Obama goes golfing instead of to Polish President's funeral....

[chew 'n' spit]

Off topic, but about the funeral, my daughter has a friend that lives in Poland in the city where the funeral was held and her family was told they had to stay inside their residence throughout the entire service. From what I can tell they live pretty close to the area. Tight security no doubt.

[Compu Doc]

http://www.wbj.pl/article-49272-obam...l.html?typ=wbj

Nice to know other world leaders found ways to get there....
32 rds of golf in a little over a year....
Bush played 24 rds in 8 years....
Real class act....

Have you ever thought that maybe Bush sucked at golf or did not like to play golf?. How many rounds of golf did the Sr Bush play in his four short years in office since your keeping tabs on how many rounds of golf presidents play perhaps you can enlighten us.

[Billy_Rightwing]

Who gives a rats pa-toot who plays golf, Obama likes golf and spending our money, others just liked golf.

[2ndthyme]

sooo France and Germany are even closer to Poland, we should find out what those leaders did during the funeral too! ...

[Compu Doc]

Things in an article from another source that are quoted.

A massive volcanic plume covering most of Europe forced President Obama to cancel a Sunday trip to Poland to attend the funeral of the nation’s president. But the last-minute change left an opening in his schedule, so the president headed to the links for a round of golf instead.

After canceling the Poland trip on Saturday, the White House announced that Mr. Obama had no public schedule for Sunday. He was to have arrived in Krakow in the morning, attend the 2 p.m. funeral and leave for home by 5 p.m., arriving back at the White House

Mr. Obama has not gone to the Polish Embassy in Washington since the accident, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both have. There, they signed a condolence book.

Isn't the Vice President's job to fill in where the President does not?. Also notice how they are saying Mr. Obama and Adressing the Vice President and The Secratary of State correctly.

Mr. Obama was not the only world leader to miss the funeral because of the expanding volcanic ash cloud. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also canceled.

France is closer to Poland than the United States is, no one's griping about him missing the funeral.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, however, flew by plane from Moscow for the funeral.

Other foreign leaders used different modes of transportation to get there. Slovenian President Danilo Turk decided to drive the 500 miles to Krakow. Romanian President Traian Basescu traveled to northwestern Romania by helicopter and then continue by car through Hungary and Slovakia.

Highly unlikely that the United States President and everyone else that goes with him would have been able to logistically work the trip out. You have to look at how many days that would have taken if it could have been done at all. Flying to an airport that would be open and accomodate Air Force one and all the people with it would have been a nightmare to drvie 500 miles. It would have taken the secret service to secure the entire route. Chauffering the POTUS around is not like a funeral procession where all they have to do is secure the intersections. Every building needs to be checked out along the way. Every security detail needs to be completed beforehand. Logistically impossible.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip made the 18-hour drive to the funeral, while Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus made the trip by car and train. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko left Kiev with his wife at 7 a.m. Saturday for the long road trip.

Imagine any POTUS being driven for 18 hours in a motorcade?.

Mr. Obama has played golf far more often than former President George W. Bush. In his eight years in office, Mr. Bush played just 24 times. His last time as president was Oct. 13, 2003.

He said in 2008 that he gave up golf "in solidarity" with the families of soldiers who were dying in Iraq.

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," Mr. Bush said in a White House interview Saturday with the Politico. "I feel I owe it to the families to be as — to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

He stopped playing after he received word of a deadly attack in Iraq while playing golf during a stay at the family ranch near Crawford, Texas.

Something the originator failed to mention in his post about Obama playing more rounds of golf than Bush. LD have you ever thought about running for office?. Leaving information out is how political campaigns are run when talking about the oppositions record or what was said in a statement.

"They pulled me off the golf course, and I said it's just not worth it anymore to do," Mr. Bush said in the interview.

So it does not seem like it was actually Bush's idea to give up golf but some adviser.

Source of above quotes: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/...o-golf-course/

[TxMusky]

I find it funny that some could find a way to get into a global warming meeting in Copenhagen during one of the worst blizzards in history without problems.

[Compu Doc]

I find it funny that some could find a way to get into a global warming meeting in Copenhagen during one of the worst blizzards in history without problems.

Could this be the reason?

