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14 Responses to "Obama’s Golf Schedule"

1. | Reply Jason
   Posted 31 Oct 2009 at 3:45pm #
   

   As I recall Bush gave up the game without prodding by the media as a way to respect the sacrifices American troops were making overseas. A nice gesture, but nothing hypocritical here that I can see. Bush still had more vacation days than any president in history.

2. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
   Posted 31 Oct 2009 at 3:49pm #
   

   You recall differently. He was goaded into giving it up by the media, which leans decidedly in the "hook" direction of a golf shot, if you know what I mean.

3. | Reply Jesper
   Posted 31 Oct 2009 at 4:09pm #
   

   I don't think you can argue that he's not attentive and productive, and that should be what matters, not how much time you spend clearing brush or working out or driving a ball towards the green. Any president not allowed time alone to think would be in a bad position to do her job. And yeah, unless it clearly and demonstrably obstructs the opportunity to carry out the regular duties, any such attack is likely to say a lot more of the observers and their values than of the president.

   The only time I've actually seen Bush play golf is that video where he says something and then says "now watch this shot", which I guess is comically interesting because of the juxtaposition, and would be just as interesting if it was Obama or McCain or Reagan or the bloody Pope for that matter. But I admit that I'm not exactly steeped in your media to the same extent that you are.

4. | Reply Jason
   Posted 31 Oct 2009 at 4:10pm #
   

   Looks like he initially announced it in Aug 2003. Here’s the context:

   "Bush said he made the decision after the August 2003 bombing of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the top U.N. official in Iraq and the organization’s high commissioner of human rights. He was golfing when he got the news.

   “I was playing golf--I think I was in central Texas--and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, ‘It’s just not worth it anymore to do.’””

   Doesn’t sound like a man who was goaded. Sounds like he made a personal decision.

5. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
   Posted 31 Oct 2009 at 5:36pm #
   

   OK everyone, keep on remembering history differently (Google isn't your memory) than it occurred as a way of excusing the current guy in office. It's comical that you seem to think that you can ever get away from being President of the United States of America. From what I recall, Bush's "vacation" days were simply days he spent out of the White House. "Working vacation" might have been the more appropriate term.

   Jason, as I said earlier, you and I remember differently. I remember the media mocking and goading him quite a bit - particularly around the time of "now watch this drive" - about his golf and leisure activities.

   Tit for tat, my quick Google search turned up phrases like these (and they're just from page one):

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

   "Imagine if President Bush had been playing this much golf."

   "Eventually, Bush quite all together because of media criticism."

   "Remember the media complaints about George W. Bush golfing?"

   "While his predecessor in the White House had a reputation as a golfing playboy, Barack Obama has cultivated a somewhat more serious, down-to-business image. Obama has cultivated a serious image, or the press has created one for him?"

   "Eventually, Bush quit all together because of media criticism."

6. | Reply Diederik
   Posted 01 Nov 2009 at 3:14am #
   

   It is just that Bush looks ugly in golf pants. Nobody had the nerve to tell him 😉

7. | Reply Benjamin
   Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 10:48am #
   

   Who cares about Golf? Bush was a fucking moron who ruined your country and its reputation around the world. Obama is at least trying to do something to remedy the situation.

1. brian
   Posted 23 Jun 2010 at 10:32am #
   

   Could you you tell me one thing constructive thing Obama has done to improve the condtion of our country? He is beyond question the least qualified person to ever hold high office in this country. The government taking over private industry and banking is not a remedy.

2. bryan warren
   Posted 12 Aug 2011 at 11:01am #
   

   Brian, Among other things, Obama's signature unlocked stem-cell research that was imprisoned for 2 decades by radical right-wingers. This will benefit millions with a better quality of life, improved physical well-being which will lead to less of a drain on the medical world as well as SSI savings. Perhaps your outrage that your candidate lost clouds your judgement and, no, I did not vote for Obama and probably won't in 2012.

8. | Reply DJ
   Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 11:08am #
   

   I thought the Bush decision to stop playing golf was silly. If that's his personal decision, fine. But I didn't think it was a brave stand to take; if anything it was a bit hypocritical. it isn't like he stopped taking hundreds of vacation days or mountain biking for hours a day. I think it's a poor example to set. People need recreation, even presidents during war time.

   I do wonder how many naps Obama's taken vs. W's total. 😉

9. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
   Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 11:15am #
   

   [quote comment="56006"]Who cares about Golf?[/quote]

   Golfers. The media, when Bush was an easy target.

   [quote comment="56008"]I do wonder how many naps Obama's taken vs. W's total. ;-)[/quote]

   Does a single nine-month nap count? 🙂

   The topic here is golf and the media's treatment of it. Like it or not, the conversation will stay there.

10. | Reply Jeff
    Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 12:37pm #
    

    I think the news channels that like the president are spinning it as a good thing, which is a bit of an obvious move.

