To “Loose Cannon” posters: thanks for your comments; thanks, too, for keeping the discourse civil. Perhaps we can make blogosphere history here. To the correspondent who asked about Jim Webb as a possible Obama running mate: Next week I’ll list the likely suspects, along with a brief line on what I believe are their pros and cons. The subject of today’s musing, however, is presidential vacations. Their location is crucial to the administration officials, political advisors, White House stenographers, military aides, journalists, and Secret Service agents who accompany a president wherever he goes. I’m posting this blog today from the central California coast because Ronald Reagan took his presidential down-time at his nearby retreat, Rancho del Cielo, when he was president. Reagan spent a year of his presidency out here, and those who traveled with him fell in love with this place. (Actually, I’m here today because my father, who covered Reagan for The Washington Post, adored it so much, he bought a house near Santa Barbara, and retired here.) Reagan’s successor, George H.W. Bush escaped to Kennebunkport, Maine. That is a lovely locale, too, but it probably goes without saying that Crawford, Texas, site of Geo. W. Bush’s ranch, does not hold the same appeal for the support staff and journos. In fact, it’s in a tie with Plains, Ga.—Jimmy Carter’s ancestral home—as the worst modern presidential vacation spot. (Bill Clinton, in case anyone is wondering, had no home when he moved to Washington, D.C., let alone a home-away-from-home, but he mercifully vacationed in Martha’s Vineyard most years.) The best spot still might be Harry Truman’s: He went to Key West whenever he could. Which brings me to this year’s two nominees. John McCain is auditioning vice presidential candidates in Sedona, Arizona this Memorial Day weekend. That could be a pretty cool place to spend time in the next four or eight years. Barack Obama doesn’t yet have a similar family compound anywhere, but like Truman, he seems to have an affinity for islands, and he grew up in Hawaii! So, speaking on the eve of this holiday, for all of those who will have to travel with the 44th president of the United States: it doesn’t look like we can lose. Enjoy the holiday, ya’ll, though I’ll probably be posting something between now and Tuesday.