Have you heard of "Waikiki-gate"? It's the amusing name a reporter gave to an episode yesterday in which President-elect Obama headed out to a marine amusement park with his daughters and friends before the media's "pool" could catch up with the group.
This is the kind of thing that wingnuts may try to turn into a controversy, but when you look at the details, you realize that there isn't any there, there.
In a nutshell, yesterday morning the pool journalist was told to head on back to his hotel because Obama's schedule for the day had been completed. A little while later, Obama decided to head out to the theme park, and rather than wait for the pool journalist to make his way back to the where the Obamas are vacationing, Obama and his entourage headed out to the amusement park.
The pool caught up with Obama about an hour later, and for the first time on vacation, Obama actually spoke with the pool journalist. Obviously, Obama hadn't "snuck off," but he probably knew the pooler would feel spurned, so he gave him some TLC.
It was no big deal, but given how Washington works, I wouldn't be surprised if some folks decided to try to make a big deal about this.
To that end, here are the actual pool reports filed yesterday, so you can see what actually happened:
Sent: Fri Dec 26 13:29:04 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 1
Kailua, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama left his vacation home in Kailua at 7:52 a.m.local time. He was accompanied by Eric Whitaker, a friend from Chicagovacationing with Obama.
The motorcade arrived at the Semper Fit Center at Marine Corps Base Hawaiiin Kailua at 8:02 a.m. About three dozen onlookers were gathered in frontof the gym and waved and snapped pictures of Obama. The onlookers appearedto be civilians, some of them women and children.
Obama, wearing a gray T-shirt, black athletic pants, white sneakers and aWhite Sox baseball cap, waved at the onlookers briefly and entered the gym.Several of the onlookers then walked up to enter the gym and were beingscreened by agents.
Your pool is now at McDonald's.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Fri Dec 26 14:13:06 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 2
Kailua, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama exited the Semper Fit Center at Marine CorpsBase Hawaii in Kailua at 8:58 a.m. Wearing his gray T-shirt and White Soxcap, he spent about two minutes talking with onlookers and shaking hands.
One woman yelled, "Thank you for staying in our neighborhood." Obamareplied, "thank you."
Obama turned to a young boy and said, "Hey man, good to see you. Are you afootball player?" The kid nodded his head. Obama said, "I can tell!"
Obama shook more hands and told the crowd, "You guys have a wonderful newyear." The president-elect also said, "Good to see you."
Obama's motorcade returned safely to the Kailua home at 9:09 a.m.
Your pool is holding outside the house to await word on any futuremovements.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Fri Dec 26 14:33:31 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 3
Kailua, Hawaii
The wonderful Samantha Tubman called a lid at 9:27 a.m., so your pool isreturning to Waikiki Beach. President-elect Barack Obama is not planningother movements today, but if he decides to leave home again your pool willbe called back to Kailua.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Fri Dec 26 17:27:13 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 4
Kailua, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama left his vacation home with daughters Maliaand Sasha about 11:45 a.m. His motorcade left without the pool, the firsttime he has done so on this Hawaiian vacation. Your pool, which had a lid,was not informed in time and is now en route to the Kailua home to be sweptby Secret Service. Pool will attempt to meet up with the Obamas shortly.
The Obamas are apparently at Sea Life Park, a marine amusement park nearWaimanalo and Bellows Air Force Station.
Updates to come once the pool is taken to the park.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Fri Dec 26 18:18:17 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 5
Waimanalo, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama arrived at Sea Life Park, a marine amusementpark in Waimanalo, about 12:10 p.m. He is apparently inside the park withdaughters Malia and Sasha. He left their Kailua vacation home without theprotective press pool.
Your pool arrived at the park about 1:10 p.m. and are holding outside thepark to await instructions on whether we will have access to the Obamas.
Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt issued the following statement to your pool:"With no further scheduled events for the day, a lid was called untilfurther notice. The President-elect decided to take the girls to a waterpark and we assembled the pool as quickly as possible."
The park is nestled along the shoreline in the sparsely populated andscenic Waimanalo area, with soaring volcanic mountains nearby.
More details to come.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Fri Dec 26 18:51:57 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 6
Waimanalo, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama and his daughters Malia and Sasha left SeaLife Park about 1:40, after spending 90 minutes at the marine amusementpark. Pool is now in motorcade and may make another stop before returningto the Kailua vacation home.
