Does President Obama play too much Golf?

[newtogolf]

Because in this topic, relevance isn't based tthe persons accomplishments, it's based on how well they are known.  No one would argue Colin Powell has done more for our country than Donald Trump but go out on a public street with pictures of both and see how many people recognize Powell compared to Trump.

Originally Posted by burtonda

I don't know what your political leanings are nor do I care.  Why would anyone take you seriously when you equate a true patriot and civil servant's endorsement with that of an attention seeking blowhard?

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Especially when you fly over the 57th state.

I was waiting for that one. I actually tried to find some other innocent gaffe ...

So here is Romney in an interview with George Stephanopoulos:

Question: "Is $100,000 middle income?"

Romney: "No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less."

-Mitt Romney, ABC's "Good Morning America," Sept. 14, 2012

(I wish we were that middle class)

_____

Romney - on his Acceptance Speech:

"When you give a speech you don't go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important."

–Mitt Romney, when asked about failing to mention the troops in his nomination speech at the Republican National Convention, Fox News interview (Sept. 7, 2012)

[Joakim]

Especially when you fly over the 57th state.

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

Don't feel bad, maybe some lightheartedness will help:

"When you have a fire in an aircraft, there's no place to go, exactly, there's no -- and you can't find any oxygen from outside the aircraft to get in the aircraft, because the windows don't open. I don't know why they don't do that. It's a real problem." –Mitt Romney at a Beverly Hills fundraiser, Sept. 22, 2012

Yes, Mitt, it might

I hope Mitt needs a parachute in about a week. Allow me to clarify, I think they should both go golfing because I don't endorse either. Now it's just a matter of nominating the lesser of two weevils.

[newtogolf]

Well if we want to discuss innocent gaffe's we can open the Joe Biden book of gaffes.  One of my favorites is when Joe declares that he and his wife are middle class with a joint income over $400K.  I guess he doesn't know Obama's definition of middle class is lower than that.

Originally Posted by Mr. Desmond

I was waiting for that one. I actually tried to find some other innocent gaffe ...

So here is Romney in an interview with George Stephanopoulos:

Question: "Is $100,000 middle income?"

Romney: "No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less."

-Mitt Romney, ABC's "Good Morning America," Sept. 14, 2012

(I wish we were that middle class)

_____

Romney - on his Acceptance Speech:

"When you give a speech you don't go through a laundry list, you talk about the things that you think are important."

–Mitt Romney, when asked about failing to mention the troops in his nomination speech at the Republican National Convention, Fox News interview (Sept. 7, 2012)

[phan52]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Because in this topic, relevance isn't based tthe persons accomplishments, it's based on how well they are known.  No one would argue Colin Powell has done more for our country than Donald Trump but go out on a public street with pictures of both and see how many people recognize Powell compared to Trump.

Nobody...I repeat, nobody is going to vote for Romney because of an endorsement from Donald Trump. The guy is a clownshow and everybody knows it.

Colin Powell, on the other hand, is a decorated military serviceman and a respected statesman. They don't belong in the same converation.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

Well if we want to discuss innocent gaffe's we can open the Joe Biden book of gaffes.  One of my favorites is when Joe declares that he and his wife are middle class with a joint income over $400K.  I guess he doesn't know Obama's definition of middle class is lower than that.

Yeah, somewhere along the line these guys lose track of what's real, what's not real... term limits, I see term limits in the future! (wishful thinking)

[phan52]

Originally Posted by phan52

Nobody...I repeat, nobody is going to vote for Romney because of an endorsement from Donald Trump. The guy is a clownshow and everybody knows it.

Colin Powell, on the other hand, is a decorated military serviceman and a respected statesman, and I am certain that it will sway some voters.

They don't belong in the same conversation.

[newtogolf]

You keep arguing about the contributions Colin Powell has made, no one's arguing that, but most people don't know who he is.  If you don't think guys like Trump, Oprah, and Katy Perry don't have more influence over voters than Colin Powell then you have more faith in those that vote than I do.

Originally Posted by phan52

Nobody...I repeat, nobody is going to vote for Romney because of an endorsement from Donald Trump. The guy is a clownshow and everybody knows it.

Colin Powell, on the other hand, is a decorated military serviceman and a respected statesman. They don't belong in the same converation.

[MSchott]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

You keep arguing about the contributions Colin Powell has made, no one's arguing that, but most people don't know who he is.  If you don't think guys like Trump, Oprah, and Katy Perry don't have more influence over voters than Colin Powell then you have more faith in those that vote than I do.

