Barack obama's decision to spend Christmas in Hawaii was welcome news for an island state battered by the brutal waves of recession. The state needs all the media attention and tourism dollars it can get, and is eagerly linking itself to the presidential holiday. Its official tourism site has a page dedicated to Mr Obama's favourite activities in Hawaii (where he was born and partly brought up), which quotes his wife as saying that "You can't really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii." Tour companies shuttle people between places Mr Obama used to frequent, including the building where he lived.
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