I question his public relations strategy, the rest of it is fluff, when the economy was flourishing there still was many many things that needed fixing, many many people out of work, much much national debt etc.. So whether or not its good judgement is all a matter of view point not necessarily practicality.
Fact is, BUSH spent far more time on vacation than Obama has, (not trying to defend OB, but still, it is what it is).
I rarely buy the moral equivalency arguments. They're usually pretty weak. In other words, current mistakes cannot be justified by referencing past mistakes of others.
Arguably, much of what the president does is "fluff." He mans the bully pulpit. He makes speeches to make us feel better. He looks and acts like a leader.
It's very important that the leader of any organization, and the leader of the country, set the tone. If my company was having serious financial trouble and we were firing people, I couldn't imagine announcing that I'm taking a vacation to go play golf, headed to the beach, ten days here, a week there.
I'm not saying he shouldn't take time off, but I don't think it plays wells with people around the country who are struggling.