by Mark McKinnon,The Daily Beast
The president has gone golfing more than he’s met the press. Had Bush tried that,he’d have been clubbed by the media. Mark McKinnon on Washington’s 18-hole hypocrisy.
News flash:President Obama hasn’t held a formal press conference in almost a year (274 days and counting) yet has golfed 32 times since he was elected—eight more times than President George W. Bush did during his entire presidency.
Now personally,I think the president should golf every day and never have a press conference. I want the leader of the free world to be as stress-free as possible. And if golf helps fade the psychic heat from the job,by all means tee it up often,Mr. President. Sadly,press conferences have turned into not much more that vanity exhibitions for White House reporters who preen and exhort in front of the cameras—not to convey needed news to the public,but to make themselves seem important.
But imagine the press histrionics we would have heard if George W. Bush had gone nine months without a press conference?
Recall that Bush was loudly criticized when he didn’t hold press conferences frequently enough to satiate a badgering press,though he averaged one about every two months. Over the course of his presidency,he held 45.