Barack Obama will be joining August's vacationing hordes

LONDON -- One thing decidedly absent from Barack Obama’s packed agenda overseas was a good night’s sleep. As he wrapped up his travels today, a fellow politician on the other side of the pond advised Obama to kick back sometime soon.

“You should be on the beach,” David Cameron, the head of the British Conservative Party, told Obama in London a few hours before the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee headed home to Chicago.

“You need a break. Well, you need to be able to keep your head together.”

Obama told Cameron he would take a week off in August.

The pair also compared notes on the need for political leaders to make sure they keep themselves focused on the forest, not the trees -- efforts by aides notwithstanding.

Obama shared advice he said he got from an official in the Bill Clinton White House: “The most important thing you need to do is to have big chunks of time during the day when all you're doing is thinking.”

Cameron agreed, lamenting aides who “just chalk your diary up.”

“In 15-minute increments,” Obama said.

“You have to scrap that, because you've got to have time,” Cameron told Obama.

“You start making mistakes, or you lose the big picture,” Obama responded.

Politics, Cameron went on, is all about “the judgment you bring to make decisions.”

“That's exactly right,” Obama said. “And the truth is that we've got a bunch of smart people, I think, who know 10 times more than we do about the specifics of the topic.

"And so, if what you're trying to do is micromanage and solve everything, then you end up being a dilettante. But you have to have enough knowledge to make good judgments about the choices that are presented to you.”

-- Michael Finnegan

Photo credit: Getty Images

Comments

[Jack Taylor]

The nerve of that man. People can criticize Republicans all they want, but you're not going to see them reclining lazily on the beach when there's work to be done. I was originally for Hillary Clinton because she has a work ethic so lacking in most democrats but now that Obama has pulled the nomination away from her, I have little choice but to vote for the candidate who will NOT be seen dallying on the beach - John McCain is da man.

[American]

Yes Obama, good judgment is very important. That's why you would fail badly as president. Bad judgment when you think you can bring the world together with a flip flopping change yes we can, and a good speech and hand shake with a smile everywhere you go. Wars are going on around the world because of people filled with hate, and want things their way, or there is war. Obama should know all countries do not have the same values and interest. America stands for freedom, some countries don't , and they see us as their enemy and they will never accept our views. If you really listen to what Obama say, you will hear what I call many problem statements. America is a strong country with a great military force. The president must have a good working relationship with them to keep this country safe. If you are trying to hard to please foreigners, your own country might lose.

[Emily Wortham]

So Obama paid tribute to the British soldiers in Afgan.

Obama, what about the soldiers you neglected in Germany; those ARE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SOLDIIERS, AND YOU WANT TO BE THEIR COMMANDER IN CHIEF? Go ahead, look good for the Brits but not for our fighting men and women. You forgot something: the Brits, Germans, French do not get to vote in the U.S. Nov. election. But...I forgot...you already believe you are the U.S. President......

[Kirk]

John McCain has had cancer removed from 5 different places on his body. He has had kidney stones, vertigo, and suffers from insomnia. McCain is 72 years old and takes 5 different medications. He won't make it through one term if he is elected.

[Disappointed]

Kirk,
You and others complaining about John McCain's age should give it a break, and show some respect for our elders. Barack Hussein Obama is a former hard drug user, and he still smokes cigarettes. I have known people to die from heart attacks, strokes, and other illinesses, without warning, at Obama's age and even younger. Do you know how healthy Obama is ?.Judging by the sleepy way he sometimes look, he might still be using drugs. None of us might not make it through one term if McCain is elected, that includes Obama too. Every one of us is going to die, we don't know when. Our seniors are the backbone of this country, we should know they were sacrificing for us when they were younger. It's time we show them some love and respect, even if we don't agree with them.

[alex jones]

mcain's recent health report was 11 pages long. obama's was 1 paragraph. hes in perfect health.

if mccain were to take the white house and his health were to hold up, within the first couple weeks he'd surely trip over one of his 29 dogs and break his antiquated hip.

[dave]

when that 'big picture' is only another version of the same bush-leaguer delusion of false premises, all smug conceited introspection, and all hired 'expertise', will only keep feeding the bubble of deception, destined to self-destruct. people can only be free as long as they assume their responsibility, and show themselves worthy of freedom by making reasonable choices in their own interest. RON PAUL is the presidential candidate who represents the values of the constitution.