Everyone knows our erstwhile President Obama likes to celebrate himself. The Barack Obama Presidential Center now under construction is but one case in point.
But few knew until this week that he had invited 450 of his closest friends along with another 250 staff, caterers, security, and the band Pearl Jam to celebrate his 60th birthday at his new 29-acre, $11.75 million estate on Edgartown Great Pond on Martha's Vineyard. And that's when things went south.
Vineyard health officials had reinstated a mask advisory the week before as Delta variant cases were climbing, and indoor gatherings came under new restrictions.
The Obamas took the heat for a couple of days as headlines grew more critical and then decided the PR fallout and local opprobrium were too much to risk. This morning, news reports said the Obamas have canceled the party while others said they scaled it back. No doubt many invitees are already on the Vineyard while others will fly in before the party on Saturday. Martha's Vineyard Airport will soon look like the Davos and Sun Valley conferences with parked rows of private jets, including climate czar John Kerry's Gulfstream G-IV.
No one wants to be a party pooper, but what message do the Obamas think a party of several hundred jet-setting One Percenters during the Covid-19 pandemic sends to island residents?
We know what Jimmy Cagney would say.
No comments:
Post a Comment