Obama Golf's Away the Nation's Problems

Make of this article what you will. There are some enlightening comparisons between Obama's golf habits and the golf habits of G.W. Bush.

However, there is one major difference between the two. The press slammed Bush for his golf outings and yet the press doesn't even blink at the "Chosen One's" propensity for golf outings. Keep in mind that an average round of 18 holes can take about 4 hours on a typical course. Obama gets carte blanche so it probably takes him a little less time to actually play a round. But, don't forget the entourage that travels with him, the advance team and the security detail.

President Barack Obama has gone to the golf course at least 11 times since he took the oath of office a little more than six months ago--three rounds were played during the late January, 12-day holiday Obama took with his family in Hawaii; one at Andrews Air Force Base; and seven at Ft. Belvoir Golf Course, including a round on Sunday, Father’s Day, with Vice President Joe Biden.

These 11 rounds played by the president are documented through media reports of his golf trips. The White House press office told CNSNews.com that to confirm every round of golf played by the president since he took office would take “hours” because the only records kept are those sent to the media through e-mails that are not posted on the White House Web site because they are for media planning only.

Despite ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, ongoing violence in Iran, and an economy that Obama has described as the worst since the Great Depression, the president has golfed multiple times in the past several weeks--on April 26, May 16, May 25, May 31, June 7, June 9, June 14 and June 21.

Here is where it gets interesting to me.

Obama’s golf outings have generated favorable reports from the media, in contrast to his predecessor, George W. Bush.

On Aug. 5, 2002, The Washington Post wrote about President Bush golfing near his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine. Under the headline “Before Golf, Bush Decries Latest Deaths in Mideast,” staff writer Mike Allen described Bush as he “sprang from his golf cart at 6:15 a.m. and said he was distressed to hear about the latest suicide bombers in Israel.” “Bush, wearing khakis and a knit shirt, was holding a driver in his gloved left hand,” Allen wrote. “However incongruous the setting, the president plunged ahead,” Allen wrote. “There are a few killers who want to stop the peace process that we have started, and we must not let them,” he [Bush] said. “I call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers.” “His business out of the way,” Allen wrote, “Bush barely paused for breath before saying, ‘Thank you. Now watch this drive.’”

BIAS!!??

A search of news reports on Nexis revealed that photographers, but not reporters have access to Obama when he is on the links. But his outings have been covered, including by The Washington Post on June 9, 2009, in an article with the headline “Just the Sport for A Leader Most Driven.” “What’s the deal? Why golf?” Post staff writer Richard Leiby wrote. “The attraction seems to be simple. It’s a great escape; the game demands such attention that nothing else matters. It’s time spent with friends, an unhurried afternoon in loose clothing (shorts seem to be Obama’s preference).” Leiby continued, “To some, Obama’s frequent outings reflect a cool self-confidence.” Leiby even quoted a sports psychologist who said Obama seemed able to play golf despite the grim reports by the media about the wars and the economy.

Obama may want to take some notes...

In August 2003, Bush said he decided to stop playing golf to show his respect for the men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and their families.

“I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf,” Bush said in an interview with Politico and Yahoo News on May 13, 2008. “I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”

Obama sneaks one out. Priorities you know.

“With his wife and daughters still in France, the president ducked out of the White House 90 minutes after getting home and headed out to the Andrews Air Force Base course with his clubs to enjoy a round, with skies only partly cloudy and temperatures about 80 degrees,” United Press International reported on June 7.

www.cnsnews.com...

what hadicap do you reckon he is.

I think its good he is taking time out keeping it real is he not..
give the guy the break/chance he needs to become a great
how many days is now 135 or so

reply to post by elevatedone


Certainly everyone needs a break once in a while but the media bias is disgusting. Our nation is facing massive problems on virtually every front domestically and internationally and Obama insists on boldly maintaining his leisure activities while many in this nation can't even afford to take a family of 4 to Denny's for a special night out.

The press continues to gush and seems to be forever waiting for another moment to capture Obama with his shirt off or capture the downwind scent of one of his farts.

Now is not the time for jetting away on costly date nights with Mike when there are plenty of resources available within the White House and within DC. A car ride to Bennihana is far cheaper than jetting off to NYC.

[edit on 23-6-2009 by jibeho]

reply to post by jibeho

A car ride to Bennihana is far cheaper than jetting off to NYC.

Yeah. And a trip to Outback Steakhouse for Bush Jr. is a heckuva lot cheaper than going all the way to Crawford to 'clear some brush', right?

