State Assemblyman Michael Tannousis (R, C-Staten Island/Brooklyn) released a statement on April 20 regarding the state budget.

Top Stories

Columnists

A pregnant woman was driving in the HOV lane near Dallas.

General News

NEW YORK – Meropi Kyriacou, the new Principal of The Cathedral School in Manhattan, was honored as The National Herald’s Educator of the Year.

Video

A Palestinian Baby in Gaza is Born an Orphan in an Urgent Cesarean Section after an Israeli Strike

RAFAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Sabreen Jouda came into the world seconds after her mother left it.

PHOENIX — An Arizona grand jury has indicted former Donald Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and lawyer Rudy Giuliani along with 16 others in an election interference case.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Police peacefully arrested student protesters at the University of Southern California on Wednesday, hours after police at a Texas university violently detained dozens in the latest clashes between law enforcement and those protesting the Israel-Hamas war on campuses nationwide.

ATHENS, Greece — A far-right Greek lawmaker has been charged with criminal assault for allegedly punching a colleague on the sidelines of a parliamentary debate Wednesday.

Enter your email address to subscribe

Provide your email address to subscribe. For e.g. [email protected]

You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in our newsletter.