Barack Obama may be the Ben Quayle-certified "worst president in history," but if you ask the freshman congressman's old man, the president spending time on the golf course as the entire world slips into chaos is A-OK.
Obama caught a little heat from the press this week for playing golf in the midst of the crisis in Japan, the unrest in the Middle East, and the piss-poor economy here at home. According to CNN, last weekend's outing was the 61st time the president hit the links since taking office.
As the blogosphere and cable news outlets erupted with criticism of the president's decision to play golf last weekend, Obama found an unlikely defender of his golf game: former Vice President Dan Quayle, an accomplished golfer in his own right.
Quayle was on the Fox Business Network yesterday and was asked his opinion on the president playing golf as the world crumbled around him.
"I'm glad he's out playing golf. I happen to be a golfer. I think presidents deserve down time. And believe me, he is in constant communication with what's going on," the elder Quayle told the network. "I mean, what do you want him to do, stay in his house and be on the phone with the ambassador to Japan all the time?"
The elder Quayle is probably right, despite his son famously (or infamously, depending on how you feel about the country's current commander of "hope and change") calling Obama the "worst president in history."
But the president has to know that when Japan is on the verge of a nuclear meltdown, Gaddafi is killing his own people, and we're paying nearly four bucks for a gallon of gas, his spending the weekend trying to hit a ball into a hole is going to draw a little heat.