PS...who holds the distinction of taking more vacation days than any other President in history??

reply to post by weedwhacker


Just to be clear, you were outraged at Bush taking vacations but it's cool if Obama does it?

Just trying to get the logic in order: (R)=golfing is bad, (D)=golfing is good.

And just for the record, it would be a very naive thing to believe that when a president goes on vacation he turns off all communication from work and just doesn't deal with anything until he gets back.

I have no problem with Obama taking vacations or playing golf. The president has the most stressful job in the world but the double standard is just laughable.

11 days off in six months, YOU LAZY SLACKER

i think the media issue with bush playing golf was pretty specific to that incident, it was awful. not end of the world stuff, but it was unseemly. here's the video.

when doing a search for that video i notice that there is alleged video of bush playing golf after claiming to have given it up, as an aside.

reply to post by Anjin


NO, I was referring to this:

Now is not the time for jetting away on costly date nights with Mike when there are plenty of resources available within the White House and within DC. A car ride to Bennihana is far cheaper than jetting off to NYC.

Originally posted by jibeho

I said nothing about golf.

I know that the President is shadowed everywhere he goes, and can conduct business from AF1, Camp David, even tangentially from Crawford, but there he'd be lacking the full range of tools.

"jibeho" seemed outraged because of a dinner and play date to NYC...citing the 'outrageous' cost. I simply wished to point out the 'outrageous' expense of shipping W and Company all the way to Texas for weeks, having AF1 on standby at a local base, etc, etc.

NO, the media didn't slap Bush Jr. around much, either, on his vacations. Not nearly as much as the dedicated Obama-bashers we've already seen come crawling out here on ATS.

edit:

Also from jibeho:

Now is not the time for jetting away on costly date nights with Mike...

See? There's what I see as a definite sub-text of racism in all of the Obama criticism. Referring to Mrs. Michelle Obama as "Mike". Others refer to the President as, either "Barry", "Mr. Soreto", or "Barry Soreto", among others.

I wish I could find a picture of it, there was an aide to a Republican congresswoman who distributed a series of all of the Presidents, in a thumb-nail format in one big picture, but in the bottom-hand right corner, after the 43rd President, there was just a black square with two eyeballs looking out!!! This staffer got a mild rebuke, and that was that. Disgusting!!!

So, wanna talk about double standards again? The hypocrisy is stunning.


[edit on 6/23/0909 by weedwhacker]

[edit on 6/23/0909 by weedwhacker]

I was in a thread recently where some people were pointing out Obama had not been to church for months and many people replied...well he is very busy with very important presidential things, how can you expect him to have time for church? He sure has time for golf.

Golf takes a lot of time. A friend of mine quit playing golf 13 years ago when his first daughter was born. He said he loved his family too much to play golf anymore. This guy was a generally avid sports enthusiast too. He said he wanted that time he had free on weekends and evenings to spend with his children. This friend of mine spent fathers day at the beach with his kids playing with them all day...he did NOT go out on the links WITHOUT the family after hypocritically saying that being a father was his most important job.

[

Yeah. And a trip to Outback Steakhouse for Bush Jr. is a heckuva lot cheaper than going all the way to Crawford to 'clear some brush', right?

Bush, Jr. and you just criticized people for calling Obama nicknames?

reply to post by weedwhacker


Nice racism derailment attempt. You better have something more tangible than me referring to Michelle as Mike if you are going to label me as a racist (Which I find very insulting BTW). My cousin Michelle, went by the nickname of Mike when we were kids. How you can extract racism out of that remark is beyond me. Seems to be the default Obama defense nowadays. I'd better get used to it.

Back on topic... Our economy and country was different when Bush was traveling to Crawford. Plus, it was easier for the entourage to travel to Crawford than to travel and attempt to secure NYC or Chicago or Paris just for one evening of wining, dining and photo ops. Obama is trying to socially reengineer this nation on the backs of the taxpayers. He needs to cool the jaunts until he has actually accomplished something beyond spending our money into oblivion.

You also misquoted me. I never used the word 'outrageous' I said 'costly'.

Obama still has plenty of time to exceed Bush with vacation days. The man only works nineish to fiveish so it shouldn't be a problem for him. I certainly don't want to cramp his style.

reply to post by Missing Blue Sky

Bush, Jr. and you just criticized people for calling Obama nicknames?

He's out of office now, and despite past tradition, after his eight years' record he does not deserve the respect most former Presidents deserve.

reply to post by jibeho

My cousin Michelle, went by the nickname of Mike when we were kids.

Right. When you were kids!

How you can extract racism out of that remark is beyond me.

