WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama may have finally shed his summer curse – just in time for a daunting fall.
Unlike past summers, this year’s has been among the most productive stretches of Obama’s presidency. Late June victories in the Supreme Court on health care and gay marriage, along with a win for his trade agenda on Capitol Hill, were followed by the landmark Iran nuclear deal in July and the raising of the U.S. flag over a new embassy in Cuba in August.
Instead of being overshadowed by the 2016 presidential campaign, Obama’s agenda has often been driving the debate among the candidates running to replace him.
And yet to the president, one of his summer’s biggest successes may simply be making it through his annual vacation on the tony Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard largely uninterrupted. While his summer troubles have often trailed him on previous vacations, he closed out this year’s trip Sunday without any statements to the press or public appearances, beyond a few glimpses of him on the golf course and biking with his family.
“The president has absolutely appreciated the opportunity to take these two weeks outside of the hustle and bustle of Washington and spend some time with family and friends,” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said. “Once we return to Washington, our agenda is packed, so the president is grateful for some rest and relaxation in advance of what will be a very busy fall.”