Obama and Boehner Share a Moment During Much-Anticipated Golf Outing
- Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:06pm by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama drove the cart and House Speaker John Boehner celebrated a short putt during their much anticipated golf outing Saturday at a military base outside the nation’s capital.
Vice President Joe Biden earned the commander in chief’s approval when he sank a 15-to-20 foot putt on the first hole, a par five, at Joint Base Andrews.
“Did you all catch that?” Obama shouted to reporters gathered near the green.
The president sent his putt just past the hole before tapping in. Boehner, considered one of Washington’s best golfers, gave a hearty “Oh yeah!” after draining a short putt.
Obama, who‘s not in Boehner’s links league, patted the speaker on the back as they headed toward the second hole, the president driving their cart.
Aides say the time that Obama and Boehner are spending on the course could help improve a relationship that’s respectful, but hardly close.
But 18 holes probably won’t give them enough time to hash out their policy differences on everything from the debt to the U.S. military involvement in Libya.
The outing comes against the backdrop of negotiations between the White House and Congress over a long-term deficit reduction plan that will set the stage for increasing the amount of money the government can borrow.
Republicans have insisted on significant cuts of about $2 trillion over 10 years or 12 years before agreeing to increase the current $14.3 debt ceiling, which the government says it will surpass Aug. 2.
Biden is leading a group of bipartisan lawmakers in deficit talks, and he was Obama’s golf partner.
Boehner picked a fellow Ohio Republican, budget-cutting Gov. John Kasich, to join him for the round. Kasich was House Budget Committee chairman in the 1990s when Republicans were negotiating budgets with Democratic President Bill Clinton.
While both sides say they’re optimistic about the progress being made in the deficit talks, Boehner has suggested he and the president may need to get more closely involved in order to reach a deal.
The White House has played down any expectations about that happening on the golf course.
“I can say with great confidence that they will not wrap up the 18th hole and come out and say that we have a deal,” presidential spokesman Jay Carney said.
Policy tensions between Obama and Boehner also have extended to the U.S. military campaign in Libya.
Boehner led the House in passing a resolution that chastised Obama for failing to provide a “compelling rationale” for U.S. involvement, and has said Obama is in violation of the War Powers Act. In return, the White House has sought to discredit Boehner’s position on the act, sending reporters old statements Boehner made questioning the constitutionality of the measure.
Boehner had a clear advantage over Obama on the scorecard.
The speaker reportedly shoots in the low-80s, good enough for the magazine Golf Digest to recently rank him 43rd among 150 prominent Washington golfers. The president, on the other hand, was ranked 108th.
“Boehner’s a much better golfer than I am, so I’m expecting him to give me some strokes,” Obama said in a recent television interview.
The president is likely to get a boost from Biden – Golf Digest’s 29th best golfer in Washington.
White House officials are playing coy about whether they will release the score. The group played the par-72 East Course, one of three 18-hole courses at Andrews.
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Comments (192)
OneLeafTree
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:50pmWhy has Blaze not updated the story on the congress‘ request for the war power’s act. The deadline is hereeeee……..where is the update!!!!!
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:03pmBHO DECIDED that he doesn’t need their approval. Nevermind that the Pentagon lawyers, and even the Justice Dept. says he doesn’t. We need real freedom fighters in Congress, NOT politicians!
Report Post »OneLeafTree
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:06pmNOT GOODDDD! This man writes his own rule book now? We have a long way to go to clean up this mess…
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:10pmI meant to say that the Pentagon lawyers and the Justice Dept. said the BHO NEEDS congressional approval. BHO is hiding behind one or two of his WH lawyers, and ignoring everyone else. Time to impeach. Congress needs to step up NOW. Any that do not stand up on this, will be forced to step down in 2012!
Report Post »Whostolemypig
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:50pmOh how precious, a couple of old buddies on an outing. Kinda like fiddling while Rome burns.
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:01pmNero and BHO are exactly the same. Self centered and beyond arrogant – each destroying everything to rebuild in their own image. BHO has done dozens of impeachable offenses, and Congress just sits there!!!
Report Post »vtxphantom
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:46pmBoehner, you have a good weapon in your hand. Put him out of our misery.
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 8:39pmHo in one.
