In Wake of Arizona Massacre, Obama Went to Football Party
Sunday, January 9, 2011 | Kristinn
Posted on Sunday, January 09, 2011 12:06:51 PM by kristinn
As the federal government geared up to respond to the massacre in Arizona that targeted his "friend" Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and killed U.S. District Judge John Roll and five others, a distraught President Barack Obama spent five hours last night at a football party at the Georgetown condo of top aide Valerie Jarrett.
Obama and First Lady Michelle went to Jarrett's after the president made a photo-op televised statement in which he called Giffords his friend. For good measure, the White House also released a photo of Obama meeting with White House staff to give the impression Obama is on top of the situation.
While not able to explicitly state Obama attended a football party at Jarrett's, the White House press pool report from last night published by Politico notes the extreme coincidence in the timing of Obama's visit:
President Obama and his wife left Valerie Jarrett's house at 11:11 p.m., after spending five hours at his senior adviser's residence, the pool reports.
The Obamas left the White House for Jarrett's shortly after the president spoke about the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.
The pool adds: "The two stayed for nearly five hours tonight, coincidentally leaving minutes after the conclusion of two incredibly close NFL playoff games. The Seattle Seahawks upset the New Orleans Saints 41-36, and the New York Jets just eliminated the Indianapolis Colts 17-16 with a late field goal. No news on what POTUS was actually doing."
Obama attends White House meeting in wake of Arizona shooting Saturday afternoon. White House photo via Politico.
Obama's obsession with sports is well known. He has played nearly 60 rounds of golf totalling nearly 250 hours (or about a week) on the links since becoming president two years ago this month.
As president, Obama has also attended several pro and college basketball games, as well as spending untold hours shooting hoops.
Obama horns in on nationally televised sporting events with predictions and commentary. He will be interviewed as part of Fox's Super Bowl coverage next month.
While it is true the job travels with the president wherever he goes, Obama has made it clear that nothing, not a Christmas terror attack on the United States or a massacre and assassination attempt on a member of Congress will interfere with this self-indulgent president and his "me time" partying.
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Figures. FFFUUUBBBOOO