TONE DEAF, WITH TIN EARS - AT 10:19 P.M. ET:  The Obama White House seems increasingly out of touch with the American people.  Consider the Obamas' lavish vacation plans, at a time of high unemployment and economic stress:

The First Family is taking a vacation before their vacation.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said Friday the president, First Lady Michelle and the kids are heading west on Aug. 14 for a long weekend to visit Grand Canyon and Yellowstone National parks. Just days later, the First Family travels to Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts.

Mrs. Obama and her daughters have already made two overseas trips this summer. Gibbs talked about the westward swing - intended to highlight the national parks - at his briefing, where he offered up Obama's week ahead.

And this:

The place where the Obama family plans to spend the last week of August will offer some room to roam on the remote island off the coast of Cape Cod.

The Blue Heron Farm, a 28-acre retreat in the town of Chilmark, once deemed one of the most expensive towns in America, is among a stable of resorts that fetch $35,000 to $50,000 a week, according to an island correspondent, Sam Bungey, of the Vineyard Gazette, who has nailed down the location of the first family's vacation.

The "farm'' features a swimming pool, a golf tee and a small basketball court, as well as four dwellings and a half dozen other structures "in which to swing a cat'' -- plus private access to a stretch of Squibnocket Beach -- which may keep those Obama swimsuit photos to a minimum.

There is a song from "Camelot" - "What Do the Simple Folk Do?"  I suspect it's a favorite around the White House these days.

August 8, 2009