In Defense of Obama's Bowling for Dollars

It's a requirement that any candidate for the presidency vow to banish the wicked special interests in Washington, DC. Then, once a new president enters office, the media pounces to show that the good times are still rolling. The president, far from curbing excesses, is slipping into nefarious old Washington practices.

Such is the indictment that President Obama currently faces. The Washington Times first reported that Obama has been doling out favors to donors that include (gasp!) the use of the White House bowling alley. Truly American presidents do, it seems, bowl for dollars. Now the Washington Post's Dana Milbank and the New York Times' Jeff Zeleny have raised their respective eyebrows over the administration's fundraising efforts, while press secretary Robert Gibbs offers contorted defenses. Meanwhile, the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, is demanding an investigation that will reveal "whether there was any quid pro quo offered to donors, and the names of White House officials who were involved."

Poor Gibbs! It's too bad he can't just tell the truth: handing out a few perks to donors is really no big deal. But the Obama administration set itself up for this flurry of publicity by its pious and ostentatious avowals of virginal chastity--that it would be the squeakiest, cleanest administration there ever was, before it ran into the reality that it's essential, among other things, to make distinctions between handing out a few innocuous favors and real influence peddling. So now we're onto the question of whether a campaign contributor might have bunked in the Lincoln bedroom.

Gibbs says it ain't so. Phew!

But for my part, I hope Obama keeps inviting donors to the White House. It's good to know that the greenback, which has lost much of its value against other foreign currencies, is still good for buying something. I'm thinking of testing the waters myself to see what the cheapest price might be to camp out for an evening in the Lincoln bedroom--perhaps the administration can put it on Priceline.com. Or it might just consider selling raffle tickets for $5. My guess is that honest Abe might himself approve of the democratic spirit of the venture.

 

 

 

Comments

[werlsnpa]

10:56 AM on 10/30/2009

Oh BIG Deal, Obama doing Bowling for Dollars, at least he is not giving positions in the the Government or favors (like money). Anything< I mean anything President Obama does is criticized for doing something. He is our best President because he has us, the people of the U.S. on his mind.

[wonketteRAWKS]

09:50 PM on 10/29/2009

I would think Obama would be using the bowling alley after that disastrous score of what...lik­e 38 during the Pennsylvan­ia primaries. Remember, 2012 is coming up.

[tanmack894]

09:26 PM on 10/29/2009

As long as donors includes all donors, not just those who shell out $30,000.

[Car84]

09:16 PM on 10/29/2009

How refreshing­! Not a peep of "Bush did it, too."

[Citizen0]

08:42 PM on 10/29/2009

I hear Obama personally schedules the White House tennis courts for donors.

[danielet]

08:15 PM on 10/29/2009

No Jacob, Obama could have said: We are the bakery of new cakes that a nation gave amazing afirmation of faith to expecting us to take bitterness out of their past. So bake sweet legislativ­e cakes, so sweet and aromatic that they shed light into these dark times, and I will then reachout for investment into your Conression­al bakery. With all the cakes I promised still half-baked would you have me go out and sell cakes in the oven not yet levened? The door of the oven is not glass for the public to see work in progress, allowing all those from whom we seek money to reach inside and adulturate the ingredient­s even while our cakes are baking. Money only buys us more bakers opening the oven to add their favorite ingredient­s. What value will all their cash be if we serve the public flatened mud pies? First fill the shelves with beautiful cakes and sweet breads for the public to taste what goood bakers you all are, then I will campaign for you to gather money for making more cakes in another term. Already the public sees bankers investing in my bakers so they can be adulturate the contents of the Congressio­nal oven to alter the recepie of my promissed cakes. Anything we do in WashingtoD­C has to not only look good but also taste good so keep guard over the oven, produce beautiful cakes and then I'll campaign for your bakeries.

[Car84]

09:19 PM on 10/29/2009

Oh. OH. OHHH!!! I'll vote for you in a heartbeat, wise one. Consider me enamored. To the polls!

[DeloresT]

06:07 PM on 10/29/2009

This non-news item was started by the Washington Times and picked up by CNN. It's much ado about nothing...­.WMD's (weapons of mass distractio­ns!!). The Washington Times and Fox, Limbaugh,e­tc. will do anything to distract us from REAL news. CNN has disgraced Ted Turner's intentions­. All they do at CNN is wait for Fox or rags like the Times to bring up something silly about President Obama or Democrats and try to make it a major issue. I now dislike CNN as much as I dislike Fox. Always consider the source. Thank God that of the 300 million plus Americans, most ---only about 9 or 10 million- don't watch any cable news.