Your pool was not allowed inside the park. Obama did not pose for picturesor talk to reporters, but your pool could see him, the daughters, his half-sister Maya and several other family friends leave the park from theinteractive dolphin area.
Tourists who were inside showed the pool photographs they took ofPresident-elect Barack Obama and his family and friends. Obama is wearing acasual cream-colored shirt tucked into olive shorts and sandals.
The Obamas and friends were seen attending the dolphin show, the touristssaid. It is unclear whether the Obamas swam with dolphins, and Obama'sclothing 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, theyscreamed, "We love you, Obama" and "Obama Ohana!" (Ohana means "family" inHawaiian.) Obama stood and waved at them and smiled.
Several kids joined Malia and Sasha, as well as several adults. Your poolhas been promised a full list of those attending the park with Obama and wewill distribute that when it's available.
More to come. Stay tuned.
Philip Rucker
CORRECTION APPENDED:
Correction: an earlier pool report misidentified a woman as Obama'shalf-sister Maya Sortero-Ng. Sortero-Ng was not present today. The woman atthe aquatic park and shave ice shop was a nanny named Nubia who flew toHawaii with the Obamas.
Sent: Fri Dec 26 19:26:26 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 7
Hawaiikai, Hawaii
Pres-elect Barack Obama and his family and friends at 1:55 entered the KokoMarina Center in the Hawaiikai neighborhood near Honolulu for a sandwichand shave ice. Obama entered Koko Marina Paradise Deli and said, "So whatare 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 atuna melt with cheddar cheese?"
Obama then approached the pool to say hello. He placed his shoulder on thispooler who was scribbling notes and said, "You don't really need to writeall that down."
Then Obama walked with Sasha,Sasha Obama, wearing a purple, yellow and white dress, to Kokonuts shaveice. There were mobs of dozens of onlookers swarming the crowded parkinglot snapping pictures and saying hello. Obama waved, said hi, merrychristmas. At one point on the sidewalk, Obama dropped his sunglasses, bentdown and picked then up.
Inside Kokonuts, Obama, with his blackberry on left hip, ordered shave icefor the kids and friends. He told Malia, "We're going to do it one at atime." Some ordered banana coconut, pina colada. Sasha ordered a mediumbanana.
"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 thebill. Obama ordered mixed berry shave ice for Sam Tubman and offered shaveice to the pool.
"Guys, here's your chance," he told pool. "No? I'm telling you, this isreally good.... I don't think this is against policy. You want one, I cantell."
The pool declined the president-elect's offer.
Then Obama, Sasha, Malia and other kids sat at a blue picnic table enjoyingtheir 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
Sent: Fri Dec 26 20:03:09 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 8
Kailua, Hawaii
President-elect Barack Obama, his daughters and family friends left theKoko Marina Center at 2:25 p.m. After winding along a narrow two-lanehighway overlooking the Pacific arrived at the Kailua vacation home at 3:02p.m.
Here are two addendums to previous pool report:
Barack Obama ate his sandwich before his shave ice, saying he wanted to seta good example for his girls by eating healthy food before dessert.
Also, note that shave ice (not shaved ice) is like a snow cone. BarackObama ate orange and green colored shave ice. We don't know what flavorthat is.
After what your pool now is dubbing "Waikiki-gate," we are holding outsidethe Kailua home awaiting word on possible future movements.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Sat Dec 27 00:26:39 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 9
Kailua, Hawaii
After several sightings of lightning in Kailua, near President-elect BarackObama's vacation home, the power went out about 6:30 p.m. Your pool doesnot have a lid yet, so we are holding in a dark van. The street lights andguard house lights are out near the Obama home. It is not clear whether theObama home has lost power or is operating on a generator. There are reportsof widespread outages across Oahu island.
Philip Rucker
Sent: Sat Dec 27 02:12:30 2008
Subject: Pool report No. 10
Kailua, Hawaii
We have a lid at 9:06 p.m. and your pool is returning to the hotel. Thepower remains out in Kailua and it appears President-elect Obama's vacationhome is without power, although your pool has not confirmed that to be thecase.
Philip Rucker
© Jed Lewison