Well, if you don't want people to misconstrue then it's best not to use your family's child hood nickname when referring to an adult woman who is married to the President. Does every woman in America named 'Michelle' have the same nick? Just because it's the feminized version of 'Michael' doesn't make it OK, unless you know the person.

Our economy and country was different when Bush was traveling to Crawford.

Uh hmmm. Sure, the economy was swirling down the toilet, but no one had yet noticed. AND, oh, the country? While Bush was traveling to Crawford his disengenuous "concern" for the soldiers in Iraq that he sent under false pretenses would be trotted out for the media, before he crawled away to have his 'me' time? How does this make the country different, than today?

He needs to cool the jaunts until he has actually accomplished something beyond spending our money into oblivion.

Extraordinary hyperbole, that! Oh, and if you refer to TARP, or whichever acronym is handy, that is about Corporate "bail-outs", most of the impetus for those programs began in late 2008. But, of course, I guess we'll have to blame Obama for that, just because it's so easy now that he's the target.

You also misquoted me. I never used the word 'outrageous' I said 'costly'.

Yer right. I forgot to type in that the quotes were mine, as in my impression from the overall gist of your post. Besides, 'costly' is just too limp a description, dontcha think? I mean, if people are going to get so upset about a trip to NYC (on Marine One, from what I've heard...didn't even use the big jet!) then thre is no hope left....

Oh, and in your OP, you express disdain because:

Obama sneaks one out. Priorities you know.

“With his wife and daughters still in France, the president ducked out of the White House 90 minutes after getting home and headed out to the Andrews Air Force Base course with his clubs to enjoy a round, with skies only partly cloudy and temperatures about 80 degrees,” United Press International reported on June 7.

Really??? Last I looked, June 7 was a Sunday. What, do you think his trip to Paris was a vacation???


(tags)


[edit on 6/23/0909 by weedwhacker]

Several points i wanna make.

The anti obama squad always makes the snarky names like chosen one, yet they are are the ones watching every single move Obama makes, while the resto of the people accussed of worshipping him, doesn't care.
Sounds like some people are projecting.

For all you know, Obama thinks best when he is golfing. Some people are like that. I think best when I am sewing. In college I studied best in a pool hall.

I watched a show on Air Force One and it showed Bush going to a small school opening in some little African country. SInce they didn't have an airport to speak of, the military had to truck in a bunch of tankers to fill up AF1. Probably the least coste effective thing I have ever seen. When presidents travel, it costs us money. Get over it.

I don't think it is a coincidence that Obama has been frequenting places that are hardest hit. Theaters, recreation, and restaurents. He may be trying to use his popularity to booster support for these failings sectors, to get people to relax, boost the economy a little and support these businesses.

Does he ever work? Not much it seems. Perhaps that's for the best.
The less time he's in office the less damage he can do.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
reply to post by jibeho

 

Really??? Last I looked, June 7 was a Sunday. What, do you think his trip to Paris was a vacation???


(tags)


[edit on 6/23/0909 by weedwhacker]

Apparently, Obama thought it was a vacation because he and the First Lady Mrs. Michelle Obama snubbed Sarkozy and his wife for a night out in the city of lights.

Not missing a chance to aggravate Nicolas Sarkozy, the Obamas went out to dinner in a very public way. As you may recall, Sarko’s staff had been trying to arrange for a dinner with the Obamas but got egg on their faces as the Obamas turned them down. The Obamas followed up with another very public event - one of their date nights, this time at La Fontaine de Mars (the fountain of Mars), which by the way, meant that French security in riot gear were paid by the government Obama snubbed. The amount of security for the Obama’s Paris outing (including their stop at the Pompidou, and the restaurant) was considerable, as you can see in this video:

In other cheerful news, the Louvre was closed to the public for Michelle’s sightseeing. So, let’s see, that meant closing the Pompidou, the Louvre, Notre Dame cathedral, and their surrounding neighborhoods. Parisians must really have enjoyed seeing the Obamas. Associated Press says the Obamas touched lives in simple ways and AP’s probably right. Nothing says “touch me” like a massive traffic jam. AP and its reporters were much too starry-eyed to put Michelle’s shopping trip through the same scrutiny as a shopping trip by, say, Sarah Palin.

Just to clarify, Obama and his date flew to NYC in a Gulfstream 500 not Marine One.
www.washingtontimes.com...

You still haven't defined why I am a racist in your myopic eyes. People used to refer to Hillary or Bill Clinton as Billary. Does that make them racist?? I suppose the only foundation for your argument is the fact that we have a person of mixed black and white ancestry as a president. Without this you have nothing.


[edit on 23-6-2009 by jibeho]