American gossip rags are littered with royal wedding news, joining the British journalists who are following every minute leading up to William and Kate's blissful day. As the fuss over young love rises, I guess it's par for the course then for BBC News to cover the posh life of our own upper echelon – the golfing president.
It just about makes my not-so-royal blood boil as I peruse top headlines from around the world that scream of bloody battles, bank crashes, kidnappings and more earthquakes. In the midst of such grave topics, a story about poor President Obama's tough job and his need for recreation paints our U.S. Chief of Staff as a rock star in need of yet another vacation!
The article is titled “Obama says golf is only 'excuse to get outside'.” Read it for yourself:
US President Barack Obama has said he enjoys golf in large part because a game is the only way he can escape outdoors for hours at a time.
He said he misses the trappings of ordinary life - weekend lie-ins, trips to the market and walks in the park.
"I just want to go through Central Park and watch folks passing by," he told Hearst newspapers. "I miss that."
Mr Obama's security bubble precludes much privacy and spontaneity. He recently announced a re-election bid.
"I miss being anonymous," he told Hearst Magazines' publishers and editors at the White House.
"I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can't take a walk."
He said he loves his life at the White House but does not enjoy the "kabuki dance" of Washington DC partisan politics.
As to golf, Mr Obama rejected suggestions he is fanatical about the game, saying: "It's the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours at a stretch."
On Saturday, Mr Obama took a rare, unscheduled outing to the Lincoln Memorial near the White House, dashing up the steps to greet tourists, shake hands and talk about a budget agreement struck the night before with Republicans.
So you tell me, are you feeling sorry for the man. I might add that a photo of a cheezy smiling Obama zipping around in a golf cart accompanies the column. Say, I wonder how many miles to the gallon he gets with that buggy? Golf carts might just be the vehicle of choice the way things are going. While Obama is teeing off and dodging sand traps, we hard-working Americans are getting teed off, virtually paying to go to work because of fuel hikes. And we feel trapped, thinking about our children's children's children, who will still be shoveling this country out of debt thanks to ridiculous spending by the illustrious leader and his yes-men. Yet, according to this reporter, Obama says “he misses... ordinary life.”
Okay, Mr. President. Then step on down and join the pressure cooker that looks like paradise from where you sit with your feet propped up on the presidential desk. If you had to live on what the rest of us make, you would certainly be walking to the park, because you couldn't afford to drive. You would either be curled up on the weekends praying for a job or working a third factory shift to just buy groceries. And you can kiss golf goodbye. Because when everyone in America is on equal terms as you suggest, there won't be a tee time available – we'll all qualify for membership!
If there is so much complaining about loss of privacy and his fetish for golf being his only great escape, then why make a bid for the presidency again?
Do yourself and all the rest of us a favor and quit! Wait, that would put the next worst option for president behind the golf cart wheel – the V.P., that we haven't seen or heard anything from in months. Maybe he's joined a Japanese dance company and is brushing up on his kabuki.
