By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, July 24, 2009 12:00 AM

Obama's summer White House? Camp David.

Ronald Reagan went to California, George W. Bush loved his shrubs in Crawford, Tex., and President Obama originally thought Illinois would be home base for his R&R. "Let me explain to you," he told the Chicago Tribune in December. "My Kennebunkport is on the South Side of Chicago." But, as he quickly discovered, he can't go home again -- at least, not without the hassle of bringing the White House operation with him.

Never mind that: Camp David has turned out to be a big hit with the first family. Michelle Obama was advised by former first ladies to go "early and often" to the "one place you can go where you feel some level of freedom and an ability to breathe." Since the family's first visit in February, the president has spent all or part of 15 days at the Maryland retreat, according to CBS's Mark Knoller, and his wife and daughters even more.

"We love Camp David, and we'll probably end up spending quite a bit of time up there during this summer," Obama said last month. "If Michelle and I had our way, we'd go there every weekend."

The combination of amenities (guest cabins, golf, pool, tennis, movies, biking) and privacy on the isolated military camp has proved ideal: Both Sasha and Malia hosted birthday parties for friends, the president has worked on his golf game and the family currently worships at Evergreen Chapel, the nondenominational church on the grounds.

The place has many charms: "Snow was poetic; summer and the flowers and flowering trees -- like picture postcards," one guest who visited during the Bush administration told us. "And near 'bout any activity you can imagine -- a gym, pool, tennis courts, putting green, skeet, archery, family movie theater. . . . When there were the few hours of downtime, the downtime was sweet because of the privacy. As close as we were, we all felt a million miles away from Washington."

Sounds almost perfect -- except there's no beach. So the Obamas have announced one other destination this summer: They're heading to Martha's Vineyard at the end of August.

lunching at Le Pain Quotidien on Capitol Hill on Thursday with his family. The comedian (who's from here, remember) was visiting town with his wife, two sons and -- here's the news! -- his 4-month-old baby daughter. No word on her name, though.

-- Born: A son, Knight Jones, on Wednesday in New York to singer Kelis and rapper Nas . . . who are in the process of divorcing. On Thursday, an L.A. judge ordered Nas to pay his ex $44,000 in monthly support for the time being. Via Twitter, the "Milkshake" singer announced that after three painful days of labor, she was happy to be holding "7.8 pounds of the greatest stuff on earth."

-- Dating . . . a LOT: Jon Gosselin, tragicomic reality-TV dad of "Jon & Kate Plus Eight" fame, who just days ago showed off new girlfriend Hailey Glassman (the daughter of his estranged wife Kate's plastic surgeon, for those keeping score at home) in St. Tropez. Now, he's reportedly dating Kate Major, a reporter for Star magazine who met the recently separated dad while doing a story on him -- and has since quit her job, the magazine said.

Seller: Karl Rove

Asking price: $1.585 million

Details: The longtime George W. Bush adviser has less reason to hang out in Washington these days, so he's unloading the Federal-style home in D.C.'s Kent neighborhood he bought eight years ago for $799K. Five bedrooms,

4 1/2 baths, brick-and-stone exterior, built 1968. Real estate photos show sunny kitchen, big entertaining spaces, pleasant yard, lots of bookshelves, one wall-mounted deer head. Where to now? Rove and his wife, Darby, built a beach house in the Florida a few years ago, but an aide says they spend most of their time in Texas. Unclear if they'll keep a crash pad in D.C.