Sen. Barack Obama Makes Quiet Appearance Here
Mike Seccombe

Following a frenzied weekend of rallies for two of the 2008 Democratic Presidential contenders, the third of the front runners, Barack Obama. slid quietly into the Vineyard early this week for aclosed-door high-ticket fundraiser and no fanfare.

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Election Day 2008: Vineyard Backs Obama All the Way
Mike Seccombe

Vineyard voters came down decisively on the winning side of history on Tuesday, turning out in record numbers to help elect America’s first black President.

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Presidential Holidays Are Not All Created Equal
Jim Hickey

To compare the Vineyard vacations of former President Clinton and current President Obama all you have to do is stop in an Island ice cream parlor. Once there, you will probably find a picture hanging on the wall of the former President eagerly peering over the counter to view the lineup of flavors, chatting with patrons or munching on an ice cream cone.

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Vacation Interludes

Vacation Interludes

If there is one lesson to be learned from the presence of the Summer White House on the Vineyard, it is this: Never trust press spokesmen who tell reporters not to expect news during a presidential vacation trip. President Obama reinforced the no news forecast with a specific set of intructions conveyed through a deputy press secretary. The relaxed vacation talk was reminiscent of similar White House talk during the 1990s, the Clinton years on the Vineyard.

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Islanders Reflect on a President’s Vacation
Letters to the Editor

A Different Kind of Visit

In August 1994, the last year the annual agricultural fair was held on the grounds of the old Grange Hall in West Tisbury, the fair was on, and I was crossing State Road by the town hall as two motorcycle escorts heralded the arrival of President Clinton’s motorcade.

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Business Boost from Presidential Visit Not Immediately Apparent
Jim Hickey

Island merchants this week said it was too early to tell if President Obama’s recent vacation gave a boost to business, which by most account was generally poor this summer.

If there was any direct impact it was in Oak Bluffs, where the President stopped in town on Tuesday night for dinner at the Sweet Life Cafe and briefly the next day for a take-out lunch at Nancy’s Snack Bar.

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After Last Stop at Alley’s, And Storms of All Kinds, First Family Bids Farewell
Sam Bungey

At 4:23 p.m. on Sunday, the helicopters took off from the Martha’s Vineyard Airport, bringing to an end President Obama’s week-long first vacation since winning office, spent on the Island.

As Mr. Obama, his family and entourage took off, the clouds which had dumped some four inches of rain over the previous two days finally broke, and they left in watery sunshine.

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Obama Aides Close In On First Family Home For Likely August Visit
Sam Bungey

Senior White House aides and Secret Service are now considering three Vineyard properties for a planned holiday by President Obama and his family next month.

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The Only Ones Are Not Everyone
Elizabeth Gates

In early October 2008 I was invited to Chicago to sit in the Family and Friends Tent in Bryant Park and witness the possible election of our nation’s 44th President, Barack Hussein Obama.

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First Family’s Vacation Plans Take Shape Around Familiar Chilmark Farm
Sam Bungey

President Barack Obama and the First Family will rent the bucolic Blue Heron Farm off South Road in Chilmark for their vacation during the last week of August.

The 28.5-acre property some five hundred yards down Cobb’s Hill Road, spans the Chilmark and West Tisbury town line and overlooks Town Cove, the westernmost finger of the Tisbury Great Pond.

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