CNN's Howard Kurtz made a comment Sunday that might raise some conservative eyebrows.
In a Reliable Sources discussion about comments Fox News's Roger Ailes made in a new book about him, Kurtz said, "I think this president works very hard and doesn’t take many vacations" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
HOWARD KURTZ, HOST: Now there was some blowback against particularly the comment calling the president lazy. Here is the commentator Toure speaking on MSNBC.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOURE NEBLETT, MSNBC: This sort of lazy term is something that we've heard flung at us as black people going back to slavery, which of course we know they perceive them as not wanting to work. Of course they didn't want to work - they were slaves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KURTZ: Now the reason I thought that was a little unfair, Gail Shister, is that as Ailes said in this book, he didn’t come up with the term lazy. He was quoting Barack Obama talking to Barbara Walters and saying he feels a certain laziness in himself that he attributes to his laid back upbringing in Hawaii. Now, it may have been an unfair thing to say. I think this president works very hard and doesn’t take many vacations, but I didn't see it as racial.
When it comes to vacations, Obama is on track for taking about an average number of days off compared to other two term presidents.
However, when you factor in the number of rounds of golf he's played, I'm not sure many Americans would consider him a hard worker.
Through June 17, 2012, Obama had played 100 rounds. That's about 1 every 12 days.
I don't know many Americans other than those that are retired or play golf professionally who golf that frequently.
Do you?
