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Obama plays more golf than Bush – where’s the outrage?

Media Cheer Obama’s Golf Outings; Criticized Republicans’ Trips to Course

How Good is Barack Obama at Golf? - TIME

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While Poland mourned, Obama golfed

President Barack Obama has projected a solemn demeanor over the tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife and 95 others, but his actions in the immediate hours after the news broke paint a less reverent picture.

A quick glance at pool reports filed Saturday show that not long after Obama placed a phone call extending his condolences to Polish Prime Minister Tusk, the president traveled to Fort Belvoir in Virginia to play golf with a handful of White House staffers.

On a political level, this was nothing short of stupid. The outing occurred amid mounting criticism from conservatives that President Obama has been neglecting U.S. allies, charges exemplified by the icy relations between the U.S. and Israel in recent months and a tough-love approach to Afghan president Hamid Karzai. Poland, obviously, has long been considered a key U.S. ally and maintains 2,000 troops in Afghanistan.

Additionally, Obama should have realized that golf and somber presidential moments can be a toxic mix.

Obama’s predecessor George W. Bush, whose golf outings Obama surpassed in October, was criticized for his love of the sport. A video of Bush on the fairway jumping from discussing the war on terror to inviting reporters to check out his drive was widely derided.