[bobfeld]

05:32 PM on 10/29/2009

Why is it that people who say MSNBC is biased ...NEVER mention that daily 3 hours of Rethug drivel they have every moring called "Morning Joe". What # hours a day does FOX have for "liberal" programmin­g.

[Rmath]

04:28 PM on 10/29/2009

This tempest in a teapot gives repubs something else to use in order to divert the attention of the average dolt from trivial stuff like the war in Afghanista­n, health care reform and the dire need to rein in the banks.

[jackbutler5555]

03:07 PM on 10/29/2009

I've always wondered about the Lincoln bedroom. Is it big? Does it have a nice bathroom. Or, do you have to go out in the hall and maybe run into some family members in your jammies. How's the mattress. I like firm. Maybe it has one of those dial your preference mattresses­. Does it have a flat screen TV? How big? How about a refrigerat­or and an honor bar? Or do the have a cabinet full of all kinds of single malt? Boy, that'll be cool. Would they notice if you take a few souvenirs? Some soaps, shampoo, may be some towels with the presidenti­al seal? I'm thinking once you opened the Johnnie Walker Blue, do they throw the rest of it away and have a fresh, unopened bottle for the next guest? After all, Blue is just a blend. A lot of hotels have germy carpets and bedspreads­. Probably not in the Lincoln bedroom. Do they have special bathrobes and can you keep them?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[memi]

03:47 PM on 10/29/2009

jackbutler has a similar 'Enquiring Mind" to many of us it seems!

THANK YOU JACOB Heillbrunn for a great post that brought a smile to this sourly-dis­posed face this morning!

Great writing. Excellent use of oh-so-impe­rceptible irony and a delicious touch of sarcastic delight with a fringe of real politik on top!

We enquiring mind need more columns like this....

[not one of the sheep]

04:47 PM on 10/29/2009

You didn't get to visit in the 90's when Bill was in the WH. I thought everybody did. Barack's just having fun playing golf 24-7. Do what your good at, FORE!

[jackbutler5555]

06:03 PM on 10/29/2009

Playing golf, eh? I'd be bowling. You don't have to go outside. It's getting cool. I'm a lousy bowler. So, I wouldn't be inviting any money guys. You sure he's doing that much golf? I would have thought basketball is his thing. Oh...I just figured it out. That golf stuff is to razz him because you don't think he's a good president. Pretty sneaky. What if somebody said you're good at golf, as a way of saying you're bad at teabagging­. I'm just saying.

[Cybercorrespondent]

02:23 PM on 10/29/2009

Political points to ponder
What would happen if republican­s pushed for a cap and trade bill that would require government subsidizin­g and result in the loss of millions of real jobs, not to mention the increase in manufactur­ing costs that would be passed on to us in time of depression­? What do you think is going to happen when the government revenues are down and spending is quadrupled­? One must be a fry short of a happy meal to believe that wiping out the U.S. dollar and reducing the purchasing power of our salaries and retirement savings is a good thing. How would the media react if the republican­s were unilateral­ly negotiatin­g behind closed doors on a republican senator’s proposal to overhaul one of our economy's largest industries and in the Senate Finance Committee squashed an amendment that would have required the “rob our children and their children bill” to be posted for all Americans to read for 72 hours prior to the Committee voting on it.
Cybercorre­spondent
cybercorre­spondent@g­mail.com

[jackbutler5555]

03:29 PM on 10/30/2009

Yeah, I was worried about the money, until they said the kids and their kids have to pay. What a relief!

[profproof]

01:33 PM on 10/29/2009

This is the change lemmings can believe in I guess. Since there wasn't any change in the way of special interests and lobbyists do the kool aid drinkers still have hope?

[Pablo175]

01:22 PM on 10/29/2009

Worse than Clinton. Hard to do.

[Cosatjockomo]

04:13 PM on 10/29/2009

Clinton gave China top secret missile guidance technology (that allows them to shoot satellites out of the sky) for a $2 million donation that he was later ordered to return because of its illegality (still got an interest free loan of 2 mil to use campaignin­g.) Bowling pales in comparison­.

[wonketteRAWKS]

08:05 PM on 10/29/2009

Actually, there were no connection­s to the Lincoln bedroom and donors.

Whenever a story comes along about the high and mighty Obama the fall back is always blame the Clintons. Hah!

Obama spoke those words during the campaign..­.didn't you believe him?