Two of the three guys I work with are Canadian. That means I take more than my fair share of abuse for the stupidity of my country's president / policies / electoral system. Why does Bush have to make it so damn easy for my coworkers to harass me?
I don't understand. I'm no Bush fan, but lots of other presidents haven't quit golf no matter the circumstances (e.g. Clinton), so what's wrong with Bush's statement?
We can debate ad nauseam whether or not quitting golf is a token gesture. However, I think the larger issue is the time line. Bush claims he made the decision to quit golf on August 19. However, CBS news reports him playing a round after that on October 13.
Maybe it's unreasonable to expect Bush to quit golf cold-turkey (SJN might be able to comment on the likelihood of golf withdrawal)?
I doubt W is into golf much - treats it as the social/business activity is so often is, an activity more of his father's culture, perhaps even bordering on "elitist" activities like Kerry's windsurfing. It's not efficient exercise even if you walk, and basically none if you don't, so I'm inclined to believe that his limited interest in the game waned as the war waxed. Time lines (and knee problems) are pesky details, but I'll give him a pass on the basic notion that he stopped wanting to spend time golfing while at war.
But then he fumbles his attempt to express why he doesn't play any more, and instead offers up a classic W-ism to the media, a la: "grieving moms during wartime don't want to see their commander-in-chief playing golf". The WTF-factor is just too high for them to leave alone, expecially since he seemed to botch remembering when his last round actually was. He keeps making it easy for folks who want to write the "Bush is a moron" story to do so.
Full disclosure: my first reaction on reading the story JJ linked was something like: Well, if he wants to stay in contact with the game, he could pass a golf ball through his alimentary canal for each dead soldier.
3 comments:
I don't understand. I'm no Bush fan, but lots of other presidents haven't quit golf no matter the circumstances (e.g. Clinton), so what's wrong with Bush's statement?
DF
We can debate ad nauseam whether or not quitting golf is a token gesture. However, I think the larger issue is the time line. Bush claims he made the decision to quit golf on August 19. However, CBS news reports him playing a round after that on October 13.
Maybe it's unreasonable to expect Bush to quit golf cold-turkey (SJN might be able to comment on the likelihood of golf withdrawal)?
I doubt W is into golf much - treats it as the social/business activity is so often is, an activity more of his father's culture, perhaps even bordering on "elitist" activities like Kerry's windsurfing. It's not efficient exercise even if you walk, and basically none if you don't, so I'm inclined to believe that his limited interest in the game waned as the war waxed. Time lines (and knee problems) are pesky details, but I'll give him a pass on the basic notion that he stopped wanting to spend time golfing while at war.
But then he fumbles his attempt to express why he doesn't play any more, and instead offers up a classic W-ism to the media, a la: "grieving moms during wartime don't want to see their commander-in-chief playing golf". The WTF-factor is just too high for them to leave alone, expecially since he seemed to botch remembering when his last round actually was. He keeps making it easy for folks who want to write the "Bush is a moron" story to do so.
Full disclosure: my first reaction on reading the story JJ linked was something like: Well, if he wants to stay in contact with the game, he could pass a golf ball through his alimentary canal for each dead soldier.
Turns out I'm no Bush fan either.
Post a Comment