President Obama, in a weekend TV interview, admitted he should have paid more attention to the “optics” of hitting the golf links only eight minutes after issuing a statement on the beheading of American journalist James Foley.
After he finished taping the "Meet the Press" interview, which aired Sunday, he then went golfing.
The issue arose Aug. 20 when ISIS, the Muslim terrorist group rampaging across Syria and Iraq and threatening Americans, beheaded Foley and released a video of the atrocity as a threat to the U.S.
Obama, on vacation at the time at Martha's Vineyard, came before media to make a statement.
Then, he was on the golf course within eight minutes, drawing widespread criticism for appearing to make light of the horrific killing.
In an interview taped Saturday for "Meet the Press" with NBC’s Chuck Todd, he acknowledged he should have taken more time to consider how his actions would appear.
“There’s no doubt that – after having talked to the families, where it was hard for me to hold back tears listening to the pain that they were going through – after the statement that I made, that you know, I should’ve anticipated the optics.”
Obama said vacationing while president can be difficult because there is always the potential for crises.
”Part of this job is also the theater of it,” he said. “A part of it is, you know, how are you … not something that –that always comes naturally to me. But it matters. And I’m mindful of that. So the important thing is, in addition to that, is am I getting the policies right? Am I protecting the American people? Am I doing what’s necessary?”
Politico reported that after the taping, during which Obama explained there’s always some pressing demand for attention from the U.S. somewhere, such as “conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, as well as the outbreak of Ebola in Africa," he promptly went golfing, again.
”After finishing, the president quickly headed to Fort Belvoir, Virginia, for an afternoon of golf in 90-degree-plus heat,” the report said. A pool report said Obama spent about four hours golfing, specifically explaining, “After about 4 hours of golf, the motorcade rolled out of Fort Belvoir at 6 & arrived back at the HW at 6:25. No Obama sightings.”
Obama’s penchant for golf have prompted an extended round of jokes.
One cartoon has Obama looking out a White House window to see four people with protest signs. They read, “Come clean on Benghazi,” “Help the Ukrainians,” “Unemployed” and “Aid the Syrians.”
Obama’s observation is: “Oh my gosh! What a beautiful day for golf!”
"It is always a challenge when you’re supposed to be on vacation. Because you’re followed everywhere. And part of what I’d love is a vacation from … the press," he said in the interview.