The White House suddenly announced Sunday night that President Obama would remain on vacation for a second straight week, snuffing out any thoughts about starting a public health care pushback.

I don't begrudge any President who wants some time off.  It's got to be a brutal job.

On the other hand, there is a big time debate out there on health care reform right now, a debate that has not been running in the direction of Democrats and the White House.

And basically, Mr. Obama will have downshifted for a solid two weeks before Labor Day, which means that seems a lot like two weeks lost in the debate.

The original plan out of the White House was for the Obamas to head for Camp David on Wednesday and take a long weekend there.
 
"The President will continue his vacation through the end of the week," the White House said in a brief scheduling statement issued last night.

"Media will be informed if any public events are added to the schedule."

So the health care debate - in a sense - remains frozen until after Labor Day.  We'll see how much Republicans try to go on the offensive this week, or if they enjoy a bit of a cease fire/vacation as well.