HONOLULU â€" President Obama eased back into the relaxing groove of his Christmas in Hawaii vacation on Wednesday after a brief hiatus to wrangle with Congress over a deal to avert a fiscal crisis.
In most respects, Wednesday on the island of Oahu was 5,000 miles away and a world apart from the political brinksmanship of the nation's capital. The morning included a trip to the local Marine Corps base, where the president went to the gym.
And after speaking with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York and Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey about the stalled efforts to provide tens of billions of dollars to the states to aid their recovery from Hurricane Sandy, Mr. Obama hit the golf course.
The White House announced Mr. Obama's golf partners, as is standard protocol, and they once again included a friend who always creates a bit of a stir whenever he is spotted with the president. Bobby Titcomb, an old friend of the president's f rom their days at the Punahou School here, was arrested in 2011 on a charge of soliciting prostitution after being swept up in an undercover sting. He later entered a plea of no contest.
The president's group also included Marty Nesbitt, a Chicago friend. Mr. Nesbitt was an early backer of Mr. Obama, and he later served as treasurer for his 2008 presidential campaign.
The third in their foursome was Allison Davis, a Chicago developer and lawyer who was one of the founders of the firm the president once worked for and who was another financial backer of his early political career.
The White House also released a new taped message from the president on Wednesday in which he outlined his priorities for 2013 â€" listing them in order as winding down the war in Afghanistan, reforming immigration and gun control â€" and cautioned that many of the issues that made the tax-and-spending deal so difficult remain unresolved.
“Obviously there's still more t o do when it comes to reducing our debt,†he said. “And I'm willing to do more as long as it does it in a balanced way that doesn't put all the burden on seniors or students or middle-class families.â€
