Obama has the worst PR/support staff ever

[GummyBearz]

"Obama's golf game disrupts soldiers' wedding"
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obamas-golf-game-disrupts-soldiers-154339830.html

I don't believe Obama would do this if he had known what was going on. So my question is why the hell do is support staff (ie. event coordinators/whoever the heck handles the logistics of these things) NOT tell him that his golf game is going to wreck the wedding that 2 armed service members had scheduled??

I mean god damn... they invite him to the wedding, get told he can't make it, then get told their wedding has to be moved to their base since Obama will be golfing where they had planned for the wedding to happen... wow, really great work there support staff and PR people... Foxnews will have a field day with this tonight.

[n2doc]

1. Somebody needs to be fired over this

And The President should invite the couple to the white house to make amends.

[uppityperson]

87. The golf course manager who was responsible maybe? nt

[elehhhhna]

113. bullshit headline, read the facts

[abelenkpe]

2. It's Yahoo

Worse Yahoo Finance


They make up BS about the president 24/7. They're main audience is racist aholes and stoking their right wing delusions.

[GummyBearz]

5. I'm sorry,

Are you claiming the military couple do not exist, and the entire thing never happened? Very strange that Obama called them afterwards to apologize about the whole thing. Do you think he called a phoney number setup by yahoo?

[LordGlenconner]

6. And also

People here falling all over themselves to gleefully post it.

[BlueCaliDem]

26. Under the guise of "righteous outrage" at President Obama's personnel. They're getting pretty clever

these days on DU.

[GummyBearz]

30. I think I missed your point

Obama is an exceptional president and his support staff are completely doing him a disservice. I am ticked off about how they are making him look bad in these type of situations, and then he has to make personal phone calls to excuse their obvious short comings. Am I allowed to be upset at them for this?

They are making him look bad over stupid crap and it makes me mad..

[BlueCaliDem]

33. No. I believe you got my point exactly. Hence

the lengthy diatribe in sudden support of President Obama that you've responded to me with. It's what I expected you to do.

It would have carried more credibility had the first four words in your subject line wasn't "Obama has the worst...", already spinning an article into a negative for this president. Words matter. Used skillfully, they can either enlighten or deceive. Yours enlightened, actually, but not in the way you might think they have.

Have a nice day.

[GummyBearz]

34. You proved one thing

You can read 4 words at a time.

Did you continue reading where I said "PR/support staff" ? Did you read my very first sentence of my OP: "I don't believe Obama would do this if he had known what was going on" ?

Or do you read the words "Obama" and "worst" in the same sentence, without reading anything else, and go into attack mode?

[pangaia]

111. In my opinion. you either didn't read the entire OP,

or didn't understand it, or...something else....

The OP is shifting blame AWAY from POB.

[BlueCaliDem]

114. Thank you for your opinion.

[pangaia]

116. You are welcome.

Glad you enjoyed it.

[Capt. Obvious]

10. Yahoo controls the Associated Press?

They're even more powerful than anyone could have imagined.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/army-couple-relocates-wedding-for-obama-golf-game/2014/12/29/2812af7a-8f80-11e4-a66f-0ca5037a597d_story.html

[spanone]

3. bwahahahahaaaa

[Raine1967]

4. and this has to do with *Finance* in what way?

You really took special pains to not post this part of the article:

Naile Brennan, the manager of K-Bay Catering, which Bloomberg reported was "handling logistics" for the wedding, said the company was prepared for last-minute changes to events on the course during visits by the president. According to Brennan, Mallue and Heimel had their ceremony moved to another location on the base that was "much prettier."

Afterward, Obama put in a personal call to the bride after Bloomberg inquired about the forced wedding relocation.

"He apologized and congratulated them," the sister said. "We were all there, it was perfect."

This is a non story.

[GummyBearz]

8. The story is all over the internet so obviously you are wrong

The point I want to make is that PR blunders like this have happened repeatedly and its pissing me off. I like his new found gusto (the cuba position really got me motivated for the first time in a long time). So are you the staffer who canceled the military couple's wedding or what?

