E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSThe White House says cameras weren't allowed because the president was playing on a private golf course. Obama was playing with Tiger Woods, an indication of a different second term where Obama isn't as concerned about things that may reflect negatively on him. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. -- President Barack Obama played a round of golf with Tiger Woods on Sunday, but nobody knew about it until a lone tweet from a golf reporter went live. And now, the White House Press Corps Association has lodged a complaint against the administration, bemoaning the transparency afforded to pool reporters.
At 11 a.m. ET, Golf Digest reporter Tim Rosaforte tweeted this from his vantage point at the exclusive Floridian Yacht and Golf Club in Palm City: "The President is arriving at The Floridian range. Awaiting is Tiger Woods and club owner Jim Crane. Historic day in golf. Their first round."
White House reporters, looking to confirm Woods’ presence, immediately made inquiries with the president’s press team, which went unanswered for almost three hours – confirmation came at 1:46 p.m. ET.
The press corps had been anxious to confirm Woods’ presence. The president playing with the world’s most famous golfer -- involved in a 2009 sex scandal -- immediately became a national news story, as opposed to the commander in chief simply having some down-time with friends.
The small group of reporters assigned to cover the president’s every movement, known as the "pool," also requested access to the Floridian grounds to be nearby the president, even though the press’ vantage point was nowhere near the golf course. But the pool was not shuttled to the resort until 4:18 p.m. ET.
White House Press Corps Association president Ed Henry lodged an official complaint with the White House, writing in a statement, “I can say a broad cross section of our members from print, radio, online and TV have today expressed extreme frustration to me about having absolutely no access to the President of the United States this entire weekend. There is a very simple but important principle we will continue to fight for today and in the days ahead: transparency."
The White House responded with a statement from deputy press secretary Josh Earnest: “The press access granted by the White House today is entirely consistent with the press access offered for previous presidential golf outings. It's also consistent with the press access promised to the White House Press Corps prior to arrival in Florida on Friday evening."
Leave a Comment:
Screw the press. No one else cares!
.........and this is news- why? Oh - because you didn't get the call to stalk the President duing his golf outing? You Press Corps guys are pathetic!!!!
Where was all your concern for "tranparency" when the Bush administration was lying thru their teleprompters for 8 years?
Obama played golf with Tiger just to learn how he can screw us for four more years without being noticed.
Fiesty, why don't you just go away, maybe shop at Macy's. You are such a bore. As for the rest of you who thought this administration would be "transparent", well SURPRISE!!!
Boo Hoo! The vaulted press corps are a bunch of glorified and spoiled paparazzi .
Wish Tiger Woods was president. At least we'd have someone who actually understands the business world.
We won! Press keep the CHANGE! Press, you get what you get and you don't fuss a bit. - CHANGE 2012
As one poster pointed out, this article is space-filler because nothing is happening in DC-town.
Economy is swan-diving, somewhere in Afghanistan an American is yelling for a medic, children in Chi-town are getting blown away long before they can join a herd (blood, crip, republican, democrat, tea-baggin' libtard latin king...give it a name), radioactive sludge is leaking in WA. state, and NOTHING is happening in DC-town. Except all these podunks from the prez down to the most perverted freshman senate-whore are still getting a fat paycheck & free insurance. I'm not bashing this prez (yes I know how to incorporate capital letters - I choose not to). I'm exhausted by the intensity of my contempt for a whole lot of them. Don't blame Pinnochio - he's just a puppet, blame Gippetto - he holds the strings.
Another poster stated that this PUBLIC servant deserves the same right to privacy that other Americans enjoy (?!?). Well & Good - As it should be. Abolish the press corps because we can get the unabridged golf scores from the surveilance drones or at the NSA data collection center.
Notice how, with all the time that gov't. takes off & the little ?? that they accomplish, we (the people) still carry on. Doesn't that imply that this gov't. is something worse than useless? Who is the real welfare recipient?? If the majority of citizens valued their rights as much as their ESPN & GPS equipped cell phones, we could turn this thing around. Here in Montana we did that. The oxymoron of acronyms (patriot act) does not hold water and our state congress has outlawed the confiscation of personal property not used in the commision of a crime - from my Greener .10 gauge to fiesty's obama-bobble-head, to my uncle's Thompson (real kick in that one). America - it was fun while it lasted. Hope I die before the feds push some 'equaler than thou-dangerously obese-hadicapped LGBT' Through the election process.
On another note, my boss is sweatin' the obama-care fees for his full time employees, so we're all part-time now and have to spend our 'vacation time' lookin' for more work. Thank God for herd animals - we can buck hay for $.07 a bail. one day is enough for a slug and a slug equals a weeks worth of elk. Peace - through superior firepower.
Great post. I agree, much ado about nothing.
He is living the life... a big American Dream. Only in America can we provide a big house, with a salary and lifetime pension and benefits with security.
Too bad Obamacare, his legacy, won't be what he intended. A bunch of free stuff. It is going to cost us big time.
