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WASHINGTON — The last time Barack Obama was in Asheville, N.C., he complained he was too busy to play golf. The president plans to fix that this weekend.

Obama and his family were to leave the White House at midday Friday and fly to Asheville, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina. On his previous visit, Obama prepared for a debate and rallied supporters during the final month of his presidential campaign.

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“What a spectacular place,” Obama said during an Oct. 5, 2008, stop in Asheville.

“The only thing I don’t like about it is that I had to drive by the golf course, and it looks really nice. And my staff won’t let me play. I’m going to have to come back.”

Back, he’s going. And not just for the golf: The president always keeps his eye on politics.

Obama was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win North Carolina since Jimmy Carter in 1976. He defeated Republican Sen. John McCain by just 0.4 percentage points in a state that favored President George W. Bush’s re-election by 12 percentage points four years earlier. His aggressive campaign — and volunteers from bordering South Carolina — helped turn North Carolina in Obama’s favor and reshape the national political map.

As Democrats’ fortunes have sunk, though, Obama’s trip to North Carolina reflects a nod to a middle class vacation — in contrast to last year’s trips to Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., and his native Hawaii.

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Obamas Head To North Carolina For Quick Family Vacation  was originally published on newsone.com