Btw, I have been married and after 2 years of planning and spending tons of $$$, a detail as minor as my socks being charcoal instead of black would have made my bride freak out. So think about her reaction to the news she got on her wedding day... geez that was a short sighted excuse of a reply

[LordGlenconner]

9. Why didn't you post the part about him calling?

[GummyBearz]

14. Its in the story

duh.

I think I made it perfectly clear it wasn't his fault when I said "I don't believe Obama would do this if he had known what was going on". My OP was about the miserable job his support staff and PR people do.

I mentioned in post #5 that he called to apologize to them, which is what I would expect him to do since I believe he never meant to mess with their wedding in the first place. Him having to deal with the short comings of his logistics staff is what this whole OP is about.

[LordGlenconner]

18. Yeah I saw that

And as someone else wrote, you took special care to leave it out of the OP to frame your little dig.

[GummyBearz]

25. I wouldn't call it a little dig.

I have a huge problem with his logistics/support staff/PR team. They do him a huge disservice on a fairly regular basis. Is there anything else you need me to clear up for you? I can use little words

[LordGlenconner]

28. No, I see who you are quite clearly

[GummyBearz]

31. Yes, I am

I am the guy who wants him to look better for the democratic party. You must be the other guy.

[LordGlenconner]

37. Thanks for your "concern".

[GummyBearz]

40. No need to thank me

I am not concerned for you at the moment... should I be?

[LordGlenconner]

42. Tell you what

Why don't you write a letter availing them of your PR expertise.

I'm quite you they'd love to hear from someone who spells bears with a z.

Good day.

[GummyBearz]

44. What would be the point?

I have no idea about how to be a "great" PR person. I can definitely tell shitty PR from good PR, but I think the president deserves GREAT PR people.

How about you write that letter for me and I will co-sign it? After all you are a Lord of something or another, right? Given that even the spelling of an online name is significant enough for you to bring up, you must be a Lord.

[LordGlenconner]

46. I'll get right on it

Right after I find something else to do instead.

Sorry your wittle feelers got hurt by Mean Ol Obama's treatment of the soldier's wives.

[GummyBearz]

48. After all this

You still can't grasp the intent of my original OP. Ok, I will give one final attempt to explain it, me lord.

Obama WOULD NOT disrupt that wedding knowingly. His logistics/PR staff are the ones responsible. It is THOSE STAFFERS I have a problem with, as stated in the original post. They have failed him MULTIPLE TIMES. You're "Mean Ol Obama" line is a complete distortion of my OP (Go re-read my VERY FIRST LINE). I think Obama is an EXCELLENT president. I think the Cuba thing was GREAT. I wish he had done more earlier in his presidency, but I am loving what he is doing right now. GOBAMA!

Anything else you want me to clear up, me lord?

[LordGlenconner]

51. Your OP is irrelevant schlock

The only people who are emotionally invested in this story are right wing trolls.

And you.

Ta-Ta.

[GummyBearz]

67. You spent

all this time replying to an irrelevant story? You must be really bored me Lord... why not go collect the taxes from the serfs or something? If you can't see the big picture, then keep your eyes closed. I actually care about how Obama is portrayed in the media. If you don't then so be it. Go collect your taxes me Lord, us serf's wont do you any harm from the internet

[SunSeeker]

80. Obama's staff are not responsible. They had no knowledge of the wedding.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910

It was the golf course manager's decision to move the wedding, and he did it without checking with Obama/staff.

This was not a failure of Obama staff. Your whole OP is based on a false premise.

[NanceGreggs]

96. The "intent" of your OP ...

... was quite easily "grasped". The posters responding to you are merely pointing out that fact - that your "intent" came across loud and clear.

What you don't seem to "grasp" is how obvious your real intent is - and, BTW, the gratuitous "GOBAMA!" is just the icing on the oh-so-obvious cake.

[Cha]

97. Aloha Nance.. check out the pic of the wedding party when they got the call from President Obama!

TheObamaDiary.com @TheObamaDiary
Follow
Natalie Heimel, Edward Mallue & wedding party react after getting call from President
No hate here MSM, move on
6:05 PM - 29 Dec 2014 29 Retweets 19 favorites

http://theobamadiary.com/2014/12/29/2014-50-most-memorable-moments/

[NanceGreggs]

98. I've seen it,, Cha!

It's amazing how the bride and groom were able to hide the devastation of having their wedding ruined behind such seemingly sincere smiles of sheer joy.

