Obamateurism of the Day
posted at 8:05 am on June 21, 2010 by Ed Morrissey
On Sunday, the news networks were all agog over the fact that BP CEO Tony Hayward spent the weekend yachting — even though BP’s chair had already announced that Hayward has been relieved of his duties regarding the spill, and almost certainly everything else soon enough. As Noel Sheppard notes, though, none of them bothered to mention the weekend activities of the one man who’s still supposedly “fully engaged” in responding to the Gulf spill. However, Michael Steele managed to notice what Barack Obama did this weekend:
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele demanded President Barack Obama cease leisure activities until the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis is resolved.
Steele criticized Obama for his activities this weekend, which included a trip to a Washington Nationals game on Friday versus his hometown Chicago White Sox, and a round of golf on Saturday.
“While it is fitting and appropriate to look at the yachting activities of the BP CEO, with incredulity, it is equally incredible that President Obama finds himself on yet another golf course as oil continues to spew into the Gulf,” Steele said in a statement. “Until this problem is fixed, no more golf outings, no more baseball games, no more Beatle concerts, Mr. President. The stakes are too high for President Obama’s lackadaisical approach to both his responsibilities and the challenges we face.”
Normally, I’d say that Presidents deserve their occasional down time, especially considering the enormous pressures that come with the office. However, Obama himself put the Gulf spill on the level of 9/11 in terms of its impact on the US. If he wants to make that argument, then the President needs to act like he believes it. Golfing more days than Gulfing looks just as bad as yachting while others attempt to stop the damage.
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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It’s always been “Do as I say, not as I do” in this White House.
JimK on June 21, 2010 at 8:07 AM
Either way, the POTUS develops a bunker mentality….
apostic on June 21, 2010 at 8:08 AM
Pluggin’ holes the only way he knows how.
ted c on June 21, 2010 at 8:09 AM
The MSM doesn’t care to report such things. It doesn’t fit their ideology.
visions on June 21, 2010 at 8:12 AM
What? He appointed a Czar and called for a committee. What else do you want from him?
Daggett on June 21, 2010 at 8:13 AM
Hole 19. 1,760 yd, Par 57.
“Piece of cake, Mr. Prez.”
TimBuk3 on June 21, 2010 at 8:14 AM
Once again Obama shows that he is not an American. He may have been born in the US, but he is truly un-American.
Johnnyreb on June 21, 2010 at 8:14 AM
I would too. This type of criticism can get out of hand, but holy smokes, he’s been to more concerts, ball games and golf outings in the last week than I’ve been to in a couple of years because I’m busy with, you know, work and stuff.
forest on June 21, 2010 at 8:15 AM
Just making Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, Warren Harding and Jimmy Carter look good.
That’s hard work.
rbj on June 21, 2010 at 8:16 AM
I’d rather see Barry Hussein on the golf course, or in the stands at the ballpark, or giving yet another one of his tedious sanctimonious speeches, or admiring his bad self in the mirror, or doing almost anything else — than in the White House.
When he’s “working” he’s making everything worse. So keep doing the stuff you really care about Barry (golfing, concerts, meeting sports and entertainment figures, admiring your bad self in the mirror, etc.), and maybe we can minimize some of the enormous damage your presidency is doing to this great nation.
And thank you, 52%-ers, once again, for inflicting this nightmare on our nation.
AZCoyote on June 21, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Jimk: spot on!
Msm:*crickets chirping*
cmsinaz on June 21, 2010 at 8:18 AM
Please, he’s not Superman. It’s not like he can swim down there and plug it himself or suck it up with a straw…
Midas on June 21, 2010 at 8:20 AM
ok, it was Father’s Day weekend. I thought fathers did things with their family (if available) on Father’s Day.
but then again, I’m pretty old-fashioned.
kelley in virginia on June 21, 2010 at 8:23 AM
So, if Odamna actually starts working as Prez, how many jobs will that save or create? On the other hand, if he stops all the socializing, won’t valets, caddies, and SS Agents be forced to go on the dole. It’s a perplexing situation. And we still don’t have an answer to whose azz to kick.
Crusader Rabbit on June 21, 2010 at 8:24 AM
For just about anything else, I’d agree. Problem is, kelley, that if you’re facing a national emergency of the level of 9/11, and you’re the POTUS, you need to put aside father’s day and do your job.
psrch on June 21, 2010 at 8:26 AM
I’m sure everyone remembers how the WaPo and NYT, along with the broadcast evening news shows all ripped Bush a new hole for going golfing, and he stopped completely.