Well, imagine that. Don't worry WHPCA, Obama is also planning to visit the toilet soon, and you're all invited to take all the anal photos that will capture your attention.
Just a guess, but if the President is out playing golf, then that must mean he didn't see his shadow when he stepped out of the white house this morning, so that means just six more months of bull$hit, instead of 4 more years, right?
Oh, boo hoo. I'm a journalist myself and I find it a sorry business whining over missing a golf game. The White House press corps think that whenever the president passes gas, they need to be there to smell it. Pathetic.
I can't agree with you more! Diguisting, isn't it?
60% of Tigers income is from Nike. 98% of Nike sub-contract workers manufacturer 100% of their product all of shore. Nice to see our president hangs with guys that make money off the suffering of slave labor. I thought he and his buddy Joe were for the little guy?
You sound surprised to learn Obama is a hypocrite.
Golfing helps Barry take his mind off of the dead Americans in Benghazi.
I'd rather have a president that asked a working stiff hacker if they wanted to tee it up.
Really? I don't think too many Americans really care about 1) If the President really has a day off 2) he is playing with "his friend", no need to bring right wing\left wing into the story 3) who really cares about any scandal that took place two years ago...why try to rehash that whole situation--quit trying to make a news story out of if. 4) the media really has no right to speak on behalf of anyone just because the "Cess Pool" was questioned about the President's whereabouts. Dear Media, you do not OWN the President, nor the American public. So tired of the media. Disguisting!!!!!11
he has officially had more days off than bush had in 8 years.
jimmy-664247 Give me a break!!! We know what bush was doing, watch MSNBC tonight with Rachel Maddow
Yeah Jimmy, catch the MadCow disease tonight! Bovine spongiform encephalopathy = the liberal "brain".
So, all you libs need to contribute more to the Vacation Destination of the Month Club to pay for this Vacation In Chief.
Much ado about nothing. The catch phrase of the day.
YEAH! For I'm sure what would be a totally non-biased opinion.
Anyone that has the gall to say Fox is biased and in the same breath say any of those dinks on messnbe aren't need a thicker guage of foil on their heads.
He shot in the 80's? did Bill Clinton keep score?
Unless Tiger Woods is writing the administration's energy policy (like oil executives have in the last administration) there is zero reason for Obama to invite the press to a private golf game.
Is the White House Press Corps too bored, they need non-news to publish?
Awww!!! Seems the media didn't get their fix this weekend and are now having withdrawal fits.
Tch! Tch!
Really Mr Obama?
... The country is broke and you go and play a $4 million golf round with a self righteous adulterer?
Isn't it the time to practice fiscal responsibility? The round with Tiger could have waited until you are out of office, you don't use Air Force One at a popping $186,000 per hour expense to go to Florida and have a bottle of beer with one of your idol.
I guess you don't care about your legacy or your role model responsibility to those struggling children in the ghettos.
Shame on you Mr Obama.
Ad'M, Shame on you for being stupid.
Jacqueline, really, did you know we are also paying for Michelle's skiing trip to Colorado. Doesn't that mean we have to pay twice? And you call Ad'M stupid. They just got back from Hawaii.
Vacations, vacations and more vacations. At the end of the year I am going to count how many vacations and how much they cost in TOTAL. And how 'bout you pitching in a little extra, Jacqueline, since you are OK with it.
The media grumbling about not having enough access to Obama?
Priceless. Simply priceless.
Since they made him I guess they want to know their creation is 24/7. It's separation anxiety.
OMG!!! Knock it off, the President deserve some down time. Please, give me a break, and stop throwing temper tantrums like 2 year old. Hurray for the President and good for Tiger Woods. Let the President have his weekend with the boys, come-on people.
Contribution please,
Vacation Destination of the Month Club needs money to pay for this and since you OK with it, I figured you would want to contribute.
YEAH, and the dumb SOBama's (get it everyone, that's funny) didn't even call William Shatner for the best prices.
Opps, maybe they did, F'ing Free
I believe the story says and Quote, "White House reporters, looking to confirm Woods’ presence, immediately made inquiries with the president’s press team, which went unanswered for almost three hours – confirmation came at 1:46 p.m. ET." The White House reporters then went to White House Press Corps Association president Ed Henry....it wasn't just Fox News who complained it was the pool who follows Obama around and Ed Henry just happens to be the president of the association....You lefties as soon as you see anything that has to do with the right or Fox News start puckering up and your underwear goes from being regular briefs or panties to thongs in a heartbeat....this is how misinformation begins...start reading the whole story and not just part of the story and then you can bitch and gripe if the story so warrants it...
There, there, poor media peeps, you'll have many others "stories" to sensationalize and fret over.
Bill Clinton said: "I never had s e x with that woman"
Tiger said: "I play golf on the course, not intercourse"
Obama said: "By the end of the next four years I will cut my handicap in half...."
Butch Harmon said: "Obama, you can't play Left, you must learn to play Right".
Hope he doesn't aim for client #11.