[Cha]

99. They're such good actors.. instead of disappointment and distress they actually look thrilled and

incredibly amazed.. like they just might treasure that call for a long time! LOL.. they crack me up. They're perfect!



Natalie Heimel, Edward Mallue & wedding party

[Hassin Bin Sober]

101. Clearly their special day was ruined.

[Cha]

102. FUBARED, Hassin!

Rofl

[GummyBearz]

115. Your logic is amazing

You must be a whiz at those sudoku games I see people doing. BTW, Gobama

[NanceGreggs]

117. It doesn't take much logic ...

... to recognize how obvious someone is being, when they are being so blatantly obvious.

[GummyBearz]

120. Yea, I was joking

Your logic is actually quite flawed and I was trying to bring it up with a little sarcasm. In reality you are probably quite terrible at sudoku

[NanceGreggs]

121. The flawed logic here ...

... was yours in thinking that the "intent" of your OP was misunderstood.

It was understood perfectly, as is evidenced by many of the replies.

But all is not in vain. Watching someone who thinks they are being subtle, as they plod through the china shop like a noisy, clumsy bull, is always an amusing spectacle.

[Raine1967]

12. There are a lot of things all over the internet.

Yes, I am totally the staffer…

Clearly you did not read the article. The party was fine.

It;s not finance and I am glad for your two years of marriage. I eloped 7 years ago.

This is still a seriously silly story.

[LanternWaste]

13. I think we may safely presume that having done everything possible, or nothing at all would...

"a detail as minor as my socks being charcoal instead of black would have made my bride freak out..."

Then I think we may safely presume that having done everything possible, or nothing at all would have made absolutely no difference, and the couple still would have "freaked out..." regardless of PR or the the lack of it.

Geez, that was a short-sighted excuse of a response (six of one, half a dozen of the other; rationalize a disinction without a difference below to justify personal bias)

[GummyBearz]

22. lol...

Yea, because changing the venue of a wedding the day before is a simple thing...

Do you understand that spending thousands of dollars and a year planning the single biggest day of their life to have it all shot down a day before is a big deal? And to make it a PR disaster, the couple happened to be serving their country in the Armed forces? I don't even care about weddings that much, but I know what it meant to my wife, and I know what it meant to every bride of every other wedding I've been involved in.

If you don't think its a big deal, why would Obama make a personal phone call to apologize? Just answer that one question before saying anything else.

[PotatoChip]

29. Funny how you don't mention that they liked their new location better

...Or that the call from the President "made their day".

The wedding was moved to a green lawn at the home of Col. Eric Schaefer, commanding officer of the base, which also offered a picturesque Pacific background.

“It’s much prettier and much nicer venue unless you’re an avid golfer,” Brennan said of Schaefer’s pad. “It’s more secluded and there are no golfers yelling, `Fore!’ ”

***snip***


My sister and her new husband receiving a personal phone call from president Barak Obama. It was amazing. A moment I will never forget. Got it on video. #malluewedding

“He apologized and congratulated them,” said McCarthy, who called the chat a “wonderful talk.”
“We were all there, it was perfect. [The call] made their day.”

http://nypost.com/2014/12/29/soldiers-dream-wedding-forced-to-move-for-obamas-golf-game/

[GummyBearz]

32. I'm sure the call went a long way

to making their wedding special. And I am very proud Obama did that.


edit: Now any chance you will answer my original question?

edit2: I replied without reviewing our original discussion. So my original was "If you don't think its a big deal, why would Obama make a personal phone call to apologize? Just answer that one question before saying anything else."

To which you replied "Funny how you don't mention that they liked their new location better...Or that the call from the President "made their day"."


Maybe you didn't read my whole reply. So I will just throw it back to your side of the court: If you don't think its a big deal, why would Obama make a personal phone call to apologize?

[PotatoChip]

35. What original discussion? This is your first post to me. (nt)

[GummyBearz]

38. Apologies

It was a different person who started this sub-thread and I mistook you for that person.