Volcanic ash consists of small tephra, which are bits of pulverized rock and glass created by volcanic eruptions,[1] less than 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in diameter. There are three mechanisms of volcanic ash formation: gas release under decompression causing magmatic eruptions; thermal contraction from chilling on contact with water causing phreatomagmatic eruptions, and ejection of entrained particles during steam eruptions causing phreatic eruptions.[2] The violent nature of volcanic eruptions involving steam results in the magma and solid rock surrounding the vent being torn into particles of clay to sand size. Volcanic ash can lead to breathing problems, malfunctions in machinery, and from more severe eruptions, years of global cooling.

I would think that a jet engine falls under the category of machinery.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_ash

A blizzard is a severe storm condition characterized by low temperatures, strong winds, and heavy snow. Many blizzards are in the Canadian region. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. Ground blizzards are a variation on the traditional blizzard, in that ground blizzards require high winds to stir up snow that has already fallen, rather than fresh snowfall. Regardless of the variety of blizzard, they can bring near-whiteout conditions, which restrict visibility to near zero. Blizzards have a negative impact on local economies and for days at a time can paralyze regions where snowfall is unusual or rare.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blizzard

Snow is a type of precipitation within the Earth's atmosphere in the form of crystalline water ice, consisting of a multitude of snowflakes that fall from clouds. Since snow is composed of small ice particles, it is a granular material. It has an open and therefore soft structure, unless packed by external pressure. Snowflakes come in a variety of sizes and shapes. Types which fall in the form of a ball due to melting and refreezing, rather than a flake, are known as graupel, with ice pellets and snow grains as examples of graupel. Snowfall amount and its related liquid equivalent precipitation amount are determined using a variety of different rain gauges.

In the above definition it makes no mention of "malfunctions in machinery" being caused from snow. Perhaps that is why a jet engine can be run in a snow storm. One would think that if snow caused "malfunctions in machinery" that their would be no such item that one can buy to clear snow called a snow blower.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow

[Mike]

If anyone ever wondered why I left about a year ago, or why UTAH and Truckman are not here now, just read through this thread.

You two (you know who you are!) take it to email, PMs, or out behind the barn. Anywhere but here. You are both welcome to post here, but when a thread becomes a pissing match it's time to move on. Use the PMs, email or whatever makes you happy. Just give the rest of us a break!

Mike

[chew 'n' spit]

If anyone ever wondered why I left about a year ago, or why UTAH and Truckman are not here now, just read through this thread.

You two (you know who you are!) take it to email, PMs, or out behind the barn. Anywhere but here. You are both welcome to post here, but when a thread becomes a pissing match it's time to move on. Use the PMs, email or whatever makes you happy. Just give the rest of us a break!

Mike

[Mac]

sooo France and Germany are even closer to Poland, we should find out what those leaders did during the funeral too! ...

Why? They aren't our elected leaders. I know we're headed down the Eurosocialist path, but using the French President as an example for excusing rude behavior? Really?

I have no problem with him not flying to Poland, but he could have signed the book. Doc's admonishment to me that 'maybe' a condolence letter was mailed is an unsubstantiated red herring. If Obama sent such a letter, it was just as likely sent after this criticism and is therefore self-serving and irrelevent.

[LawDog]

I have always expected more from our leader than I have the leaders of France or any other country...

[2ndthyme]

seriously, Mac... this entire topic is a red herring... "the book" has been signed by both VP and Sec of State. I'm certain words of condolences have been expressed via many means. Why would he have signed the book at the consolate when there was every intention of being there in person the day of the funeral. So it ends up he had some unscheduled hours and he golfed... gosh I'm appalled. I only hope that he'll realize he has 6 years before he gives it up in solidarity of the war casualities and their families or he'll appear more callus than his predecessor

I know we're headed down the Eurosocialist path, but using the French President as an example for excusing rude behavior

rude behaviour? 6000 + flights have been canceled due to the ash cloud and its rude for world leaders not to fly to Poland during that event. Lets not even pretend that driving and riding a train on short notice are even concievable for the potus for all the obvious security reasons... we really shouldn't miss the lesson of why the Polish leadership is dead in the 1st place...

[Mac]

Did you read my comment?

[2ndthyme]

yes and the book was already signed by 2 people who actions are representitve of the president, why would you expect him to go and sign it afterwards?

[LawDog]

Why shouldn't we expect that?