Hillary Fills In As Obama Family Says "Aloha" To Hawaii
(CHICAGO) As Barack Obama heads home to Hawaii for a week-long vacation with his family, his former opponent, Hillary Clinton, will spend a little time campaigning.
Amidst rumors of lingering tensions between the Clintons and Obama, she heads to Nevada where she will appear at a rally in Henderson later today.
"Senator Clinton did very well in Nevada in the primaries," Obama spokesman Nick Shapiro explained, "She's one of the most effective campaigners this country has seen."
This is the first time that Clinton will be campaigning for Obama solo. She will also appear at a fundraiser in Florida on Obama's behalf later this month.
Obama spent Thursday evening running last-minute errands in Chicago in preparation for his vacation, which he says is well deserved.
"We had the longest primary in history," Obama said later adding, "John McCain got one."
He went shopping at Bloomingdales before heading to his Hyde Park barbershop followed by a 70-minute session at the gym. He is now en route to Hawaii and is expected to touch down in Honolulu around mid-afternoon Hawaii time.
Even though Obama said he hopes to give voters a break from politics, he will be campaigning immediately upon arrival in Honolulu. The campaign has organized a welcome rally at a local park as well as a round robin of interviews. He is also expected to attend a fundraiser next week.
Obama's vacation will include mostly downtime, though. Other than enjoying the beach and watching the Olympics, he will spend some time with his grandmother, who helped raise him in Honolulu in the 1970s.
"I want to make sure that I'm spending time with her on a consistent basis and so that she could see her great grandchildren," he said yesterday.