the Obama presidency through the prism of golf in celebration of the US Open....

"Before Mr. Obama teed off for the first time as president, he delivered a State of the Union address that promised his new stimulus bill would “save or create 3.5 million jobs.” At that time, February 2009, unemployment was 8.3 percent and the debt was $10.8 trillion. He kicked off the golf streak on April 26, 2009, and he played a total of 27 rounds in his first year."

"When he returned to the Capitol the following year, he stood in front of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with unemployment at 9.7 percent. He asked the Democratic Congress for a second stimulus and an overhaul of the health care system, and Congress obliged. Mr. Obama also said he would freeze government spending for three years, starting in 2011, but that idea got lost in the woods during the 31 golf games he played in 2010, using his personalized “44” Titleist balls, which remind haughty caddies he’s the 44th president."

"By the time Mr. Obama gave his annual address to Congress in 2011, he was standing in front of new House Speaker John A. Boehner, brought in during the Republicans’ midterm wave. Unemployment was still at a high 9.1 percent. Mr. Obama announced, “This is our generation’s Sputnik moment” and demanded more money be spent. The debt hit $14 trillion."

"Last year, the number of Mr. Obama’s golf outings rose to 33, and many turned out to be memorable. He was on the green on May 1, 2011, when the Navy SEALs were en route to Pakistan, cutting his game to nine holes to hear of their successful mission against Osama bin Laden. Mr. Obama’s golf partners included Mr. Boehner, former President Bill Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden, who got asked to tag along with the boss four times in 2011."

"By the time Mr. Obama gave this year’s State of the Union address, he had 93 golf games on his scorecard. Unemployment was 8.3 percent, having never gone below 8 percent in his presidency. He took no responsibility for the $15.2 trillion debt or the nation’s credit-rating downgrade. Instead, he called for higher taxes and the “Buffett rule” while hosting the billionaire’s secretary in his guest box for the speech."

"The next time President Obama hits the links, it will be his 100th round of golf since coming to the White House. That’s quite a milestone in just 3 1/2 years. As it takes him about six hours to drive to the greens and complete 18 holes, Mr. Obama has spent the equivalent of four months’ worth of work time golfing. Meanwhile, the U.S. economy has been stuck in a sand trap."

MILLER: Obama's 100th golf round - Washington Times

For the record his predecessor played 24 rounds of golf while in office and was roundly criticized in August 2002 for being on the course while the country had such problems.

shades of nero fiddling while rome burned?

Just saw where he is in Mexico for the G20. Next time we see him, it will probably be for yet another fundraiser. Is he ever in the Oval Officer anymore?

That said, however, always watch to see who surrounds (isolates) the Prez, because they are the people who ultimately have his attention.

Oh, come on you guys. Being President is a hard job and he really needs the down time. Just think if he had spent that time really doing something, just how much worse off we would be. Play more golf, please.

it's posts like these that lead me to question the credibility of the poster. What exactly is wrong with a President playing golf or going to his ranch or leaving D.C. for periods of time. Are we still depending on the pony express for information? With all the time our congress spends in recess who is the Pres. any pres supposed to talk to anyhow? And the rome burning analogy post was also really stupid. Give me a break. You don't like his policies fine but to quibble over time spent in washington is pure folly.

Originally Posted by Figmo Bohica

Oh, come on you guys. Being President is a hard job and he really needs the down time. Just think if he had spent that time really doing something, just how much worse off we would be. Play more golf, please.

Excellent point. The President needs to play much more golf, and the Houses need to take much longer vacations.

Has to be better than what they do when they're working.

Originally Posted by De Lis

Just saw where he is in Mexico for the G20. Next time we see him, it will probably be for yet another fundraiser. Is he ever in the Oval Officer anymore?

That said, however, always watch to see who surrounds (isolates) the Prez, because they are the people who ultimately have his attention.

Would you have President Obama miss the G20 Summit meeting in Mexico with other world leaders to stay in Washington waiting for congress to return from their ninth recess of 2012? And this is only June. They still have their month-long August recess coming up. Has anyone counted up the number of times Speaker John Boehner has played golf since taking office?