They also complained about his inauguration ball, how much it cost, how people were suffering in the recession and it was so insensitive of him to throw a party with Americans out of work. Style sections overflowed with criticism of the western theme, the country music, just got them all in a lather.
State Controlled Media indeed.
Brian1972 on June 21, 2010 at 8:27 AM
This was his 7th round of golf since the crisis began.
kingsjester on June 21, 2010 at 8:27 AM
It really is time to hold all the politcos feet to the fire and fix what is broken and get the gov’t out of the way.
tim c on June 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Heh.
ladyingray on June 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM
How much oil gushed out of that big hole in the Gulf while Obama was plugging 18 little holes in Chicago with his tiny balls?
Disturb the Universe on June 21, 2010 at 8:29 AM
He won’t play with Rush, though, because Rush would wax him out on a golf course, and I think Obama knows it.
Brian1972 on June 21, 2010 at 8:30 AM
Interesting that Deadfish could his knickers all in a twist over Hayward while counting on the MSM turn a blind eye over his boss’s equally obtuse outing.
pain train on June 21, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Brian1972 on June 21, 2010 at 8:30 AM
Nope. Yes men are the only ones who get invited to witness his golfing prowess.
kingsjester on June 21, 2010 at 8:32 AM
Why not? It is a lazy, meaningless sport. I never met a golfer I liked.
IlikedAUH2O on June 21, 2010 at 8:33 AM
Sometimes when I thing of Barack on the golf course whining about the hardness of his job, I think back on Michael Clarke Duncan in Armegeddon in his psych test where he says, all teary eyed, “Sometimes I gets the menstrual cramps real bad.”
DuctTapeMyBrain on June 21, 2010 at 8:35 AM
I’d much rather see the prez enjoying himself out on the links, at parties, or even ice cream stands than in the WH actually making decisions that will kill the American way of life. He needs to get away from making decisions that annoy the h*ll out of me and the rest of the country. Oh, wait! He can’t make decisions. He votes “present” all of the time. What was I thinking?
BetseyRoss on June 21, 2010 at 8:36 AM
Perhaps he should set up a temporary White House in one of the towns that have been most effected by the oil spill. Surely some of these tourism dependent towns are seeing a drop in revenue. Imagine how much activity the President and his entourage in the press alone would generate. Plus, it would make him look like he might, you know, care.
BlueStateBlues on June 21, 2010 at 8:39 AM
I am rather mixed on activities to help release the strain of high stress jobs. Stressed minds make poor decisions, however leisure pictures of the President does not present a leadership position.
Wade on June 21, 2010 at 8:39 AM
Well, Obama represents the working man. What else would you expect? 9-5 with weekends off. It’s just a regular work week for the man.
Mr_Magoo on June 21, 2010 at 8:40 AM
I get the distinct impression that the more time B.O. spends at the start of the 18th Hole yelling FORE!, the more incumbent Democrats seeking re-election in the Fall break into golf ball sized drops of sweat.
pilamaye on June 21, 2010 at 8:44 AM
The more I read about Obama golfing and the more I read about weekly parties at the White House, I can’t help thinking of some white-trash yahoos winning the lottery.
In this case, however, the Obamas are livin’ large at taxpayer’s expense.
BuckeyeSam on June 21, 2010 at 8:47 AM
Incredible. Raum Emanuel to leave the White House midterm over a difference in style from Obama. AS IF!
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 8:48 AM
What strikes out at me the most, is that a news junkie like myself can’t find much of anything about what is actually being done in the gulf region to minimize the damage to the coastline, jobs, eco-system. Most of the information I’m getting is from the local gulf news outlets and the governors web site. National news organizations (including fox news) is offering very little information.
Personally, I wish Obama would golf 36 holes a day for the next two years; damage control…
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 8:52 AM
It’s bizarre. They don’t seem to care what people think of it either – even criticizing Hayward as they’re partying non-stop in the WH while disaster response vessels, foreign & domestic, are kept waiting.
