The unrest in Egypt is testing President Obama’s summer vacation, forcing him to have to combine the seriousness of U.S. foreign policy with his desire to carve out time for rounds of golf.
On Thursday, Mr. Obama delivered a six-minute statement to reporters about the violence that has left hundreds dead in Cairo this week, then immediately headed off for another round of golf in Martha’s Vineyard, his usual summer vacation spot where he and his family are spending the week.
A day earlier, Mr. Obama also played golf while leaving it to his spokesman and to State Department Secretary John Kerry to handle official reaction to the deaths of several hundred supporters of ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi.
The president’s schedule created an odd scene Thursday.
He delivered his remarks at about 10:30, and the television networks carried the audio live. But they didn’t have a video feed.
By the time the video feed was available an hour later, Mr. Obama was already at Mink Meadows Golf Club.
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News has regularly intruded on Mr. Obama’s August vacation plans. Several years ago he had to schedule a mini-vacation to the Gulf of Mexico in order to try to help boost the struggling tourist market after the BP oil spill caused thousands to cancel their vacations.
And then in 2011 Mr. Obama was dealing with a simmering constitutional crisis with Congress over his commitment of troops to Libya, where the U.S. maintained a no-fly zone that helped protect rebels who eventually ousted long-time leader Moammar Gadhafi.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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