Obama to cap off year with family talent show

President Obama will mark the end of an often tumultuous year with a distinctly lighthearted fete: a family talent show.

It’s just the latest feature in a holiday vacation that has been a study in consistency. On Thursday, Obama traveled across Oahu for an annual barbecue with family, friends and staff – one year to the day when he did so in 2009. He celebrated Christmas with a surprise visit to dining servicemen at Marine Corps Base Hawaii – which was less of a surprise considering he’s done so each of the last two visits as well.

He also made expected stops to the same “shave ice” stand and upscale restaurant locals have come to expect. Every day but one, he’s started his morning with a workout on the nearby base. And, of course, there’s been golf.

As for the talent show, White House spokesman Bill Burton offered only that it’s another annual tradition. And it turns out that Obama, known for his oratorical gifts, is also apparently something of a singer as well. A Time magazine story said the president one year sang “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” when it was his turn to perform. The first lady opted for a hula hoop display.

The trip to Hawaii, which has been extended twice since Obama arrived late on Dec. 22, has definitely been a working vacation as well. But Obama is doing some reading beyond briefing papers and an evaluation of staff prepared for him by top aides. The White House shared Friday some additional selections from his recreational reading list: “The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet,” by David Mitchell, and “Our Kind of Traitor,” a Russian spy drama from John le Carre.

From the nonfiction genre, Obama is reading a biography of Ronald Reagan from Lou Cannon called, “The Role of a Lifetime.”

Obama is set to depart Honolulu late on Monday.

mmemoli@tribune.com

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