THE CITY DWELLER WHO PREFERS HAWAII OVER CAMP DAVID SINCE MONEY CAN’T BE SPENT IN THE MILLIONS ENOUGH TO WARRANT HIS PRESENCE–THE DEMOCRAT POTUS BHO SKIPS OUT ON ANOTHER CAMP DAVID ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION WITH FOREIGN HEADS–MAYBE IF THE DISCUSSION WAS HELD IN HONOLULU OR A GOLF COURSE THEN JUST MAYBE THE DEMOCRAT POTUS WOULD WANT TO PARTICIPATE CAUSE THEN MILLIONS OF TAX DOLLARS NOT HIS OWN WOULD BE SPENT ON THE GRAND LAVISH EXHIBITION

On Monday, when Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani visits Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland will once again serve as the venue for important geopolitical negotiations on seemingly in­trac­table issues, a role it has played for more than seven decades.

But as Secretary of State John F. Kerry and other Cabinet members host the Afghan president, one major U.S. figure will not be present: President Obama.

The president’s absence is just one signal of how the role of the cloistered compound in Catoctin Mountain Park has changed under this president, a city dweller who prefers gym workouts and golf courses to hiking trips and fly-fishing expeditions.

For several of Obama’s predecessors, Camp David was a critical refuge from the public spotlight and a chance to spend time outdoors, as well as a forum for soft-touch presidential diplomacy.

For this president, its role has receded. When he wants to woo or entertain foreign leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping or Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Obama has opted for California’s Sunnylands retreat, which offers plenty of sunshine and an 18-hole golf course. When he’s looking to relax on his own, the woods are rarely his first choice.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, John Eisenhower, and grandson David Eisenhower putt on green on the lawn of the main lodge while vacationing in 1954 at Camp David in Thurmont, Md. (Courtesy of Eisenhower Presidential Library)

Although the current first family does use the naval installation as a location for key celebrations, it is now used more for administrative events like staff retreats and other work-related meetings.

Shortly after Obama took office, first lady Michelle Obama said the “most unexpected and uniform advice” she had gotten from her predecessors was to go to Camp David “early and often.”

White House officials say the first lady — at times with her daughters — visits a fair amount. The president, however, has not warmed to the place in the same way as some previous commanders-in-chief. Obama has made 35 visits to Camp David since taking office, spanning all or part of 86 days, according to CBS News correspondent and informal White House chronicler and statistician Mark Knoller. At same point in his presidency, George W. Bush had made 119 visits covering all or part of 375 days.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/camp-david-just-isnt-president-obamas-kind-of-retreat/2015/03/20/253de0fc-ce51-11e4-a2a7-9517a3a70506_story.html