The Floridian National Golf Club in Palm City, President Barack Obama’s weekend hangout (via Facebook)
FORT PIERCE — While Republicans are belly-aching again about President Barack Obama coming to South Florida to play a few rounds of golf, they failed to pick up the irony of Obama flying to one of the area’s poorest and blackest cities before heading to a club open only to 1 percent of the 1 percent.
When Obama’s Air Force One touches down at the St. Lucie County “International” Airport tomorrow morning for a weekend at The Floridian National Golf Club that could end up costing taxpayers $1 million, Obama will in essence land in the middle of the America he left behind — the America he promised to take care of when he was first elected in 2008 but didn’t.
Wedged between much manicured Vero Beach and Stuart, Fort Pierce features census numbers that make it look like a third world country.
Usually, the numbers are half the statewide average, and they barely moved in the six years of Obama:
— 35.7% of the residents live below poverty line
— per capita income is $16,985
— median household income is $26,414
— home ownership rate is 44.5%
We could go on and on, and include sky-high crime and HIV, but you get the idea.
For sale downtown Fort Pierce for $42,344 (MLS photo0
In 2012, Obama made a campaign visit in Fort Pierce that made national news because a pizza restaurant owner hugged the president so hard he lifted him in the air.
This time around, Obama is not scheduled to come anywhere near the heart of the city.
If he did materialize, he’d come face-to-face with the realization that his presidency didn’t do much for Fort Pierce and hundreds of other cities like it.
Might give him the feeling he did not, could not, make a difference.
Surely, there is plenty of blame to go around, and not all of it his.
Republicans at the beck and call of a corporate America bent on destroying the middle class cut down Obama at the knees every time he tried to implement something actually humane.
Democrats lacked the courage of their alleged convictions.
And the reforms that Obama managed to implement, including health care and Wall Street, didn’t have sharp enough teeth to change the landscape.
It might be just as well that Obama is going to avoid Fort Pierce, except to land and take off Sunday afternoon.
A visit might give him acid reflux.
Then, he wouldn’t be able to digest the fancy food at The Floridian.
Or, God forbid, he might actually shank a few on the links out there in Palm City.