[brush]

106. Ahhh . . . maybe because that's what done in a situation like that

The president found out what the golf course manager had done and made a phone call.

Of course he would make that call. It was the gracious thing to do.

It turned out it wasn't a big deal as the wedding party got a better location and, judging from the photo, were ecstatic that the president called them.

[truebrit71]

11. Forcing a military wedding to relocate so he can play golf is a "non-story"?

Sorry, that may be the case in whichever universe it is that you are living in, but in THIS universe, relocating a military wedding so that you can hit a little white ball around is a MASSIVE fucking story, and one that is very easy to position as the President showing that his golf game is more important than a bloody wedding....

But each to their own I guess...

[Raine1967]

17. POTUS was not aware of this wedding. This is simply not on him.

I have far bigger things to be upset about. Besides, the couple said the new location was much prettier. The catering company had contingency plans for this.

It's early not that much of a story unless people want to find something to be pissed at the PResident about. Just my two cents.

[yeoman6987]

82. The President was not aware of the wedding?

He was invited and sent a regret saying he was busy at that time. Why do you think he didn't know about it?

[tammywammy]

89. Do you know how many pieces of mail the President receives every day?

Why would he know about an invitation he received for a couple he didn't know? It's not like this was a family member.

Logically, he doesn't read every piece of mail. Him not knowing isn't a great stretch of the imagination.

[SunSeeker]

93. The President was unaware his round of golf would affect any wedding.

...officials said the president was unaware his round of golf meant moving a wedding until after he finished.

A family friend of the newly married couple said Mr Obama later telephoned them to apologised, congratulated them, and "made their day."

Mr Obama has played on the course on previous trips to Hawaii and people planning events are told in advance that they may have to make alternative plans when he is there.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/11316853/Barack-Obama-golf-round-forces-couple-to-move-wedding.html

[uppityperson]

85. the manager of the golf course changec it, not Obama or his staff. Get upset with the person

responsible.

[brush]

107. Ahh . . . it came out that the golf course manager had contingency plans

to move the wedding if a conflict came up with the president's schedule.

The wedding was moved by the manager not the president or his staff.

And, if you've seen the photo of the wedding party, they loved the new location and were ecstatic that the president called to apologize for the scheduling conflict.

It's only a big story because it's purposely being stirred up by the right wing Obama haters out there, not because the couple was upset, so let's not fall for the okie doke by getting on that right wing hate wagon.

[truebrit71]

7. If this story is accurate it shows a level of incompetence by his staff of monumental proportions...

...really, really stupid move...

[brush]

108. See the posts above. There were contingency plans by the course manager . . .

in case there was a conflict. He made the change unbeknownst to the president and his staff until the round was finished.

"Incompetence by his staff of monumental proportions" (your words) seems an exaggeration of ahhh . . . shall we say — monumental proportions?

Let's not fall for the right wing okie doke of hyping this into a huge deal.

[CurtEastPoint]

15. Every party booking there is warned of last minute changes like this plus they had an alternate

location already. It's just the media blowing shit up.

[Raine1967]

19. That is what I was trying to communicate.

I have more important things to be upset about. POTUS apologized, the couple said they liked the new location even better and they are happily married.

What is the problem, right?

[CurtEastPoint]

23. Agree 100%. Non-story mfd for the Repubes and O haters.

[Fla Dem]

122. In news report the couple knew their original plan to be on the 16th green might be change

if the President was golfing. They were moved before the ceremony and reception a little further away. The couple said they were not upset at all because the new site actually had a better panoramic view. Their wedding was not disrupted in the least and were thrilled to get a phone call from the Prez and invited him to the open bar reception, which of course he declined. Much ado about nothing.

[tridim]

16. You should file a lawsuit against Obama and his PR/Support Staff.

Just like Boner.

[LordGlenconner]

20. +1

I guess with the year ending it's time to purge the last little bits of phony outrage from their system in order to make room for next year's phony outrage/non stories.

[BlueCaliDem]

27. Good one! The OP is pretty transparent, isn't he?

Ttttttttt...rollin', rollin', rollin'...