You are right but that's a sad, sad commentary on the intelligence of much of our nation.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by MSchott

You are right but that's a sad, sad commentary on the intelligence of much of our nation.

I thought Powell's endorsement would have an effect on moderates. I tried to find something summarizing the effect of Powell's endorsement. From the Washington Post (who also endorsed Obama in 2012):

So, when we heard the news this morning that Powell was “sticking” with Obama in 2012 , we — and the world — wondered: Is it still a symbolic endorsement?

Answer: No. It’s a national endorsement — still potentially powerful but less meaningful than a symbolic endorsement.

Why?

First and foremost because there’s no element of surprise here. In 2008 when Powell announced his support of Obama, it was the country’s most beloved general (and a Republican to boot) saying he had confidence in the foreign policy judgment of this decidedly inexperienced Senator from Illinois. No one expected it from Powell and when it happened, the endorsement was widely regarded as of “final piece of the puzzle” moment.

As we wrote back in 2008:

“With polling — both in the key battleground states and nationally — showing that voters trust Obama more than John McCain to handle the current economic morass, one of McCain’s last hopes is that the the election turns back somehow to a foreign policy focus. If Powell does endorse Obama, it would shore up the Illinois senator even if that eventuality occurred; it would be hard for McCain to slam Obama’s approach on the war if the Democrat had a Powell endorsement sitting in his back pocket.”

This time around, the element of surprise is gone. And, while the Obama team is already using the Powell endorsement as proof that there is only one real commander-in-chief in the race, it’s hard to see the endorsement having the same sort of lift that it did four years ago.

That said, Powell’s endorsement is not without meaning — particularly since he took time to not only support Obama but also bash former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney.

[dave67az]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

You keep arguing about the contributions Colin Powell has made, no one's arguing that, but most people don't know who he is.  If you don't think guys like Trump, Oprah, and Katy Perry don't have more influence over voters than Colin Powell then you have more faith in those that vote than I do.

The stats don't back up that theory, though.

Median age of voters in the last election was in the mid-40s.

That means at least half of all voters are the right age range to know who Colin Powell is.

I'm betting you a majority of those voters in that age range also remember him as a significant leader in this country and have positive rather than negative memories of his service.  To say that his endorsement is of no consequence to anyone makes little sense to me.  You know, there's a reason politicians lobby for endorsements.  It's because history shows that it actually IS relevant.  And while you may think that very few voters would be affected by Powell's endorsement, there are a LOT of people in between the Right and the Left who respect Powell because he, himself, believes many of the same things they do.  If nothing else, it's enough to make some of them take a close look at the policies of their candidate, and for many of them it will be a first look because they've been conditioned to just vote for a party rather than the candidate or issues (hard to believe, but a lot of people just block out all the political garbage and ignore the commercials/debates/etc).  I would argue his endorsement carries more weight among the over-40 crowd than any Hollywood celebrity.  Most of us have been around and don't care what actors and musicians think about politics.

As for the under-40 crowd, well, it depends on whether they have parents and teachers who taught them about the world in the early 1990's.

But to say he's irrelevant is to say his opinions aren't valued by any significant portion of America, and I'd say that's a stretch.  People don't forget great men that easily.

If you think nobody knows who Colin Powell is, perhaps we'll ask our fellow golfers.

So tell me, fellow American golfers, who among you doesn't know who Colin Powell is?

[Mr. Desmond]

We know Romney likes water sports -- finally someone found a way to combine golf and water sports. Maybe Mitt will take up the game and play too much golf.

LIVE SHARK FALLS FROM SKY ONTO GOLF COURSE

By Associated Press , Published: October 25

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, Calif. — Nobody yelled “Fore!” at a Southern California golf course when a 2-foot-long shark dropped out of the sky and flopped around on the 12th tee.

The 2-pound leopard shark was apparently plucked from the ocean by a bird then dropped on San Juan Hills Golf Club, Melissa McCormack, director of club operations, said Thursday.

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No one was teeing up when the shark fell Monday afternoon, although some golfers had just left the area, she said.

A course marshal, who makes sure players maintain an appropriate pace, saw something moving around on the tee and went to investigate. He found the shark bleeding with puncture wounds, where it seems the bird had held it in its grasp.

The marshal put the shark in his golf cart and drove it back to the clubhouse.

“He went above and beyond,” McCormack said.

The marshal, McCormack and employee Bryan Stizer wanted to help the small shark, so they stuck it in a bucket of water. Then somebody remembered it wasn’t a fresh water animal, so they stirred up some “homemade sea water” using sea salt from the kitchen, she said.

