President Obama is vacationing again in Marta Vineyard - playground of the 1% of the 1%. We have been assured that he is just as in charge there as he is in Washington, which is not very reassuring. He purportedly brought his brain trust with him for advice. That is not very reassuring either since that very limited group includes deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes (for his C.V. see this ). The media is also reporting that Anita Breckenbridge  is his “top-ranking advisor” on the island with him - while the world “blows up” in Defense Secretary Hagel words.

Who is Anita Breckenridge?

The headline gives it away “From Campaign Driver to top Obama aide on vacation”

Obama's top-ranking adviser [in] Martha's Vineyard is a former Illinois political operative who drove him around the state during his Senate campaign a decade ago and then was his personal secretary outside the Oval Office. Now the president's deputy chief of staff, Anita Decker Breckenridge ... has known Obama since 2003, when the former aide to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed on to his U.S. Senate campaign to introduce the state senator from Chicago to downstate voters.

"They crisscrossed the state in her sedan, getting to know each other while passing rows of corn, arguing over the radio station and keeping their eyes peeled for a Subway lunch. ... Obama and Breckenridge came to Martha's Vineyard riding face to face in a convoy of helicopters as Coast Guard boats monitored the Vineyard Sound. ... Breckenridge has coordinated with the Secret Service for coverage at Obama's sprawling rented home, on the golf course or wherever else he decides to unwind. Between Obama family outings to the beach and the president's dinner dates with the first lady, she works into his schedule staff briefings and calls with foreign leaders.

"She decides when to interrupt his leisure with updates on emerging problems, such as the progress of airstrikes in Iraq and the racially charged unrest in Missouri. When Hillary Clinton wanted to smooth over critical comments she had made about Obama's foreign policy, the former secretary of state emailed Breckenridge to set up a call. Back in Washington, the 36-year-old is responsible for presidential staff and political appointments, Obama's schedule, the advance work of setting up any of his movements and the general nuts and bolts of how Obama's White House functions.

This should remind readers that the boyish and immature Tommy “Hey Dude, that was like two years ago” Vietor also went from driver/flunky to a top post at the National Security Council.

No military, geopolitical, diplomatic, intelligence experience required.

Apparently a good driving record and the ability to spend hours with Obama in a car are what qualifies one for the great responsibility of running and defending our nation.

As Glenn Reynolds has put it” We are in the best of hands”.