[GummyBearz]

57. Why?

I love Obama. If I had the power I'd fire his PR/logistics support staff, but I don't. I definitely can't sue them for anything but thanks for that great suggestion. Keep them coming

[tridim]

63. Why do you want to fire them?

They handled it smoothly and professionally, which apparently is now supposed to be SUPER BAAAAAAAAAAD.

Have fun with your lawsuitghazi!!!!111

[GummyBearz]

64. I would fire them for letting something like this happen in the first place

Have fun with your internet trollinghazi!!!!111

[tridim]

76. Psst. Nothing happened, except good vibes all around.

You're a brick fucking wall.

[GummyBearz]

78. What good vibes you have

Nt

[brush]

109. Do you not get it yet?

After all the response posts to your OP that the golf course manager had contingency plans, of which the wedding party was aware, that there might be a scheduling conflict and a change might need to be made.

How is that on the president or his PR staff if the right wing Obama haters run with, and make a huge deal out of a scheduling conflict that was unbeknownst to the president but resolved graciously?

[Enrique]

21. yes, Fox News will have a field day

and then everyone will move on with their lives.

[SunSeeker]

95. Amazingly enough, Fox does not appear nearly as upset as the OP.

And unlike the OP, Fox even noted that the White House may not have known about the wedding. The fact is, the President and his staff were unaware his round of golf would affect any wedding and were unaware the golf course manager moved the ceremony so the President could play his round. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910 Yet the OP suggests otherwise. Gee, wonder why?

[JI7]

24. why does he have to be black. Fox will have a field day

[GummyBearz]

39. He's half black

Maybe Fox will have a field afternoon instead of a full day. Keep me updated

[Kingofalldems]

36. I want to thank you for all your concern.

[bobGandolf]

41. Wow, you are so right! n/t

[SunSeeker]

43. I see you decided to repeat a bullshit story of Obama "disrupting" a vet wedding.

I see from posts up the thread like #29 (thank God for DUers like PotatoChip and Raine1967), you left out the part that the couple knew from the beginning they might have to move to an alternate location ( and thus planned for it, hence no "disruption&quot and that they liked their new location better (had picturesque ocean views--better for wedding photos, and no one yelling "Fore!&quot and were delighted with the President's call, saying it was "perfect."

The President did not "disrupt" their wedding in any negative way, he made it "much prettier" and unforgettable. In other words, he made it better. The headline should be "Vet bride and groom delighted by call from Obama."

But alas, Obama's folks can't tell journalists how to write their stories. Nor can they stop internet posters from repeating those bullshit stories.

[GummyBearz]

45. So..

Is that why he called them to apologize? Because he made it better? Yea... makes total sense

[JoePhilly]

49. Its called being polite.

I understand some are not familiar with that notion.

[GummyBearz]

53. No, its called apologizing

Being polite goes like this:

"I heard you just got married. Congrats to you and your husband!"

Apologizing goes like this:

"I'm sorry I caused your wedding to be moved from where you wanted it to be. I would like to personally say sorry and congrats"


Both are sincere, and this was in no way Obama's fault AT ALL. Which is why I made the OP. His logistics/PR staffers freaking suck and really hurt his image... and it does make me mad. Apparently some people think that makes me anti Obama in some fucked up way *sigh*

[tammywammy]

60. The only people who would hold this against him

Are the people who already don't like Obama. This is much ado over absolutely nothing.

[GummyBearz]

65. Sorry

But this has happened several times. And its stupid that he gets bad publicity for it, and then has to waste his time apologizing and explaining it. His lower level staff need to get on top of things.

[tammywammy]

66. again much ado over nothing. n/t

[GummyBearz]

69. Right

Publicity doesn't matter. No need to have PR teams... the public is very educated and will vote for the best candidate every time. Let's just have a bunch of interns run our advertisements while the other side throws a billion dollars at us. They wouldn't win the house and senate. But if that happened they also couldn't win the presidency, and then stack the supreme court further... haha... what a silly scenario.

Who cares about how Obama is portrayed in the media...

