After days of jetting around the country to sell his State of the Union proposals, President Barack Obama is following the path set by previous presidents ? coming to South Florida for some R&R.
The White House has been mum about details, the Secret Service never talks, and the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office didn't have any comment. But those in the know said he'll briefly be in Palm Beach County ? as a landing spot for Air Force One.
His business for the weekend is the same that lures business executives and middle class folks from across the country: golf.
Golf magazine reports Palm Beach County has more than 140 courses. County Mayor Steven Abrams said he wishes the president would play in the county, but like others he's heard the president is heading instead to a resort in Palm City, in Martin County.
It's a safe bet that one of Palm Beach County's premier courses, the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach wouldn't be on Obama's list of places to play even though it's one of the area's top courses, according to Palm Beach Illustrated magazine. Its developer, Donald Trump, the real estate mogul, Celebrity Apprentice TV show host, is a fierce critic of Obama.
If Obama doesn't play well and ends up in the sand, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, quipped that she hopes it will make the him think of something the region desperately needs: beach renourishment. "If the president goes golfing and gets stuck in a bunker, I hope he can bring some of the sand back to our beaches," Frankel said by email.
The Gold Coast has long drawn presidents. Franklin D. Roosevelt vacationed here in the winter, though his successor, Harry Truman, favored Key West, according to Lynn University
Decades-old newspaper accounts reported that John F. Kennedy wrote his inaugural speech and chose his cabinet at the Kennedy family home in Palm Beach, where he also swam, sailed and played touch football. Kennedy's last visit was five days before he was assassinated.
More recently, Gulf Stream was the first place President-elect George H.W. Bush vacationed after his 1988 election.
The current president is "traveling to Florida where he's going to spend Presidents' Day weekend relaxing with some friends. There's no work on the schedule," principal deputy press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday on Air Force One en route to Decatur, Ga.
One advantage to having the president fly in and head north is minimal traffic disruptions. Moving the president, whether it's to dinner or the links, involves closing streets until the motorcade passes by.
Staff writer William E. Gibson contributed to this report.
aman@tribune.com or 954-356-4550
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