Report Post »Sluke
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:45pmLooks like ***** would have had his chance to WHACK him with a 9 iron.
Report Post »Neo Con John
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:44pmBOB_R_OATHKEEPER,
Report Post »My morning has been filled with a very poor feeling of the situation our great country is in,
Until I read this comment, then I thought,
Miracles can happen.
So I thank you sir for putting a glimmer of HOPE in my day.
wampanoag
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:43pmI despise Obama-the incompetent community organizer- but the descent into a serious decline for our nation was a gift from the major-domo RINO Dubaya.. the worst president in American history. It is not a Democrat-Republican question. It is that we have given political control over our nation’s finances to utter and incompetent fools-marketed by the most sophisticated promotional campaign ever devised. WE WERE GREECE ON STEROIDS.
Report Post »IMPEACHBHO
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:23pmSorry, but as bad as Bush was, BHO is that time 5 trillion!! BHO is doing EVERYTHING he can to both divide and destroy this country. With that said, BHO would be the worse president in history, but for the fact that he is the FIRST DICTATOR in American history!
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:34pmBeohner is darker than Obama, that’s funny.
Report Post »TwinkieRapist
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 7:29pmOh wow-ur right! Boehner out-blacks our first “black” president. I hope he out-golfed him too.
Report Post »NOBALONEY
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:33pmGive me a break! The congress is off for a whole week, and VP Biden held only 5 meetings in six weeks with congressional leadership on the 14.4 trillion dollar deficit. President Obama now makes them all look like fools! Playing golf together while the rest of us struggled with higher costs for everything. Wake up America!
Report Post »ibme
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:30pmso since atms are causing unemployment. i guess he should be complaining about the gold cart hes driving around in i mean after all it taking away caddy jobs
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:41pmobama’s idea for jobs – open lots of buggy-whip companies!!!
Report Post »Wyatt's Torch
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:28pmWow…this is probably just what the founding fathers would have done in such trying times…sans powdered wigs.
Report Post »Mongrol
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:28pmObama shot to far left. Next they will be sharing ****, I mean cigarettes.
Report Post »jackact
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:27pmThis figures.
Report Post »RINO & socialist, side-by-side.
Think I’m gonna cry.
Gonzo
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:26pmI hope the applied Nemacur to the greens right before Obama played. Only a Golf Course Superintendent will get that but, it’s funny.
Report Post »ohiofreedom
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:24pmI hope John is wearing a crucifix and has some holy water in his pocket.
Report Post »NOKOOLAIDDRINKER
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:20pmLOL (all caps)!!! And add the garlic!
Report Post »Cold War Vet
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 6:02pm@ OHIOFREEDOM
Very well put!
Report Post »selenesteets
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:24pmI wonder if Boehner considered this rude…men tend not to like being touched by each other, especially for a bs photo-op. It’s sort of demeaning.
Still, it‘s nice and a good idea for those in conflict to spend ’normal’ time together. The dehumanization thing is the seed of a whole lotta bad.
Report Post »REETZBEE
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:01pmObama touching Boehner for the photo op is trying to show the media he’s in charge.
Report Post »LOOKING_BOTH_WAYS
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:42pmDo you mean like this
http://sayitaintsoalready.com/2009/04/15/george-bush-kisses-a-saudi-prince/
Report Post »streetrodder
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:22pmI wonder how much work they got done.
Report Post »ohiofreedom
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:21pmI could never be that close to the devil.
Report Post »SacredHonor1776
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:21pmPlaying fiddles, or playing golf while the nation burns around them, is all the same!
Report Post »NOKOOLAIDDRINKER
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:14pmAgreed!!! I hope we all remember (NEVER FORGET)!!!
Report Post »tromboneguy60
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:20pmIt appears that Obama is patting Boehner on the back in search of a soft spot to sink the knife.
Report Post »smokie
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:32pmDo I detect a “Bob and Ray” fan?
As a Buckeye, I’m gonna cut Boehner some slack on this. When hunting wild animals, it’s best to blend into their environment. The Wildobama’s habitat seems to be tidy mown lawns with little holes and flags dotted here and there. Believe me, as Boehner mixes with the Wildobama, Marlon Perkins’s ghost in cowering in the shrubbery, looking on.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:36pmNo doubt!
