First Swimmers

Barack Obama, Richard Nixon, and More Presidents on the Beach (Photos)

Obama went back to catch some waves in Hawaii this week. See other presidents soaking up the sun and tackling the surf.

Clockwise from top left: Bettmann/Corbis; Pete Souza/The White House, via Getty; AP (2)

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/presidents-on-the-beach-tease_telttw — Recuperating from the fiscal cliff battle, President Obama returned to his interrupted Hawaiian vacation this week and indulged in the decades-old presidential tradition of taking a swim. From Bill Clinton to FDR, see other presidents soaking up the sun.

Clockwise from top left: Bettmann/Corbis; Pete Souza/The White House, via Getty; AP (2)

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/barack-obama-presidents-on-the-beach_z8ylau — After just barely keeping the country from going over the fiscal cliff, President Obama decided to tempt fate again by plunging into the massive waves at Pyramid Rock Beach in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii.

Pete Souza/The White House, via Getty

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/bill-clinton-presidents-on-the-beach_djoizp — But untamed nature is not for everyone. President Bill Clinton and his daughter stuck to the calm waters of the Hanauma Bay marine life preserve outside of Honolulu during a family visit to Hawaii in 1993.

Greg Gibson/AP

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/george-bush-presidents-on-the-beach_cnzoe5 — Well, he was in the Navy. George H.W. Bush went pretty deep on a trip to Honolulu in 1990.

Bettmann/Corbis

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/ronald-reagan-presidents-on-the-beach_lt47os — Is Camp David not very nice? Even Ronald Reagan hit the beaches of Honolulu with his wife, Nancy, on a visit to Hawaii in 1984.
Scott Stewart/AP

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/jimmy-carter-presidents-on-the-beach_wjuxqq — Jimmy Carter taking his daughter for a swim at Sea Island, Georgia, in 1977.

AP

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/john-f-kennedy-presidents-on-the-beach_em7x16 — Jack Kennedy was jacked. John F. Kennedy takes a dip surrounded by admirers in Santa Monica, Calif., in August 1962.
Bettmann/Corbis

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/richard-nixon-presidents-on-the-beach_ssrrh7 — He wasn't always a crook. Richard Nixon relaxes on the beach with his wife and daughters at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware in 1952.

The Richard Nixon Library/AP

galleries/2013/01/04/barack-obama-richard-nixon-and-more-presidents-on-the-beach-photos/franklin-delano-roosevelt-presidents-on-the-beach_ucpbaw — Franklin D. Roosevelt took a break from campaigning for president to take a dip in the pool at his estate in Hyde Park, N.Y., in August 1932.

AP

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