Obamateurism of the Day
posted at 8:05 am on June 22, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
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This weekend, I didn’t criticize Barack Obama for the ice-cream run with his daughters as Iran erupted into violence and the crisis deepened. After all, it’s hard to begrudge a man a few minutes out with his daughters on a Saturday evening, even if Obama and his staff made sure to publicize it through the White House press corps. However, this is a little more difficult to explain (via William Amos):
President Barack Obama steers the cart with his golfing partner, Vice President Joe Biden, left, as they finish 18 holes at the Fort Belvoir Golf Club together on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21, 2009.
It’s bad enough that the President took off a few hours during the crisis to go golfing, but he also took his self-described foreign policy expert with him. Shouldn’t Joe Biden have been back at the White House, working one of the biggest foreign-policy crises in this administration, instead of literally puttering around?
Also, check out the handwritten card at the top of the cart. Whose idea was it to write a “POTUS” sign for Obama’s cart? Was he afraid no one would recognize him? Or perhaps steal his cart despite the Secret Service agents surrounding him?
Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at obamaisms@edmorrissey.com with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.
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This is pretty weak, especially when Obama offered up the brain dead beaut that even if the revolution succeeded he would still have to deal with the same regime.
Basilsbest on June 22, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Not Monday, Obama went golfing for six hours a week ago Sunday, too, as the gunshots started being fired in Iran on peaceful protesters and he kept absolutely silent.
And to those applauding his standoffishness, consider his haste to applaud the election as people went to the polls and he credited—who else in Obamaland?—himself and his Cairo speech for the “robust debate”. When things went sour he had nothing to say for days.
Had he not done that I MIGHT think he had an honorable motive for not being able to at least say America stands for freedom and democracy immediately as people assembled and got brutalized for their efforts.
KittyLowrey on June 22, 2009 at 10:41 AM
And thanks for pointing out the POTUS sign. Good GRIEF, how’d his ego fit in the cart?
KittyLowrey on June 22, 2009 at 10:41 AM
I wonder if this is what the pollsters suggested he needed to do to boost his numbers with a certain group?
davod on June 22, 2009 at 10:46 AM
LOL!
Also, I agree with you, Kissmygrits. Obama got all that distracting foreign policy stuff out of the way already, and now he can get back to the stuff he really cares about – wrecking the economy, gutting healthcare, and all that other domestic stuff.
Oh, and having a good time.
Rosmerta on June 22, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Isn’t it a bad idea to have both the president and vice president spending extended periods of time right next to each other?
I mean, “President Biden” is bad enough, but the idea of “President Peloci” scares the spit out of me.
Count to 10 on June 22, 2009 at 10:54 AM
USGA members?
Rosmerta on June 22, 2009 at 10:55 AM
I perhaps should have read the first couple of comments on the thread before commenting myself.
Count to 10 on June 22, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Show your support for the Iranian people by putting your icon on the greens.
Loxodonta on June 22, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Gosh darn it!
This finally proved once and for all, Michele O was in charge.
Sir Napsalot on June 22, 2009 at 11:04 AM
I presume we’ll stop talking about Barry’s lack of fortitude now that we have proof he has golf balls.
Loxodonta on June 22, 2009 at 11:05 AM
I thought that the POTUS and the VPOTUS were never supposed to be on Golf Cart One at the same time.
Akzed on June 22, 2009 at 11:06 AM
Did that golf cart bring to mind the clown car at the circus?
red131 on June 22, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Like an unstuffed pinata.
Obama is getting bad advice, probably from his political strategists. This shouldn’t be about keeping his talks with the Iranian regime on track. This should be about doing what is right.
There is some validity to the point that it is not helpful for the US to take sides in what is essentially an internal matter. Obama has clung to that bit of wisdom like a liferaft to account for his days of saying and doing nothing about the situation. It also neglects some equally valid and more compelling points.
1. There is nothing controversial about the US condemning the Iranian government for the way they have executed what Obama refers to as a “robust dialogue.” Obama equivocates when he should be unequivicol in the idea that peaceful demonstrators should not be met with government snipers killing young women.
2. The US should stand for free and open elections and the right to demonstrate. It really isn’t about the outcome of the election anymore but about the rights of the Iranian people to stand up when they think the election has been hijacked to seek redress from their government.
3. Finally, the US isn’t seeking to affect regime change in Iran. That doesn’t mean that it should stand by the current regime as the Obama administration is insisting that we do. Not meddling in an internal matter is not the same thing as standing by watching innocent citizens getting killed and wounded by their government for daring to protest. Presumably sometime this weekend between the ice cream outing and the golfing, Obama turned on the news and saw the scenes coming out of Tehran. Yet he remains on the fence over what the Iranian government is doing and that is more than wrong, it is morally reprehensible.
highhopes on June 22, 2009 at 11:10 AM
Normally that is true but you seem to forget why Biden is along in the first place.