[tammywammy]

73. your concern is noted

Clearly a story about a wedding that was told in advance it could be moved and it was and still happens is a huge OR disaster. Give me a fucking break. The only people that will latch on to this are the people that already dislike Obama. It's not going to change an election in two years, and won't be on any news except Fox, Glenn Beck, etc after today.

[SunSeeker]

79. He did not know it made the wedding better when he called.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910

http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/obamas-golf-game-interrupts-wedding-ceremony-in-hawaii/

After he heard they had to change venue, he called to apologize if they were inconvenienced, because he is a decent human being. Turns out they weren't inconvenienced, and his call made their day.

He did not know there was a wedding when he called for a tee time. The decision to move venue was the golf course manager's, and was done without Obama's knowledge, as the above links confirm.


You really are trying too hard.

[NCTraveler]

47. You must have missed them when they teamed up with BP.

The two pr staffs working together were pretty brilliant. BP and their pr staff actually fucked up the image of the disaster more than the administration. One of the greatest pr stunts of all times. Largest oil spill in American history and the penalties to those responsible in no way matched the egregious nature of the incident. The administrations pr team played a huge role in that. Also, look at his first campaign. Once again, absolutely brilliant pr campaign. Maybe they just display their pr brilliance when it is important to them.

[GummyBearz]

50. That may be the case

Thanks for actually responding with a very good counter point. It seems most people read "Obama" and "worst" and then went ape shit on me, assuming I'm some kind of anti Obama troll terrorist, when the entire point of my OP was about his logistics/support staff.

You are right on the points you bring up. His first campaign was amazing... however I would wish the BP thing had ended vastly differently :/.

More than likely there are multiple layers of logistics/PR/planning. I guess his high level people are good, and then the lower level ones cause fiascos like this

[Cali_Democrat]

52. Impeach!!1(one)!!

[GummyBearz]

54. Read

You can't impeach logistics/PR staffers, which was the point of this OP. Try again

[pinboy3niner]

56. Can we impeach OP authors?

[GummyBearz]

58. Not that I know of

You can definitely choose to ignore them though. Sorry that I want our presidents logistics staff to get more on top of things, does that make me bad?

[pinboy3niner]

61. Not bad. Just ridiculous. nt

[SunSeeker]

83. No, your making shit up is what's bad.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910

The President's staff were not "idiots" as you claim. They did not even know there was a wedding.

[GummyBearz]

88. Thus making them idiots

[tammywammy]

90. Because the golf course didn't tell them there's a wedding?

Geeze

[SunSeeker]

92. Obama's staff didn't make shit up. You did.

Last edited Tue Dec 30, 2014, 12:51 AM - Edit history (1)

As I said up the thread, Obama's staff are not responsible. They had no knowledge of the wedding.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910

It was the golf course manager's decision to move the wedding, and he did it without checking with Obama/staff.

This was not a failure of Obama staff. Your whole OP is based on a false premise.

[uppityperson]

86. you also can't impeach the golf course manager who is the one responsible.

[tenderfoot]

55. This is HUGH! This is SERIES!!!11!!!1!!

[librechik]

59. i didn't know he had a team.

[GummyBearz]

62. Oh

Yea, he can't take all phone calls directly, you can try dialing the white house but he wont be the one answering the phone. He also is very busy fixing national and global problems most of the time, so his meetings and daily schedule get vetted through several layers of staffers who have increasing level of big-picture-visibility and authority (in this case referred to as his staffing "team&quot .

[librechik]

71. right

I'm not a moron. It's just that the PR staff he has is so incompetent as to be nonexistent in my opinion.

I was making a joke.

I am just now reading Glennon's "National Security and Double Government," which describes in painful detail just how distant the levers of power are from the current President--and the electorate.

I just think it's remarkable that the President or staff isn't giving a daily report on his progress that is actually
paid attention to by anyone. Never see anyone talking about his successes or work completed. I never hear anything that could be a guide for my next vote, for example. Never anyone coming out to deflate the stupid lies firehosed out of Fox on an hourly basis. As the OP says, there may be a staff, they just are the Worst. Staff. Ever.

