Obama finds refuge among close friends on vacation
VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — They golf with him, they vacation with him, their kids and his kids hang out. To them, he’s Barack, not Mr. President. He can tease and be teased back.
President Obama’s circle of close friends has sustained him through good times and bad since his days in Chicago. They’ve been with him during a Martha’s Vineyard vacation ending Friday.
For a powerful leader who nonetheless may have one of the loneliest jobs, Obama regards his closest buddies as a second family. Eric Whitaker, Martin Nesbitt and Valerie Jarrett form the core.
As Jarrett puts it, Obama has built up a trust with friends that has stood the test of time. For one thing, he need not worry that they will spill the beans on details of his getaway.
President Barack Obama waves to people at the take out window at Nancys Restaurant in Oak Bluffs on Marthas Vineyard, Mass., with Eric Whitaker, center and Valerie Jarrett, partially obscured at right, during a family vacation. Whitaker and Jarrett are two in a circle of tight-lipped friends, who form a core with Martin Nesbitt, not shown, whove sustained Obama through good times and bad since his days in Chicago, from Hawaii to Washington to Marthas Vineyard and back again. They golf with him, they vacation with him, their kids and his kids hang out. To them, hes Barack, not Mr. President. He can be teased and tease back.
Associated Press