The Obamas See Avatar in Hawaii

Bo in the Blue Room.

President Obama, the first family and friends finished watching a private viewing of the movie "Avatar" at Windward Mall and left at 12:32 p.m., emerging from a side door at Borders bookstore.

"A group of more than a half dozen children came out first, along with fathers Eric Whitaker and Marty Nesbitt; the kids piled into a van while a grown up man we did not recognize did a head count to make sure they were all there," according to a media pool report by Peter Baker of The New York Times.

Obama stepped into the sunlight wearing sunglasses, a dark blue short-sleeve shirt, brown slacks and a BlackBerry on his belt. He was accompanied by his two daughters.

"A light cheer went up from the crowd of onlookers in the parking lot and Potus waved at them," according to Baker's report. Read the whole thing here

Golf, Tennis and Obama's Vacation Reading List

If I were the president on vacation, I'd be vegetating in a corner. But Obama never quits:

President Barack Obama played tennis with his wife and golf with his buddies Monday, starting his first vacation in office on Martha's Vineyard, a picturesque island known as a refuge for the wealthy and privileged.

Obama began the day with a workout at his rented retreat, then tennis with Michelle Obama, White House spokesman Bill Burton told reporters traveling with the president. Obama later played golf with UBS Investment Bank President Robert Wolf and Chicago physician Eric Whitaker, both friends. White House aide Marvin Nicholson was also in the foursome. Read more at MSNBC

Obama's books to read includes John Adams and Hot, Flat and Crowded by Thomas Friedman. I'm watching the John Adams series on DVD. I highly recommend it. See Obama golf photos at the MV Times here.
Also along on the Obama vacation:

Obama's sister, Maya, flew with the Obamas from Washington, as did first pooch Bo, who wandered through the press cabin during the flight. Senior adviser Valerie Jarrett, a close friend and counselor to the president, joined the flight aboard Air Force One and the dinner table on Sunday night hours after arriving.

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Obama Has Heart To Heart With Friends

Obama and his friends are trying to figure out how to stay close. I just hope that they--and Michelle--help keep him grounded and sane.

NYT: Last Sunday night, President-elect Barack Obama’s three closest friends — Martin Nesbitt, Eric Whitaker and Valerie Jarrett — sat down in the study of Mr. Nesbitt’s house in Chicago for one of their increasingly frequent heart-to-hearts.

They were puzzling over a new question: how the Obamas, who hope to remain close to their Chicago friends, will spend time with them while living in the isolation chamber of the White House. Over Diet Cokes, the three drafted the beginnings of an elaborate visiting schedule that will bring Hyde Park to Washington, so the First Family can have a little taste of home.

“O.K, Eric, you need to plan to be in D.C. the first six weekends of the presidency,” Ms. Jarrett, soon to be a senior White House adviser, instructed Dr. Whitaker, he recalled. 

Rattled

And Mr. Obama is not even president yet. Soon they will no longer be the best friends of a newly successful politician but of the most powerful man in the world. Though Mr. Obama’s friends vow their friendships will not change, they all sound a bit worried: that others will try to take advantage, that they will no longer be regarded on their own terms but in relation to Mr. Obama, or that they will say something that will reflect badly on him. For all of their immense pride in the Obamas, for all the dazzle of the campaign and the White House, being a first friend “is not all fun and games,” Dr. Whitaker said.