Barack Obama holiday at Martha's Vineyard attracts criticism

US President Barack Obama gave an update on US military strikes in Iraq on Saturday from a podium on the White House lawn with the presidential helicopter parked in the background.

Four hours later, he was playing a golf game with friends at a lush course on Martha's Vineyard, the luxury Massachusetts island where the president and his family began a two-week holiday.

The contrasting scenes, which sparked some hostile commentary, illustrate the dilemma of taking time off when you are the most powerful leader in the world and every issue is major.

The president's Republican critics already have hammered him for going ahead with a holiday just days after authorising the air strikes in Iraq.

Part of the problem is dealing with appearances, or 'optics' as Washington pundits like to call it.

With crises boiling in Gaza, Iraq and Ukraine, Obama, like his presidential predecessors in similar circumstances, proceeded with plans for a summer break, but only after making his Iraq statement.