But it makes one wonder if Barack Obama is not coping well with the pressures of the Presidency. This is the first time in his life he’s ever been directly responsible for his job performance. Add in the intriguing facts that we never did get a full accounting of his medical records (including a mental health assessment and/or treatment history) and his rather odd manner in his televised Vuvuzela Speech (like a robot whose batteries were running down) and I’m beginning to wonder if WH staff figures that the only way they can keep their guy from losing it completely in public or slipping into a fugue state in private is by essentially taking him off the job entirely.
leilani on June 21, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Tossing Raum under the bus:
1. Gulf of Mexico Oil Crisis turned the public against Obama.
2. American bankruptcy from Obama’s spending agenda blamed on Raum.
Of course, should a miracle occur by midterm returning American and international favor to Obama, the rumor won’t be realized.
Fat chance, given the rapid devolution of public prosperity, sucked dry by Obama’s clique. No way can Obama shed himself of Raum’s snakeskin.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 8:53 AM
Emanuel will likely move off American soil when the investigations start…
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 8:54 AM
He’s too thin skinned to play with Rush, fearing the inevitable conversational jokes.
/I doubt he’d play with Tiger, because Tiger fears being shown up by the amateur.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 8:57 AM
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 8:54 AM
He certainly secured his connections during his son’s ceremony.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 8:58 AM
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 8:54 AM
Don’t tell us that Blago has something on Raum!
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 8:59 AM
Well, I am a father and I worked on Father’s day, sometimes you have to do what you have to do.
right2bright on June 21, 2010 at 9:04 AM
DEMOCRAT Senators Nelson and Boxer write Obama to send the Navy to implement the oil gusher recovery.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 9:06 AM
I’d put my money on Blago having something on everyone of those Chicago gangsters. Let’s hope the man is crazy enough to let it rip…
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 9:07 AM
/Yet I envisioned a female seminarian. My mistake.
Live and learn.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 9:09 AM
I will not rest until this leak is stopped
-dear leader
Another expired promise….
cmsinaz on June 21, 2010 at 9:09 AM
Just another ‘Mulligan’ from the MSM.
TimBuk3 on June 21, 2010 at 9:09 AM
Somewhere here along the line, somebody is going to have to either exonerate George W. Bush of the bulk of the financial crisis, or give him an award for being able to completely scuttle the entire world economy.
J_Crater on June 21, 2010 at 9:12 AM
Sorry I am not part of your girls club…
right2bright on June 21, 2010 at 9:14 AM
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 9:07 AM
Blago has every right to take down the miserable bastards who put him in office and thought they could somehow distract America from noticing Obama’s flaws by exposing Blago’s. What goes around comes around.
If only the rotten corrupted judicial system would allow Blago’s recordings of conversations during Obama’s calls to Chicago. To take down the gangsters, their bought and paid for judges need to stay attached. Clear the Judicial Branch temple of the money changers. THEIR perversion of constitutional governance is far worse long term than any politician’s graft. Damn Holder in impeachment.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 9:16 AM
right2bright on June 21, 2010 at 9:14 AM
As if. You reminded me of a Methodist Pastor Jodie.
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 9:17 AM
maverick muse on June 21, 2010 at 9:16 AM
Amen to all of that!
Keemo on June 21, 2010 at 9:24 AM
Come on, Steele! Being the President is HARD!!
crazy_legs on June 21, 2010 at 9:26 AM
Yep. Call the Navy and see if they can help out and let me know what you find out. So things get immediately implemented some 90-120 days after the spill started.
Daggett on June 21, 2010 at 9:28 AM
He’s provoking you.
You must learn a psychological trick: you must deliberately view him not as a man of arrogance (which no doubt he is), but as a mentally deficient child.
This tempers your passions.
Focus on the prize, my friends. Don’t let him get under your skin.
jeff_from_mpls on June 21, 2010 at 9:29 AM
Excellent observation. He is a professional agitator.
Daggett on June 21, 2010 at 9:37 AM
People ask what could Obama do regarding the oil spill instead of golfing.
How aboutshaking the lead out of approving the help offered by 28 nations
katablog.com on June 21, 2010 at 9:43 AM
Trying the link again approving help offered by 28 nations
katablog.com on June 21, 2010 at 9:44 AM
Øbummer’s lack of focus on his actual job and laser-like focus on his golf score makes these June 3, 2008 words pretty ridiculous:
I wonder how the Lame Stream Media can reconcile their early optimism with their weary current recognition that the “current occupant of the White House” is not a president but an ideologue with monarchical appetites. I think the planet is trying to tell tone-deaf Øbummer something!
.
I urge you laugh at the ridiculous premise of these words and at the ridiculous pretense of “da noos mediuah” who will never admit they brought this vapid poseur to a position of power. Then again, they are losing their hold on power and influence so that “freedom of the press” really is no longer dominated by ideologue liberals.