    The network that doesn't like him is the one spinning it negatively.

    Actually, that sounds exactly like how the media handled it when Bush was in office. The one big difference is that when Bush was in office, everyone but Fox hated the president. Now it's flip-flopped.

    I'd personally rather see Bush's time out of the office versus Obama's. Maybe O is beating him in Golf, but he's lagging WAY behind in brush-clearing and bike riding. Once you clump "leisure activities" together, i wonder how they compare. Maybe "less work" is the trend. 🙂 ...and maybe all you people who hate our president's "agenda" could be thankful that he's out golfing instead of turning our country into soviet russia, or whatever the current fear is. 😛

11. | Reply Dave H
    Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 12:38pm #
    

    Might part of the criticisms leveled against former Pres. Bush and his golfing during wartime have been because of the perception right or wrong that Pres. Bush is incapable of holding to ideas simultaneously. Like him or not, Obama can not be said to lack intellectual curiosity or the capacity to hold more than one thought at a time. Also, not sure about Bush's golf games but Obama's games definitely appear to be working games (despite his contentions).

    Eric as a CS guy you must've had some experience with the concept of engineering. G. W. Bush struck me as someone who lacked intellectual curiosity and lived according to his beliefs. I've heard many comments from people who have worked closely with the man that this is in fact true. So the point about engineering is: how does one solve problems if one is inclined to intellectual laziness?

    You see left bias in the press as bad, but perhaps you should question the origins of the perception. Do you really want to ally yourself and your politics to people who are still pissed off over the Snopes trial. Hint they won in law court but lost in the court of public opinion.

12. | Reply Erik J. Barzeski
    Posted 02 Nov 2009 at 1:02pm #
    

    [quote comment="56012"]The network that doesn't like him is the one spinning it negatively.[/quote]

    Well it's not just the networks. Very few print or online publications lean to the right, too. The media, and Hollywood, has a well-known and well-established lean to the left. This is but more proof of that.

    [quote comment="56012"]I'd personally rather see Bush's time out of the office versus Obama's. Maybe O is beating him in Golf, but he's lagging WAY behind in brush-clearing and bike riding. Once you clump "leisure activities" together, i wonder how they compare.[/quote]

    I really don't care. I don't think anyone can point to a time when Bush legitimately wasn't fulfilling the office of the Presidency, nor can I (or would I even bother to try) about Obama. How they spend their free time is their decision, and I really don't care so long as they feel they're doing their job.

    It's just interesting how the press treats them differently.

    [quote comment="56012"]...and maybe all you people who hate our president's "agenda" could be thankful that he's out golfing instead of turning our country into soviet russia, or whatever the current fear is. :P[/quote]

    I kindly reject the words you've just tried to shove into my mouth, thank you.

    [quote comment="56013"]Might part of the criticisms leveled against former Pres. Bush and his golfing during wartime have been because of the perception right or wrong that Pres. Bush is incapable of holding to ideas simultaneously.[/quote]

    I'm not sure what you're saying. You think Bush was so stupid that he couldn't think about something other than golf in the three or four hours he was on the course? "Golf" takes about twenty minutes to play, and that's if you count the pre-shot routine - you think that for the other few hours while he was walking or driving around he was still thinking only about golf?

    I've never said Bush was the sharpest tool in the shed. He was likely a lot smarter than he came off due to horrible, horrible public speaking skills (and vice versa for Obama), but if you're suggesting he could only think about one thing at a time for several hours, no, I do not agree.

    [quote comment="56013"]G. W. Bush struck me as someone who lacked intellectual curiosity and lived according to his beliefs.[/quote]

    Lacked all intellectual curiosity? No. Lacked as much as I'd like to see, yep.

    [quote comment="56013"]Do you really want to ally yourself and your politics to people who are still pissed off over the Snopes trial.[/quote]

    Uh... what?

    I don't care much about politics. If I did, I'd post here a lot more frequently. I have a lot of intellectual curiosity; I simply choose not to direct it towards politics. Waste of my time, in my opinion. And that doesn't and shouldn't preclude me from posting random observations, the above being a good example of that.

    And because of that you try to lump me with people who are pissed off about the Snopes trial? In the words of my high school American History teacher: "Wha-wha-wha-wha???"

    And for the record, I'm far more Libertarian than Republican. I didn't care for Bush much (though I still think Kerry would have been a worse choice), and I hated how stupid he came off when he spoke.

    But I never drank the "Yes We Can" Kool-Aid, and I'm still waiting for these big "changes" Obama promised everyone. All Obama seems to have done so far is foist a lousy cash-for-clunkers deal on us.

    And maybe I'm way off base. I don't really care. I try to educate myself during elections, but between them, I revert back to not caring a whole lot about politics. I have a few random observations which may or may not be right, but in general, I don't pay attention. The only "news" I really follow is related to sports, photography, computer programming, web development.