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on June 19, 2011 at 1:16pmWell that may be good with wild animals, but lest we forget Obama is a puppet and a far cry from a wild animal. Obama’s handlers are calculating, anti- American communists. I hunt wild animals too and I may go where they are at to hunt them but I don’t hold hands with em. RINO Boehner has been a progressive Republican and is not dedicated to the Constitution: He is dedicated to Boehner’s gravey train. The liberals can have him, we want patriots willing to sacrafic there lives, their wealth and their sacrad honor.
Report Post »NoStoppingUs
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:16pmMeanwhile, unemployment is 20%, the dollar is losing value, food and energy prices are going thru inflation…
Report Post »jacobstroubles
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 4:03pmYes, and his wife is taking their kids and cousins on all tax payer African safari…
Hope that makes everybody feel really really good.
The obama’s are laughing in the face of Americans…
Report Post »wampanoag
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:15pmWith such a foursome of SUBMORONS as are playing golf in this story no wonder our nation is circling the drain. We have been ruled by utter fools and incompetents over the past 10 years who have done their level best to destroy our country through their sheer incompetence, aided and abetted by greedy individuals and corporation looking to suck all possible federal dollars for their own selfish use before the entire country collapses. IT WAS A NICE COUNTRY WHILE IT LASTED. Now it is kaput.
Report Post »mossbrain
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:51pmSubmorons, i’ll be adding that to my vocabulary, thanks.
Report Post »rayblue
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:15pmHeck, Boehner, play some ping pong with Kim Jong.
Report Post »It’d suit ya.
Robert-CA
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:12pmit shows how serious these 2 are .
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:15pmBeohner might as well give him the “Larry Sinclair” while he’s at it.
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:21pmAs long he doesn’t try and give him the “Dirty Sanchez.”
Report Post »Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:30pmDon’t forget the “Dutch Rudder” LOL
Report Post »Robert-CA
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:33pmAren’t they cute & happy ?
Report Post »if this is not backstabbing us from BOEHNER I don’t know what it is .
Bob_R_OathKeeper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:12pmTruly effin pathetic.
Report Post »proudpatriot77
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:05pmAgreed. Why in the world is Boehner golfing , let alone with the Marxist in chief? They just dont get it at all.
Report Post »walkwithme1966
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:32pmAwwww….they look so cute together – its this special!!!! http://wp.me/pYLB7-14y
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 5:07pmNo kidding, it’s pathetic. I want piss-n-vinegar oozing outta my boyz. I don’t want candy asses who golf – what a pathetic waste of one’s time and money. Do something that matters for God’s sakes.
Report Post »lynnissmart
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:11pmWill Boehner forgive the “not war in Libya” O for not getting permission for “not hostilities” going on….the U.S. drones striking Libya with “no hostilities”…These two are a joke and I’m disappointed in Boehner!!!! If he gives in to O and O’s “not War”,,,,,,,,,we will see…..
Report Post »TheGreyPiper
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:20pmO come on, just because the guy is a moron doesn‘t mean Boehner can’t try and get along with him. As they say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
Besides, Boehner needs someone to carry his clubs.
Report Post »CatB
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:22pmThis is exactly why we need Washington OUTSIDERS to replace these sellouts.
TEA!
Report Post »Aaron in Polk County
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:25pmPolitics is all a “work”. Both side of the isle just want to benefit their friends, lobbist and special intrest groups. Dems and Reps make me sick.
Our political system is broke beyond repair.
Report Post »I am begining to think we need a Revolution…. I just hope I am wrong.
poorrichardsnews
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:27pmI’m not going to bash Boehner just yet. This is how President Obama operates, and if Boehner wants to take him on his own turf (golf course) and beat him, that’s fine with me. Nobody will be able to say Boehner didn’t try.
Report Post »thegrassroots
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:27pmYa don‘t go golf’n with the opposition, Boehner! Ya draw a line in the sand and force him to come your way.
Report Post »million
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:36pmYep CATB, first it was 61 billion, then it 32 billion and it ended up actually being what 377 million. I’m not sure on those #s but you get the idea. Boehner has sold us down the river once again.
Tea anybody?
