(CNN) - He was already relaxing on the beaches of Hawaii last year at this time, but President Obama said Tuesday his annual vacation to the Aloha State won't begin this year until the Senate passes the health care bill.
"I will not leave until my friends in the Senate have completed their work," Obama said Tuesday. "My attitude is that if they're making these sacrifices to provide health care to all Americans then the least I can do is be around to provide them any encouragement and last-minute help where necessary. That's the deal."
A final vote on the Senate health care bill is currently scheduled for 7 pm ET on Christmas Eve, though it could come earlier in the day if Republicans yield some of their debate time.
White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Tuesday the president's actual vacation plans won't be determined until the vote has taken place.
From CNN Politics
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The peevishnesss of some of the members of Congress is pathetically childish. Instead of elections maybe we should choose our representatives by I.Q. and not elections.
come on cnn! Who cares, while the rest of us struggle, and worry about how to pay bills, we have to hear this ridiculous news!! Yeah, postpone a vacation so he can strong arm senators to vote for a bill that the American people dont want!!! I wish that I can go on a vacation in the middle of a recession....oh wait, I am, its called unemployment!
That's what you call class... unlike some other Presidents who have been known to have been out playing golf while our men and women died overseas for their country.
I find it odd that the President would refer to congress as his friends since they clearly are doing what he tells them to do. This is a disgrace. I think the Republicans should vote the way he did for the time he was a state senator PRESENT. As it is clear all he has to do is promise money that we dont have to get the vote. But hey he is transparent isnt he since he only meets with dem's and those that vote with him and not all ELECTED officials who forgot that the constitution says they represent the people and not the president.
Congratulations, Mr. President!
F.D. Roosevelt took his well-deserved vacations in Warm Springs, Georgia (and probably took one after the Social Security Act was passed), and a grateful nation celebrated Christmas in 1935.
You and your beautiful family deserve a little vacation for all your hard work, intelligent vision and accomplishments during 2009 – one of the most difficult year's in our history!
For once we have a President that puts other people before himself.
Now that is a real Christian. He isn't perfect but his heart is in the right place.
I love how everyone in DC acts like the Senate is working SO hard and it's all such a sacrifice...to do the job they were hired to do. And not even do it well. A job they get paid very well for, and of course, get great health coverage for as well.
I'm all for health care reform and think it's something that should have happened a long time ago, but the way they're going about it now seems ridiculous, overly complex, and all about partisan politics instead of working for what's best for the American people. Oh, I think I just described Congress in a nutshell!
President Obama is AWESOME!!!
No comment from Anti-Obama Americans? SHOCKING!!!!
American's only want to get on their soap box when there is something negative to point out or discuss.. HOW SAD!!!!
He needs a vacation? He just spent most of last week doing nothing in Copenhagen at our expence. What a sacrifice.
Best he take time while he is there , an try an put another Bogus Birthcertificate on file. For first one is a phony as Barrack is.
?? When that plane is worn out flying him around so he can pick up a few smokes. An brag about how he is screwing America up . Where is he going to live , ? Kenya or South side of Pelosi's Mansion. So he can get free Vetnaran care , with the rest of the whining Bull dog's that just got Casturated . Uh Huh
Senate Dems must envoke the public options. If the public options is not consider. Maybe later on when Healthcare Reform passess the can go back and add it on as provision? I believe that change can be slow but its better than not having anything to offer as a solution. "The Party of No" has not come up with anything other than obstruction to the bill.
OB has been paying his lip service to everything since the election. It is better for him to stay in Hawaii for vacation from now on.
So how much is BO going to pay the rest of the Dems for their votes?
He has already bought Landreu from LA, and Nelson from Nebraska.
Who else is BO going to bribe with the tax payers money?
Can anyone even imagine GW Bush giving up a vacation for anything? He was happy to fly to Crawford as often as he wanted while sending kids off to war...or he was happy to be partying in Arizona with John McCain as Katrina was hitting land. It is just so nice to have a president who can properly articulate the English language and who actually cares are real people and not just corporations.
Anatole France summed up the situation about as well as it ever could be stated: "If fifty million people say a foolish thing, it is still a foolish thing."
If you're "unemployed by Obama", perhaps you should consider going back to school, relocating or switching careers instead of lounging around all day waiting for your unemployment check to come and complaining to a bunch of strangers on the interwebz. After all, we should all take personal responsibility, right? Have a nice day!
With any luck at all, Congress will come to its senses and decline to pass the bill, thereby sparing the US the expense of a round-trip flight of Air Force 1 to Hawaii.
Not to mention sparing us the the trillion-dollar waste of the cost of Obamacare.
@proud conservative. It's only a pity you are not smart enough to know your name is in fact; ignorant conservative.
You are proud of your ingorance and as the saying goes...pity the fool!
Mr. President:
Go on vacation you deserve it. I'm tired just WATCHING you work! Take your beautiful family with you and REST and ENJOY. These cretins are going to talk about you no matter what you do, so go on and enjoy yourself sir.
I do however appreciate and admire you waiting for this healthcare issue to be resolved first. Our last President didn't know what a work-ethic was.
Good for him! The vote could come early but the GOP won't have it. They had rather whine about having to stay and do their job. Had they been doing their job the past 8 years we would have had health care reform by now. So it's their fault that they are having to spend part of Xmas in Washington. We need to lock them in and make them stay there until all the bills fron the past 20 or so years are passed. The very idea of only spending approximately 150 days each year in DC. It is no wonder they can't get anything done. And why they want to make it a lifeime job. Their terms should be limited like the President.
Thank God we have a President who knows what his priorites are. As far as the "social events" he attended in Denmark and China, I believe that those "events" were part of his job as President. Americans are not used to having a man in the White House, who actually does his job. Happy Holidays, President Obama.
"That's the deal." What Obama means by that is that he will give up your tax money any way he must in 0rder to buy one more vote...
He needs to make sure we get that $800 Billion lump of coal in our stocking called "healthcare reform".
He won't be pretending to be a rancher, driving an old pickup with baccy juice staining the door and clearing brush if there's a camera within range.
Obama is not a phony.
D- Copenhagen and China were not social events. He is not a frat boy turning everything into partytime.
Hmmm. Lets think about this. Health care good? It took back door deals and a SCHEDULED 1:00 AM vote. Anyone who currently has private insurance will see premium hikes. That means no pay raises or higher employee contributions. Or it means layoffs.
Greg, I work for a major healthcare provider and its too late , these things are already happening. My premiums went up 25% again this year. I haven't had a raise in 3 years since the company instituted a policy to limit the number of raises given. Also, there have been layoffs and worse yet, the jobs went overseas and more are headed that way.