The nice thing about having a Democrat in the White House is that there is no bad news...

...and the President gets to indulge in this elitist game during times of perpetual sun-shine without ever hearing a dissident word.

Jonah Goldberg summarizes:

Speaking of Golf

I don't hate the sport, but I'm not a huge fan of it either, given that I am arguably the world's worst two-armed, two-legged, non-blind golfer (as Shannen Coffin can attest). But I also get the appeal a little bit and I don't begrudge presidents wanting to hit the links. But the double standard for Democratic presidents is just a wonder to behold.

This is really Nordlinger's turf, so I'll be brief.

When Republican presidents golf, it's proof of their insulation from the concerns of real Americans. When Democrats hit the links, it's simply blowing off steam. The first president Bush was excoriated in the press for golfing during a mild recession. The second was vilified for golfing during a war. President Obama has played more golf than both men combined, amidst wars, recessions, Asian tsunamis, Polish funerals, with nary a word of serious criticism -- except for the brief complaint that he didn't play golf with enough women.

By April of 2010, Obama had already played eight times as much golf as his predecessor did in two terms.