Obama declares Gulf safe for holidays, swims off coast of Florida

In an effort to show the water is safe since the oil spill in the Gulf, the White House released a photo of US President Barack Obama and his daughter swimming. Accompanying photographs and video were taken at Alligator Point, Florida.

As MSNBC reports, the White House released a photo showing the president and his daughter taking a swim "in the Gulf's waters on Saturday." The article mentions the Obamas were taking their holiday in Florida, which as France 24 clarifies is "technically not the Gulf, according to maps." In addition to the photo op, Obama gave a speech saying the Gulf Coast beaches are clean and safe once again. The message was that the tourist industry in the Gulf is open for business and Obama invited people to come back to the region for their holidays. It's still not clear if people will take Obama's offer and return to the Gulf area for holidays after seeing oil-stained beaches, but as Florida Governor Charlie Crist said, “It’s the biggest single commercial you could imagine."