JFK, the newcomer, drug LBJ all over the place for credibility. They were in Dallas in November 1963 because LBJ was the only one who could mend fences with the Southern Democrats that had been alienated by the Kennedy administration policies.
In 2009 the opposite is true. Obama drags Biden around to remind the American public just how much worse it could get if he isn’t in charge. Put another way, the easiest way to look less clown-like is to hang around with bigger clowns.
highhopes on June 22, 2009 at 11:16 AM
It looks like they started to spell “POTUS” wrong and had to repair the “U”. The Prez and Veep must be helpless without spell check?
Another “Let them eat cake” moment brought to you by Hope and Change.
Hening on June 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM
“We’re gonna ignore those protestors…now watch this drive!”
James on June 22, 2009 at 11:59 AM
I agree about the inappropriateness of playing golf while Iran is boiling over and NoKo is readying a missile towards Hawaii.
However,he gets a pass on the sign. The people at the golf course, in getting ready for Obama’s party, would have had a line of golf carts to get ready. They are the ones that would have put the sign on the cart so that the bag boy would know on which cart to put Obama’s and Crazy Joe’s clubs. The sign isn’t a big deal.
Mallard T. Drake on June 22, 2009 at 12:08 PM
No he doesn’t. This is the man that had his own pre-election logo and West Wing-like television set for “the office of the President-elect.” He thinks it is all about him to the point that he is probably supporting the Iranian regime over the protesters because the protesters stepped all over his media moment with the ice cream outing. Any chance to lampoon somebody so narcissitic and arrogant should be taken.
As to those crazy North Koreans, I’ll reiterate my idea that Obama should be taking his family to Hawaii for the 4th. What a message that sends to North Korea!
highhopes on June 22, 2009 at 12:35 PM
0bama/Biden putt
Iran retains a nut
God back to strut
Schadenfreude on June 22, 2009 at 12:51 PM
I agree with every bit of your supporting evidence; but one of those points is exactly WHY I don’t blame him for the sign: do you really think, if the sign were his idea, that the sign would be a hand-lettered POS like that? It would have had a logo, or a picture of Obama with angels surrounding him. It would have been done in gold leaf, studded with jewels. It wouldn’t have merely named the office — that being merely a trifle — but the one HIMSELF (because he is SO much more than merely the President of the U.S — he’s sort of God, if you haven’t heard).
So I’ll give him a pass on the sign; but for being crass enough to play golf NOT ONLY during a crisis, but on a day he should be spending whatever time he can with his daughters; for his inept non-handling of the N. Korea situation; for his inept double-talking equivocation on Iran; for his “Robin Hood” move of taking from the bond-holders and giving to the labor unions — I say give him all the grief he has coming to him.
Mind you, I understand what you mean — don’t give him the benefit of the doubt on anything — but if we’re going to be as nasty and nonsensical as the Dems, what does it matter who’s in charge? Why bother going to the time & trouble to be informed?
Obama can be EASILY be beaten back with facts. You’ll never get the average person to sit still and listen long enough to hear all of the REAL and SERIOUS things he’s messed up; there’s nothing to be gained (and credibility to be lost) by making stuff up.
RegularJoe on June 22, 2009 at 12:57 PM
Obama sliced, Iranians were diced
Rosmerta on June 22, 2009 at 1:00 PM
Ed, sometimes ya reach a bit too far… the POTUS sign is so that other members of the security and support details do not accidentally drive off in POTUS’ golf cart. He took 500 people and 14 aircraft to the UK… how many golf carts for an afternoon game of golf? Over 100 maybe if you count the press?
We can imagine The One’s reaction if the beer run detail drove off in his cart. You can also imagine the reaction of the beer run detail’s direct supervisor if that happened. They do it to protect the worker bees and their low-level supervisors.
ElRonaldo on June 22, 2009 at 1:26 PM
The “POTUS” sign was probably to help Barry and Joe find their cart. Seeing as neither could find their ass with a map and a compass. This administration doesn’t give a rat’s ass about foreign policy. Makes it easier to be PRESENT! that way.
GarandFan on June 22, 2009 at 1:32 PM
All true. Obama has just found a way to vote “Present” as President, right in the middle of a world crisis.
I certainly wouldn’t begrudge him a game of golf and an outing with his girls, staged for PR or not, if he were actually taking care of business otherwise.
I can appreciate worrying about being blamed for meddling in Iran. But let’s face it, the rulers in Iran started off by blaming the US, and will continue whether we say anything or not. They reflexively blame the US, like Obama reflexively blames Bush.
So what are we gaining by silence? Nothing.
The problem of course is that Obama hasn’t figured out what would be politically advantageous, and that’s the only thing he cares about. Bush or Reagan — maybe even Carter! — would have made some statement about principle, but Obama has no principles except power. That gives him tons of maneuverability, but not one ounce of foundation to stand on.
