The New Birth of Recovery Summer Mark II

As far as summer tours go, this has to be the most disappointing.

1:30 PM, Sep 3, 2010 • By VICTORINO MATUS

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As the Wall Street Journal's John Jurgensen wrote back in July, this summer's concert scene has been a depressing one, with more than your usual share of musical acts cancelling shows and some cancelling their tours altogether. But the administration's Recovery Summer tour, starring Barack Obama and Joe Biden, had few shows to begin with, and it only got worse from there. Even NPR has chimed in, entitling a segment, "'Recovery Summer' Ends With Economic Pothole."

As NPR's Scott Horsley notes,

Obama joked back in June that the hungry road crews in Columbus would keep area restaurants busy. But it didn't work out that way for a nearby pizzeria.

"We're third generation — started in 1939," said John Plank of the restaurant he runs with his brother and sister.

Plank said business has been slow this summer, in part because the road construction makes it hard for customers to reach his restaurant. He hoped to at least capitalize on the day of the president's visit, but the expected crowds didn't materialize.

In fact, if Recovery Summer were an actual tour, both Obama and Biden would probably be doing free-form jazz by now at some sparsely attended theme park amphitheater (headlined by a puppet show).