The Loop

Obama and golf: Should he play?

April 26, 2009

President Obama made the short trek over to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to play play a round of golf Sunday morning. The story is here.

Former President Bush gave up golf in 2003 out of deference for those service men and women who were fighting a war. I posed this question to former vice president Dan Quayle, an avid golfer, recently: Should Barack Obama play golf during his presidency?

"I hope he plays as much as he wants to and I encourage him to play more than he thinks he'll be able to," Quayle said. "It's great for him. I think Obama should play, absolutely. I think it's a great release. I think it's great relaxation. It's something he enjoys. And I don't think people are going to begrudge a president going out to play 18 holes of golf on a Saturday morning. They work very hard. Eisenhower during the Korean war and all sorts of things played golf a lot. And I don't think the people held that against him. So I hope he plays."

-- John Strege