Report Post »Czar Casm
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:39pm….While Rome burns
Report Post »Phoenixsoulfire
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:44pm@TheGreyPiper It is true, you catch more flies with honey, but what do you catch crap with that is our president? No matter what anyone does no one will change Odumb-O agenda on destroying this country as quickly as possible.
People don‘t realize that the progressives destroy as much as possible then you get a rhino in there who doesn’t change anything back. We need someone to change all this crap back to the days of our founders.
Report Post »the hawk
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:45pmI Hope their not playing for the debt celling ! ?
Report Post »PrfctlyFrank
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:52pm@HAWK I hope they are!! Boehner can smoke bammy’s brown butt on that course..
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 1:54pmHow about a boxing match next??
Report Post »hauschild
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:02pmObama has already figured out how to operate with the Congress, so Boehner is a worthless as a rubber crutch in a polio ward.
Seriously – the nation is on the brink and these idiots are prancing around a field playing a worthless game; what a joke.
Report Post »DTOM_Jericho (escaped PA)
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:02pmWe hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
Report Post »chazman
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:23pmNothing really matters anymore …
Report Post »poorrichardsnews
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:38pmGolfer in Chief’s disapproval is now in double digits according to Rasmussen: http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/6661523811/obamas-disapproval-now-in-double-digits
Report Post »calebgs83
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 2:50pmObama is literally destroying America, and the Speaker is palling around with him. Boehner is an impotent RHINO, and he has got to go!
Report Post »MONICNE
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:39pmGod Bless all four of them! Exercise allows one to perform better at work! God Bless our duly elected Federal government Oath-Keepers! And Ohio Governors!
Report Post »Chet Hempstead
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:41pmYour disappointed in him for not hating someone he disagrees with politically? I’m sure you must know people who disagree with you that you don’t hate. It’s much harder to hate someone you’ve actually met. Personally, I’m glad they both show a little more maturity than the average Blazer.
Report Post »Gas137
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:42pmIs Boehner the best we can do? He’s going to try to out-schmooz the community organizer. The old Peterson Principle applies to both.
Report Post »Professional Infidel
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:49pmfour!!! and i don’t mean 4. while your out there john, take him behind the woodshead, er clubhouse.
Report Post »Red Bubba
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:55pmBoehner is a complete idot for appearing in a campaign comercial with 0. Now all his golf outings will be portrayed as work. What next, shopping with Michelle?
Report Post »getalong
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 3:56pmGlad these two had a nice golf outing. Meanwhile millions of Americans can’t even pay for a golf game! I agree Boehner is a wimp and has been drinking the koolaid in WA for way too long.
Report Post »avenger
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 5:02pmthis is pathetic..owe bummer must be laughing all the way home…
Report Post »Jezcruzen
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 6:01pmI have to wonder if this group of “elites” (you peons hush up. We know better than you) paid their own green fees or is this monumental waste of time again being funded by us?
Report Post »101
Posted on June 18, 2011 at 9:34pmKodak moment during the dog & pony show!
Report Post »Sound The Trumpet In Zion
Posted on June 19, 2011 at 1:14amPersonally what this tells me is that Boehner and Obama are actually pretty good “buds” and that the differences and pretending to be against each other is an act. Just about anyone that plays golf will tell you that they do not intentially play golf with someone that they are fundamentally against. I pray that the constituents for Boehner sees him for what he is and votes him out and gets an actual pro-American, pro-freedom representative in Congress working for them.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on June 19, 2011 at 9:14amRINO Boehner sent me a survey about conservative agendas, but his only agenda was for me to send him money for his campaign. I filled out the survey and sent money to Michelle Bachmann. He is a stinking RINO politician and he needs to go. Oh and he didn’t even mention whether I thought they should or should not raise the debt ceiling, so I listed it under “other” as the top priority (not to raise the debt ceiling for any reason). I also added I support only approved TEA PARTY CANDIDATES. I can’t wait for the day Sarah Palin lowers the boom and throws her hat in the race. I predict Sarah will announce by Aug 2011 her candidacy for president. I will send her money. Come on SARAH!!!
Report Post »NeoFan
Posted on June 19, 2011 at 3:59pmHey look at us! We are having the time of our lives on your backs. You people really are stupid.
Report Post »tower7femacamp
Posted on June 19, 2011 at 4:04pmBoth parties work for the Rothschilds and Soros
Report Post »