“We knew we had to get it to the ocean as fast as possible,” McCormack said.

She grabbed a photo of the shark before Stizer headed to the sea.

“When Brian put it in the water, it didn’t move,” she said, “but then it flipped and took off.”

[burtonda]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

You keep arguing about the contributions Colin Powell has made, no one's arguing that, but most people don't know who he is.  If you don't think guys like Trump, Oprah, and Katy Perry don't have more influence over voters than Colin Powell then you have more faith in those that vote than I do.

The voters that would be influenced by endorsements from clowns like Trump and Perry effectively had their ballots cast before the Republican convention even ended.

The undecided independent voters will certainly value the opinion of a retired four-star general and former Secretary of State who has a history of rational decision making and resides near the center of the political spectrum.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by burtonda

The voters that would be influenced by endorsements from clowns like Trump and Perry effectively had their ballots cast before the Republican convention even ended.

The undecided independent voters will certainly value the opinion of a retired four-star general and former Secretary of State who has a history of rational decision making and resides near the center of the political spectrum.

True!

And then there are guys like John Sununu making comments like Powell endorsed Obama because he is also black... instead of citing the well reasoned and rational analysis by Powell.

And then I saw Triumph, the Wonder Dog follow Sununu, who is quite a large man, and ask, "Is it true you want a smaller government and bigger cheeseburgers?" Sununu turns to escape. Triumph asks, "Do you want your country back, or baby-backs?"

Appropriate questions by Triumph, given Sununu's behavior over the past months as Romney's attack dog.

[x129]

I am about as serious as the guys that think the guy with the most stressful job in the world shouldn't be allowed to play a round of golf every other week.  FWIW the military suicide rates are less than their peers. Thats the good news. The bad news is that they are trending up pretty sharply since 2005 after decades of being pretty constant.

Originally Posted by dave67az

You're right.  It's not like the job is stressful.  It's not like it's a hardship being away from home.  It's not like morale is an issue in the military.  I'm sure those suicide rates are just a fluke.  I think it's a much better idea to eliminate the golf courses that are reserved for military folks, the fitness centers that are reserved for military folks, the enlisted and officer clubs, the bowling centers, the community centers, the football and softball fields...that would save a bunch of money.

Are you freaking SERIOUS???

[David in FL]

I don't know what your political leanings are nor do I care.  Why would anyone take you seriously when you equate a true patriot and civil servant's endorsement with that of an attention seeking blowhard?

You completely missed the point. [quote name="burtonda" url="/t/54663/does-president-obama-play-too-much-golf/324#post_780490"] The undecided independent voters will certainly value the opinion of a retired four-star general and former Secretary of State who has a history of rational decision making and resides near the center of the political spectrum. [/quote] Anyone who is genuinely undecided at this point should vote for Obama. They are either too stupid, or too indecisive to ever be successful in any kind of free marketplace, and would therefore benefit from his redistributionist philosophies. If they can't make it on their own, they might as well vote for the guy who will take it away from someone else and give it to them in return for their vote.

[phan52]

Originally Posted by newtogolf

You keep arguing about the contributions Colin Powell has made, no one's arguing that, but most people don't know who he is.  If you don't think guys like Trump, Oprah, and Katy Perry don't have more influence over voters than Colin Powell then you have more faith in those that vote than I do.

Trump is an advocate for fringe thinking and anybody who listens to his nonsense is just reinforcing their own fringe thinking. They've already made up their mind. The other people you mention there are not fringe advocates, most certainly Colin Powell. An endorsement by Colin Powell will actually garner some votes for Obama.

Trump is a whacko loser clown in this arena. He should stick to his stupid TV show.

[Mr. Desmond]

Originally Posted by David in FL

You completely missed the point.

Anyone who is genuinely undecided at this point should vote for Obama.

They are either too stupid, or too indecisive to ever be successful in any kind of free marketplace, and would therefore benefit from his redistributionist philosophies. If they can't make it on their own, they might as well vote for the guy who will take it away from someone else and give it to them in return for their vote.

Tell us about this redistribution thing ... has it occurred?

Is it any different than what Bill Clinton did?

Lots of serious articles lately on how income inequality is at its highest peak, and that we are no longer a land of opportunity. And that having too much in the hands of so few actually slows down the economy. Economists are stating that Romney's plans will actually bring about an economic downturn.

Bush II.

Not saying that Obama has the answers, or that Romney doesn't have some decent ideas - it's just that, as a Country, we need to rethink this economic mess to which we are heading. We probably need another plan - one that neither of these gentlemen have proposed.