It is hard to imagine being President of the United States.
To go on television to discuss the gruesome murder of a fellow citizen and then to address his parents is a task that would leave most ordinary people emotionally
exhausted. Most people would never want
to do it again and probably would never have to. Not so for Obama.
A month before Obama's televised remarks, the
United States military on the President's orders secretly attempted to
rescue James Foley and at least one other hostage. The special forces operation failed because
ISIS had moved the hostages just before the raid. No one knows whether other plans are in the works to save remaining ISIS prisoners or what
other torturous decisions await Obama. Despite being on vacation, the President
looked careworn before the cameras.
Afterward, Obama went for a round of golf. The New York Times
reported that former vice president Dick Cheney told
Fox News, the President “would rather be on the golf course than he would be
dealing with crisis.” A New York tabloid
headlined: Prez tees off as Foley’s parents grieve.” According to the Times, liberal blogger
Ezra Klein tweeted that “golfing today is in bad taste.” Times columnist Maureen Dowd contributed flimsy satire on presidential golf through the ages.
It isn’t publicly known how the President felt or if his
exhausted appearance improved after an hour or so of relaxation on the golf
course. Perhaps returning to the cacophony of Washington or sitting alone in silence
while anxiously ruminating about the next crisis, or standing by for the next fateful phone call, would have done wonders for his state of mind.
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