But then, he’s not used to taking a stand.
tom on June 22, 2009 at 1:45 PM
You’ve hit on a sore point with me after watching the news coverage this weekend (more so than usual). The way the reporting about what is going on in Iran is utterly depressing. It is completely devoid of any sort of context about the last 30 years or the events leading up to the Iranian Revolution and (more importantly for the American audience) the US involvement in Iran both before the Shah’s overthrow and during the Iran and Iraq wars. It is impossible to see these protesters in the right context without understanding what a big deal in Iran that there is this level of civil disorder over an election. Americans, in general, are uninformed about anything but the here and now. That’s not any better than Obama’s head-in-the-sand disconnection with reality. Does one really make that much fun over Obama driving around in a golf cart with POTUS handwritten on a sign? Not in and of itself and it will not change the course of history.
Nevertheless, taken in the aggregate of the Navy tracking a North Korean ship and upping missile defenses in Hawaii, Iranians being killed for demonstrating their desire for greater freedoms, reports that a dismal economic picture is going to get worse with joblessness likely to rise into double digits by next month…..
And what was Obama doing? Media events telling the world what a good father he is (complete with a story in Parade Magazine and a breakfast event). Ice cream outings with daughters in tow and dog treats to remind us about the puppy. Golf outings to Fort Belvior. A generic press release opposing killing protesters but keeping the door open to sitting down with those doing the killing. Doesn’t this all come off as somewhat trivial and superficial with so many serious problems going on. P.S. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t be buying dog treats or golfing but I am saying he doesn’t need to take a caravan of media along when he does so.
highhopes on June 22, 2009 at 1:57 PM
So if the pilot and co-pilot of the nation are out golfing, who is running the nation?
If it was Father’s Day, shouldn’t these two be good fathers by spending time with their children?
Enough to get the rest of us teed off.
Steve Z on June 22, 2009 at 2:33 PM
Biden’s kids are grown up. Don’t you rember the gaffe in his stump speech during the campaign? He talked about sitting at the kitchen table, after putting the kids to bed, worried about the world he was leaving for them. It played well until it was pointed out that it was downright creepy if he was still putting his kids to bed at their ages.
Obama gave his kids their weekly 15 minutes of non-Barak time on that ice cream outing. You expect the President to attend a breakfast where he calls for fathers to be more engaged AND actually interact with his kids on the same day? How unrealistic is that?
highhopes on June 22, 2009 at 2:40 PM
Do you remember the picture during the Campaign of McCain and Bush 41 in a golf cart?
The sign in the window, “Property of 41 Hands off”
That sign was “Printed”
Obama’s sign is “hand written” Good Job Obama! Killed the “Sign makers” job as well!!!
DSchoen on June 22, 2009 at 3:09 PM
Are you implying he used his kids a “Human Shields” so he wouldn’t be asked questions about Iran?
DSchoen on June 22, 2009 at 3:20 PM
Any bets on “will Letterman make a joke about the Prez “Human Shields” daughters?
Gazillion to 1?
DSchoen on June 22, 2009 at 3:24 PM
I’m sorry, but seeing the “POTUS” sign just begs for an LolCatz style caption like “I R Prezident, I has monies” or something.
Hawkins1701 on June 22, 2009 at 3:45 PM
He walked to get ice-cream (mint?).
Golf carts are low-emissions.
He’s Green, in solidarity with the students.
Learn to read the signs people.
JiangxiDad on
2.2 million un employed since Obama took office.
That’s 2.2 million that were employed BEFORE Obama took office.
Dow dropped again today some 200 points.
Read the frigging news.
DSchoen on June 22, 2009 at 4:23 PM
I read someplace that BHO starts his days around 9-9:30 and ends it at 6-6:30 and obviously there is an executive lunch worked in. It is becoming painfully clear that he does not work on weekends. Past presidents have been known to work fulldays and then late into the night to get the work days work done. Yet BHO seems to think the job of the president is a 9-6, 5 day workweek with shorten days for photo opps, parties and anything else that gets him out of the office. When onced asked what he does all day, he replied that he “Reads reports and writes stuff”; translantion: He has no clue but it must be important because he was doing it.
Apparently the 9-5 works for Biden as well.
Franklyn on June 22, 2009 at 4:28 PM
Yes because we all know as the POTUS read the TOTUS today
“Tobacco is the leading cause of tobacco related deaths”
Who knew! Let me try!
Alcohol is the leading cause of Alcohol related deaths!
Automobiles are the leading cause of Automobile related deaths!
DSchoen on June 22, 2009 at 4:42 PM
…par for the course.
HellCat on June 22, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Let’s see… He golfed on Memorial day Weekend Golfed last weekend & golfed this weekend while kids are dyin for freedom in Iran.
So I guess trying to find a church to attend on Sunday is out & Golf is in. Has only been to church twicesince inaguaration. Once on inaguration day and Easter. If I was a Chritian man leading this nation I would be on my knees every Sunday praying for guidance. Evidently he is a 9-5 President. God help us all!
Kevin in Southern Illinois on June 22, 2009 at 8:05 PM
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