ExpressoBold on June 21, 2010 at 9:55 AM
Ed, I know how careful and fair you are in your criticism of Obama. However, in this case I think your paraphrase of Obama is quite unfair. Your statement:
Obama’s statement didn’t deal with the magnitude of either event. He just said that the oil spill resembles 911 in that it calls for reshaping of policy:
Of course, there are disturbing implications of Obama’s quote, as of most of what he says. His statement is a variant of Rahm’s famous dictum of never letting a crisis go to waste — or never pass up an opportunity to turn a wound into incremental ritual suicide.
Sowell Disciple on June 21, 2010 at 10:03 AM
Obowmao is a bum in a suit who just wonder the idiocracy lottery .
borntoraisehogs on June 21, 2010 at 10:43 AM
With each passing day Mr. President reveals that he is nothing but an idiot. You’d think if none of his advisers were savvy enough to question whether it was wise to golf while people are suffering extensive losses in the gulf that maybe his wife would be smart enough to tell him it was a lame thing to do. Maybe he just doesn’t listen to anyone and maybe he really does only care about himself. I could see if he did this once in a blue moon, but he seems to do it ALL THE TIME. Lord, please give this man the wisdom to resign from office before he does any more damage to our once great country.
scalleywag on June 21, 2010 at 10:52 AM
But he did talk of the spill like a wartime commander urging mobilization against an invading force in this partial AP transcript of his address from the oval office:
and this:
He just forgot to mention the part of the battle plan concerning multiple concerts, baseball games, and golf as well as the benefits of a war booty shakedown worth 20B.
ontherocks on June 21, 2010 at 11:05 AM
And let’s not forget who elevated this problem to be on the same level as 9/11: The Won his own bad se’f. Once he made it his at that level, he bought on to the higher standards for judging his performance.
All of which explains why he’s been reduced to a chain-smoking, waffle-gobbling and sno-cone-guzzling wreck. He’s found himself, in other words.
ya2daup on June 21, 2010 at 11:06 AM
Actually, I’d like him to play more golf and basketball and stage more State dinners and concerts.
Those cost a lot less than the stuff that happens when he’s on the job.
EconomicNeocon on June 21, 2010 at 11:07 AM
So he wanted to be president, and got it. Now he wants to be Tiger Woods? Good lord this mans is a doofus, to the extreme!!!
capejasmine on June 21, 2010 at 11:16 AM
You know, I didn’t vote for Mr. President and I sure didn’t think he’d do a good job at being the COC, but my God, who could have ever imagined that he’d be as bad as he is? We couldn’t find a more incompetent self absorbed nincompoop if we scoured the bowels of the earth.
scalleywag on June 21, 2010 at 11:22 AM
And now he wants control of the internet? Someone has got to stop this idiot, and soon.
scalleywag on June 21, 2010 at 11:24 AM
Obama has always been able to say something then just behave any way he wants–why would this time be any different?
Maybe Obama could do the reverse of this, and plug the hole with golf balls.
DrMagnolias on June 21, 2010 at 11:45 AM
Na – na na – na na na na
http://tinyurl.com/2dmu5zq
OxyCon on June 21, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Rahmbo is very loud. Deadfish is ginning up anger because he is being exposed in the Blago trials.
seven on June 21, 2010 at 3:19 PM
Meanwhile, Governor Bobby Jindal was out on an oil-sucking barge looking for life-jackets to get past the Coast Guard.
We the People should arrange for these two men to trade jobs! Except the people in Louisiana might disagree…
Steve Z on June 21, 2010 at 3:21 PM
Michelle looked imperial in her blue glitzy dress. Barck compared his “time” to the 2nd war and 9/11.
The queen mother stood in the rubble, during the blitz times and encouraged her flock.
Michelle parties and parties, when she’s not ‘gardening’, which is all faux.
The Obamas live it up like there’s no woe and no tommorow.
Imagine, just imagine for a moment, what Eleanor Roosevelt or Jimmy Carter would do in similar situations?
Media, suffer of something slow and painful, for being so derelict in your duties, and so blind.
Schadenfreude on June 21, 2010 at 4:29 PM
He’s too busy focusing like a laser on creating jobs to let a little oil mixing with water distract him. Caddy’s need work too!
chickasaw42 on June 21, 2010 at 7:11 PM