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 When Obama is home in Chicago, he tries to squeeze moments of real life between the marathon meetings and travel that consume the time of the Democratic presidential candidate. But real life for Obama isn't what it used to be.
When he ditches his work clothes for flip-flops and jeans to go to a city park to watch his oldest daughter play soccer, Secret Service agents come along.
A haircut at his neighborhood joint requires a five-car motorcade that disrupts traffic and attracts gawkers.
And a walk to a neighbor's house for a barbecue includes a pack of reporters trailing close behind.
The Illinois senator is followed nearly all day, including during down time, by a pool of reporters who don't leave until he's tucked inside his home for the night.
They are with him on vacation in Hawaii this week, trailing along while he played golf, picnicked in a park with his family, attended a barbecue at a friend's house, visited his grandmother and caught a showing of the "The Dark Knight." The Secret Service contingent on the vacation is unusually large, with agents assigned to cover the candidate, his wife and daughters. They try to blend in by wearing Hawaiian shirts, still with the earpiece coming out of the collar.
When Obama went to eat at tony Alan Wong's restaurant with friends Saturday night, the media waited at a more casual establishment across the street while a couple agents went in and asked the staff to help keep other patrons from interrupting the candidate's meal. Still, some diners snapped cell phone photos from across the room while Obama's table was served a meal prepared specially for him. The agents tried to be inconspicuous while they ate grilled fish at a nearby table.
This exhaustive coverage began more than a month ago for Obama. Republican candidate John McCain, who often spends quiet time at his Sedona, Ariz., vacation compound hiking or watching sports, only recently agreed to it.
All-hours monitoring by new cameras can produce regular-guy photos or video that can help the candidate seem down to earth, but it also has perils. Any gaffe is likely to be written about, and any videotaped move could show up in a rival's campaign ad.
Just ask John Kerry, who let off steam by sailboarding during the 2004 presidential campaign.
His opponent, President Bush, used the images to portray Kerry as someone who blew with the political winds.
"The bottom line is presidential campaigns are marathons that require physical fortitude beyond anything you ever see in politics," Kerry said in an e-mail. "Setting aside time with your family, time to exercise, and time just to clear your head and think is an imperative, not a luxury, and it's also the hardest thing the candidate has to find time to do."
Dr. Jeffrey A. Lieberman, chairman of the psychiatry department at Columbia University in New York, agrees it's essential for people, like Obama, in highly visible and stressful situations to keep up some old routines.
"Many people would -- and he seems to be one of them -- find that they get some kind of solace or opportunity for decompression and relaxation" by maintaining some normal, everyday activities, Lieberman said.
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 Bush, for example, mountain bikes and vacations at his Texas ranch.
Tom Patterson, a Harvard Kennedy School of Government professor who studies what motivates people to vote, said voter perception of candidates as "regular guys" helps only a little. But when voters don't relate to a candidate, the negative effect can be huge.
"It was hard to connect to (Al) Gore, to relate to Gore in 2000," he said. "The question of Bush, and who you'd rather have a drink with, may have said more about Gore than George Bush."
For Obama, regular-guy routines include playing basketball around the city and working out at a friend's gym. In a baseball cap, tucked-in T-shirt, black workout pants and sneakers, Obama looks dramatically different from the would-be world leader seen at campaign events.
The Democratic candidate also gets his hair regularly clipped -- for around $20
-- at the South Side barbershop he has gone to for years.
Now, though, when he emerges, he's greeted by cheers, hugs and handshakes.
At home Obama also grabs moments with his daughters, 10-year-old Malia and 7-year-old Sasha. While the Obamas try to keep life normal for them, the family ended up on the cover of People magazine. And they let their daughters talk to the entertainment program "Access Hollywood," a decision Obama later said he regretted.
"For Sen. Obama and Michelle their family comes first. That has meant making time for the kind of family activities they enjoyed before the campaign," Obama spokesman Bill Burton said.
At a soccer game one evening in a city park near downtown, Obama showed Malia some moves before heading out to a late-night meeting at his campaign office.
A few days later he and his family strolled a few blocks to a neighbor's home for a barbecue that included Obama's sister and her family. On the way home, Michelle Obama yelled to the pool of reporters, "We'll try to do something more interesting next time."
[Associated
Press; By DEANNA BELLANDI and JENNY SONG]
Associated Press Writer Nedra Pickler contributed to this story from Honolulu.
Copyright 2008 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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