[GummyBearz]

72. Amen

I think were on the same page

[pinboy3niner]

68. I'M CALLING CONGRESS! RIGHT FUCKING NOW!1!!

[GummyBearz]

70. Well

I would say call Obama right fucking now, but since his support staff sucks balls you wont get very far. Yea, congress is the best bet.

[pinboy3niner]

74. His staff has done a stellar job in planning and advancing his trips

You, on the other hand...

[GummyBearz]

75. Me?

I'm not on his staff, so I have no idea how well they plan his trips. I do know the president can fly anywhere and they shut down an entire airport for Air Force 1... must be super hard to plan around that (jk thats like super easy). I'm just a donator, voter, supporter. All I know is when idiots make him look bad for something he had no control over it makes me upset.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

77. The couple sounds fine and happy

And the President called them, which must have been thrilling for them.

But someone dropped the ball, and my guess is that it was the scheduler at the golf course. He should have told the President's team that a wedding was booked, and I have no doubt that President Obama would have chosen to golf somewhere else. Even if the couple knew this could happen, it still kind of sucks that they had to change their plans at the last minute because someone was probably too timid to tell the President's team what was going on.

[SunSeeker]

81. The couple knew their venue was subject to change and planned for it.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910

Their caterer was ready for the alternate venue, which was nearby and was a better --ocean view--location. The move improved the wedding and the President's call made the couple's day, as noted up thread.

I imagine the golf course manager did not tell the President's staff because the couple were already on notice the President might play there during that time and they would have to change venue.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

84. Correct on all counts

However, that doesn't mean that it wasn't a whole load of stress for the couple that could have been avoided. I don't believe for a second that President Obama would have minded golfing somewhere else. No way he would have wanted to cause that disruption - it should have been his decision to make, IMO.

[SunSeeker]

94. It wasn't much of a disruption. Sounds like they just moved the "I Do's" over a few yards.

Hawaiian wedding blogs portray the 16th tee box as a popular venue for wedding ceremonies. But guests are told that all plans are subject to change when the president is in town, sources said.

In the end, the couple was happily married nearby on the lawn of the base commander’s home overlooking the tee. They also received a congratulatory call from their commander-in-chief.

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/obama-tee-time-scuttles-soldiers-wedding-venue/story?id=27880910 (bold added)

And mind you, they moved just the ceremony itself. The reception was unaffected. And the way the couple & their family describe it, the base commander's home has a better ocean view than the tee box and is way more private, so they came out ahead. I'm guessing the base commander's house would not have been available to them otherwise.

If the couple did not want the "whole load of stress" of a potential change of venue, they would not have booked their wedding there. I agree with you, if the President knew he was actually disrupting a wedding, he would have played golf elsewhere. But regardless, he did not disrupt this wedding ceremony. It went forward on the date and time planned, albeit a few yards from the originally planned spot.

Our President has a horrifically stressful job, and is subject to constant abuse, along with the rest of his family. He takes less vacation time than any recent President.

At this point in his second term, former President George W. Bush had taken a whopping 405 vacation days. Before him, Bill Clinton took a total of 174 days for himself. Another big vacationer was Ronald Reagan, who took a total of 390 days during his time in office. In comparison, Obama has only taken 161 vacation days to date.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/compared-to-past-presidents-obama-takes-few-vacations/

If golf relaxes him, then for fuck's sake, let him play golf when he wants. A relaxed President is good for the country...and the world. I'm sure the now married Captains would agree.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

103. This is one of those "agree to disagree" things

Obviously it didn't ruin their day, but I still think the President should have been given the information so that he could make the decision. It's not like that's the only golf course on the island, and he's not selfish enough to think his golf outing was more important than someone's wedding.

[OilemFirchen]

91. FTW!

Epic fail.

[JI7]

100. did you contact the Media to stop reporting on the plane crash and give some attention to this ?

[ChosenUnWisely]

104. Sounds like a job for the members of the BOG they can take to the interweb and

and do battle with those who besmirch the President.

[Cha]

110. No, it doesn't.

[billh58]

119. Said the charcoal sock

to no one in particular...

[B Calm]

105. Benghazi!

[mainer]

112. Totally agree. I said to my hubby, "someone screwed up big time."

Some serious incompetence here.

[True Blue Door]

118. Big fucking deal.