May 16, 2008
True superiority....
I have a long list of reasons why I think George W Bush is a great president (NO, that doesn't mean I agree with him on everything. I've never swooned over him like those pathetic lefties fainting for Obama.) This is a very small but telling example of how he's much classier than the general run of politicians...
US President George W Bush has revealed that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of American soldiers killed in Iraq.
"I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," Mr Bush said in an online interview for Yahoo and Politico magazine.
"I don't want some mum whose son may have recently died to see the commander-in-chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them."...
It is illogical but true, that in our culture golf looks like the sport of those who are indifferent to the pain of the world. As opposed to, say tennis. A leader playing golf in a time of crisis looks nonchalant and detached. Whereas if he's sweating on the tennis court, it's assumed that he's burning off the intolerable stress of one who has the cares of the world on his shoulders. (This probably has some connection with the fact that academics and journalists play tennis much more than golf.)
The important thing is that Bush never said a word about this until now, or used it to make himself look good. That's class.
Posted by John Weidner at May 16, 2008 08:18 AMInteresting thing about presidents and tennis:
Teddy Rooseveldt allowed reporters and photographers wide-ranging access to the White House, with one exception. No one was allowed to take his picture playing tennis. He thought that tennis was a rich man's sport, and he didn't want that to affect his image.
Fortunately for him the press in those days cooperated with such requests, so he could continue to play tennis with his image intact.
Mike
Just in case you were serious:
The president traced his decision to the bombing on 19 August, 2003, of the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad, which killed Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN's top official in Iraq. Article continues advertisement"I remember when de Mello, who was at the UN, got killed in Baghdad as a result of these murderers taking this good man's life," Mr Bush said. "And I was playing golf, I think I was in central Texas, and they pulled me off the golf course and I said, it's just not worth it anymore to do."
But, according to CBS, the American news network, Mr Bush's last round of golf as president was on October 13, 2003.
So: he made the decision to do something on 19 AUG, and was seen doing it again on 13 OCT. That's either irresolute of him, or BS.
Coincidentally, in October 2003 Bush was told by his doctor that his knees were too bad for most forms of exercise.
But he hasn't said a word about that until now.
Posted by: Punning Pundit at May 16, 2008 01:41 PMFoof. Can you remember the exact dates you did things back in 2003, off the top of your head, during an interview? Would you have remembered, prior to reading this, what month de Mello was killed in?
And Bush's knee problems have been no secret, and surely would not affect golf, since his response to them was to give up running and take up bicycling. If you can walk, you can play golf.
