It was an act of respect. Which is the exact opposite of Obama’s response.
The WH’s excuse for his behavior:
“After two days of negative press criticizing President Obama’s decision to hit the golf course 15 minutes after he delivered comments on the execution of American journalist James Foley, the White House could only defend it by saying the president needed a “release” from all the issues facing him”.
The poor thing. He needed a break from the vacation he just took.
A lot of Americans seem to need a daddy president. Someone to soothe their fears and change their diapers. That’s why Reagan was so popular.
We do have a lot of people throwing tantrums and shitting themselves.
I was unaware that “taking a vacation” meant Obama put Biden in charge for two weeks and stopped answering his phone.
It was an act of stupidity, which I’ll grant is the opposite of Obama’s response.
Why rely on such pathetic things to criticize the President about? It makes it seem like you have something personal against this guy, when the criticism is this silly.
The future president was talking about how those running for president need to be prepared to “give their life to it.”
“The bargain that any president strikes with is, you give me this office and in turn my, fears, doubts, insecurities, foibles, need for sleep, family life, vacations, leisure is gone,” Obama said. “I am giving myself to you.”
Obama went on to say that “the American people should have no patience for what’s going on in your head because you’ve got a job to do” and that people should only run for president if they’re willing to make that sacrifice.
When asked by the host if he could imagine himself making that kind of commitment, he said, “Sure.”
Of course, Obama has since “evolved” on this kind of thing.
You really, really should have left “various regimes in South America” out of your testosterone fueled screed. Those were some shameful episodes that did us no good.
Perhaps breathing into a paper sack for a few minutes might stop your hyperventilating. Abraham Lincoln sought refuge in going to the theater (although one too many times). FDR unwound with a mistress. Eisenhower was also fond of golf. W liked to clear brush.
Candidates for president have no clue on how they’ll handle the pressure of being president. Unless the matter is so urgent that a few hours makes a difference, I’d rather the president unwound on the golf course and pondered his options than sitting in a room with a bunch of people pushing him to war.
This is a non-cricticism (and unsurprising bullshit from the Daily Caller), because he was right… no flip flop here. He can go on vacation, but he’s not really on vacation – he can never totally relax. Because he’s President. He can always be woken up by a crisis, called to work, etc. – he’s like the captain of a ship that’s always at sea… when something needs attention, wherever he is, and whatever he’s doing, he’ll need to address it.
Obviously when he said “my… need for sleep… is gone”, he didn’t really mean he would never ever sleep. He meant it metaphorically – being President trumps the need for sleep. And it’s the same for (in the same sentence) leisure, family time, and vacation – he’s not saying he can’t do any of this ever, it’s just that being President trumps all these things. So while he’s on vacation, at leisure, with his family, and asleep, he can still be woken up, put to work, pulled away from his family, etc., and he recognizes that this is all part of being President.
Of course. It just depends on what “is” is.
You understand this makes you look petty and trite, right?
Sure, if you think Obama is a hypocrite for sleeping.
Does the fact that that idiot started those fucking wars figure into this discussion at all? Just wondering.
Obama said he wouldn’t sleep as President! Wow, what a hypocrite he is for sleeping!
And not only that, he said he wouldn’t spend any time with his family. What a hypocrite!
No. Just a blabbermouth. Who would say absolutely anything if it sounds good. Then, of course, “evolve” on the issue.
Which is way worse than complaining about absolutely anything.
So he “evolved” on sleeping?
I always thought Obama’s critics hate him simply for getting up in the morning. Now I’m starting to understand that they hate him for going to sleep in the first place.
A couple of years ago - I think it was during the BS story about how a presidential trip to India was supposedly costing hundreds of millions of dollars a day - there was some interesting discussion of how some Obama opponents just hate that he’s able to exercise any of the trappings that come with his office. They don’t think he’s entitled to do the things presidents do. That appears to include playing golf, too, even though he’s sometimes golfed with members of Congress and in the past he was bashed a lot for not doing things like reaching out to Congress. I don’t know why anyone wants to play non-mini-golf at all, ever, but it’s not my problem. It sounds like he’s golfing about twice a month for a couple of hours a day. I can’t imagine having the energy to give a shit about this.
Much of the time, Obama’s biggest “crime” seems to be talking like an adult – using nuance, metaphor, etc… and this is just too much for the simple folks at the Daily Caller, among others, to process.