President Obama reached somewhat of a milestone over the weekend: he played his 200th round of golf since taking office.
He reportedly hit the links Sunday at Fort Belvoir in Virginia, the same day a Texas health care worker was diagnosed with contracting Ebola in the United States.
Republican and Democratic critics alike have derided Mr. Obama for his golfing habits, particularly in August when he headed off to a game just minutes after addressing the nation in a televised brief speech about the beheading of an American journalist by the Islamic State terror group.
His affinity for the game is in contrast with his predecessor, George W. Bush, who said in a Politico interview in 2008 that he stopped playing while in office because he didn’t “want some mom 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 I can with them,” Mr. Bush told Politico. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.”
Mr. Bush has said, however, that Mr. Obama shouldn’t be criticized for playing. And Don Van Natta Jr.’s book “First Off the Tee,” asserts that Mr. Obama’s average of 33 games per year is far from the highest, estimating that Dwight Eisenhower golfed 800 times during his eight years in office, and Woodrow Wilson played 1,600 rounds in eight years, The Blaze reported.
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• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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