US News

O, what a waste of tax $$

WASHINGTON — President Obama kicked off his vacation in Martha’s Vineyard with a trip to a local bookstore with his daughters, having arrived on the tranquil Massachusetts island playground a few hours after First Lady Michelle Obama flew in on a separate government jet — costing taxpayers thousands of additional dollars.

The publicly funded separate trips to the Vineyard Thursday raised eyebrows, given the nation’s economic woes and high jobless rate.

The first lady, accompanied by daughters Sasha and Malia, arrived at about 2 p.m. Thursday, according to the Martha’s Vineyard Times. Obama, with the family dog, Bo, arrived at 6:30 p.m. aboard Marine One.

The two flights also required separate motorcades and added security costs.

Obama yesterday toured the Bunch of Grapes bookstore dressed in jeans and a polo short.

Perusing the books was a welcome respite from lawmakers in his own party who appear to have soured on the president, as well as gloomy economic news.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.), ticked off at Obama’s concessions to Republicans in the debt deal, fumed about the president to a local TV station Thursday night: “Fight? I don’t think it’s a word in his vocabulary.”

“The Republicans telegraphed to [Obama] they were going to use a fake crisis over the debt limit in order to muscle some major spending reductions or other things onto him. And that was in December. And what happens? Suddenly, he flip-flops and concedes everything to the Republicans,” DeFazio told KGW News.

On Obama’s re-election chances against a “respectable” Republican, DeFazio said: “He’s going to have a very tough time getting re-elected.”

Just days earlier, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) had ripped Obama for not visiting urban areas with substantial black populations on his rural-economy tour of the heartland.

Meanwhile, new federal data show unemployment ticking up from June to July in some key political swing states, including Indiana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia, The Hill newspaper reported.

Battleground states with unemployment over 10 percent include Ohio, North Carolina, Florida and Nevada, though most are doing better than in 2010.

Obama started the day with a security briefing from a counterterrorism adviser.

Then it was off to the private Vineyard Golf Club for a round with some aides.

The luxurious course’s Web site says: “Tee off over scenic vistas and a protected habitat. Enjoy the beauty of Vineyard wildlife as you walk the course.”

geoff.earle@nypost.com