Even though President Bush declared in May that he was putting his golf game on hold while the Iraq war goes on (“I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal,” he told Politico’s Mike Allen), he’s likely to pick it up after he leaves the White House.
During Tuesday’s White House holiday party for journalists, a Yeas & Nays spy asked Bush whether he was looking forward to “guilt-free golf” after his presidency.
The golfer in chief acknowledged as much with a chuckle and a smile, but added that, even though he’s liberated to return to the links after January, there are some problems with playing golf post-presidency.
“But no strokes!” joked Bush, referring to the all-too-common practice of presidents being granted excessive mulligans by those lucky enough to golf 18 holes with the commander in chief.
The party was Bush’s last holiday extravaganza with his favorite constituency: the Fourth Estate.
Seen and overheard around the party:
» Bush being asked where he got the catlike reflexes he displayed while dodging shoes in Iraq. “From you guys!” he said with a laugh. “I learned to dodge things from hanging with the press.”
» White House press secretary Dana Perino doing her best to avoid cameras and cover up the black eye she suffered during the shoe-throwing incident (and her language-conscious press aides asking each other whether the incident should technically be described as a “melee” or a “fracas”).
» National Review columnist Kate O’Bierne bragging about how, upon greeting Bush in the photo line, he inquired about “where I was last year!”
» American Spectator founder Robert Emmett Tyrrell Jr. getting utterly lost trying to depart the White House. “How the heck do we get out of here?” he muttered after hitting a dead end on two occasions. Perhaps the conservative just wants to hang around there to prevent a Democrat from coming in.
