40 DAYS

I found the following list of events of the 40 days proceeding the gulf oil spill in a comment from an excellent article written by Dorothy Rabinowitz in the Wall Street Journal, called "The Alien in the White House." The comment speaks for itself.

Glenn P Morris replied:

There is a crass detachment in the man in the White House which jumps out at you when you see how he actually spends his time - playing!

I found this post, the 40 days of Obama, lifted from the daily agenda of the current occupant in the WH:

40 DAYS OF OBAMA

Day 1 – April 20
Explosion in Gulf
Obama returns from L.A. - fundraiser for Baraba Boxer

DAY 2 – April 21
Obama attends reception for G-20 Labor Ministers

DAY 3 – April 22
Obama hosts Rose Garden reception to honor earth day
Obama flies to NYC to push Wall St Bill

DAY 4 – April 23
Hey, let’s go on vacation to Ashville North Carolina
Lunch at Twelve Bones for ribs and mac & cheese
No worries! How about a mountain hike?
Obama squeezes in a round of golf!

DAY 5 – April 24
Let’s go golfing again — at Grove Park Inn
A nice gourmet dinner at the Biltmore

DAY 6 – April 25
A scrumptious brunch at Grove Park Resort

DAY 7 – April 26
Obama hosts NY Yankees for White House event

DAY 8 – April 27
Obama visits Iowa for rhubarb pie at Jerry’s Diner

DAY 9 – April 28
Obama flies to Missouri for lunch at Peggy Sue's Diner

DAY 10 – April 29
Obama attends DNC fundraiser at swank DC residence

DAY 11 – April 30
Obama flies to MD to view Secret Service binoculars

DAY 12 – May 1
Obama joins Leno for comedy routine at WHCD

DAY 13 – May 2
Obama finally visits Lousiana

DAY 14 – May 3
Obama hosts the Navy football team

DAY 15 – May 4
Obama private lunch with Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel

DAY 16 – May 5
Obama hosts Cinco De Mayo party at White House

DAY 17 – May 6
Just chillin’. Summers gives updates on economy

DAY 18 – May 7
Wizbangs give Rose Garden speech on ‘economy’

DAY 19 – May 8
Obama hits links at Ft Belvoir
Dining out at ritzy DC restuarant — Komi!

DAY 20 – May 9
Obama gives commencement speech at Hampton U.

DAY 21 – May 10
Hey, during a crisis, let’s pick a SCJ!

DAY 22 – May 11
Private (golf?) lunch with Joe Biden

DAY 23 – May 12
Obama hosts private reception for President Karzai

DAY 24 – May 13
Obama flies to Buffalo for Duff's hot wings

DAY 25 – May 14
Obama finally makes speech on oil spill in Rose Garden

DAY 26 – May 15
Enough of the oil spill stuff… Obama off to golf!

DAY 27 – May 16
Obama golfs (again!) at Fort Belvoir

DAY 28 – May 17
Obama hosts UConn women’s basketball

DAY 29 – May 18
Obama tours plant in ‘Ohio’ (um, oil spill’s in LA!)

DAY 30 – May 19
Obama hosts glitzy state dinner for Calderon
Dance the night away!

DAY 31 – May 20
Obama meets with Bono for some reason

DAY 32 – May 21
Obama Rose Garden speech on… Wall St reform

DAY 33 – May 22
Obama goes golfing again at Andrews Air Force base

DAY 34 – May 23
Obama discusses basketball with Marv Albert

DAY 35 – May 24
Obama hosts Asian American celebration

DAY 36 – May 25
Obama flies to San Fran to party with Getty Oil family
…And raise millions for Barbara Boxer

DAY 37 – May 26
Obama spends day 2 in CA — with fellow economic wiz Gov. Schwartznegger

DAY 38 – May 27
Obama welcomes the Duke Blue Devils
Obama, Clinton hang with the U.S. World Cup team
Obama hosts party for Jewish Americans
Obama family heads off for a weekend vacation

DAY 39 – MAY 28
Obamas back in Chicago for weekend vacation
…Obama interrupts vaca for some PR

DAY 40 – MAY 29
Obama leaving U Chicago after some basketball…
…The Obamas heading out for an evening of barbecue

DAY 41 – MAY 30
After a night of barbecue and beers, let’s hit the gym!

Truly, I do understand that the president of the United States has a very tough, taxing, and stressful job. A round of golf or two makes sense to decompress once in awhile. OTOH, the list shows the things Obama is comfortable with: sports, campaigning, enjoying the luxuries and privileges that come with the office (such as plane trips to dinner and visiting with national stars from music to sports), and generally being in the limelight. For the heavy stuff, he assigns czars and committees with very high profile people to figure it all out. At least we know that tax payer money isn't overspending on hand soap, because this president doesn't like to get his hands dirty.