The dog days of summer are upon us.  Not a particularly hot summer but it had its moments.  The persistence of a warm day absorbs our energies and makes the worries and concerns of a complicated life seemingly remote.   Try as we might to keep our eyes open to the issues of the times, the comforting rays of the late afternoon sun beckon a state of somnolence and ennui.  A good nap is in order.

This phenomena is not restricted to my window facing the southern exposure.  Washington DC is full of the desire to forget, leave town, and have a nice siesta.  The President in particular is exhausted from his summer of fighting phony scandals, the collapse of his navel gazing foreign policy, and the tendency of his driver to find the rough.  After a non-illuminating 9 question press conference to gloss over any particular responsibility for his myriad troubles, he is determined to get away from it all in the rustic village of Chilmark, Massachusetts.  He has selected a quant little cottage to start to restore his karma:

Though certainly no one denies the President the utmost in privacy for his getaways, it remains an interesting phenomena that the last two democrat Presidents looking to escape Washington continue to look to exclusive Martha’s Vineyard as their “home” away from the White House.  Now unlike President Clinton, President Obama actually owns a home in Hyde Park, Illinois:

One might remember that then community organizer and recent State Senator Obama in 2004 managed to achieve the securing of the mortgage of this million dollar property due to a large book advance from a publisher for a yet unreleased autobiography and additionally have his privacy assured  when convicted felon Tony Rezko’s wife secured and closed  the adjoining lot’s mortgage coincidently on the same day.  The property apparently has little relaxation value to the President as he rarely finds a reason to return.

Thankfully Martha’s Vineyard provides that “going home” vibe to relieve the dog days. He can kick back his feet and slow the chaos down with some ‘on the porch’ reviews of the country outside of  Washington with the local residents of Chilmark, such as actors Ted Danson or Jake Gyllenhaal, among others, who live on homes with the highest property values in Massachusetts.  As much as he felt Trayvon Martin could have been his son, the President will not have the capacity to easily interact with other Trayvons as the current population of Chilmark is 866, 97.7% Caucasian, and only 0.36% black leaving only approxiamently four residents who would be able to provide a diversified experience at any community gathering.

The dog days sap the energy for problem solving.  It can hardly be expected for the President to secure the many unstable features of his administration during such days.  Items that will have to wait for the cooler days of autumn and beyond include bringing to justice those pesky street protestors who, incensed by a video, managed to destroy a consulate in Libya and murder among others a US ambassador. Patience will hopefully be gained on vacation by the President to still the outrage he felt when he learned that the country’s tax collection authority, the IRS, had a few rogue agents that prejudiced their position of power to undermine conservative groups who intended to organize against the President’s policies and re-election.  Cool ocean breezes will thankfully calm the President’s disappointment in a country that continues at an unemployment rate that remains 50% greater than its predicted value 4 years after the biggest government stimulus investment in American peacetime history.  Those lovely ocean views on the golf course will likely suppress the anger the President feels toward Vladimir Putin for providing the traitor Snowden asylum resulting in the need to cancel a perfectly good trip to Moscow in the fall.

So many issues.  So many challenges. So many decisions needing a decider.  Thank God for vacations that let the world be put aside for awhile. Al Qaeda, the economy, the Egyptians, Obamacare, the Russians, the Congressional investigators, and tea party zealots can all just wait.  Its time for another nice summer nap…