December 28, 2009
Question His Judgment
Mr. Obama, Dr. Whitaker and others had been golfing at the Luana Hills Country Club for about an hour when they suddenly jumped into the presidential motorcade and made a dramatic, high-speed departure. The unexpected move triggered concerns about whether the president was injured, particularly after an ambulance with flashing lights sped to the compound. The White House at first did not explain the incident out of concern for the privacy of the Whitakers, but later sent Mr. Burton to tell reporters the first family was uninjured.The ambulance left after about 15 minutes at the compound, followed by a black sedan. Mr. Obama returned via motorcade to the golf course. An administration official said no stitches were needed.
Our President risked his own safety, the safety of his family, his friends and the lives of the Secret Service staff for an impromptu dash across the island so that a friend could attend to a very minor injury. I wonder if this egress was high speed, and if any side streets were hastily closed with seconds to spare so that the Presidential motorcade could pass by unimpeded.
I wonder if local police officers placed their lives on the line to race out in front and provide security. Officers have died escorting Hillary Clinton and George Bush, but we begrudging accept the lives lost as the cost of protecting those running for President and those currently in office.
Nobody elected Erik Whitaker, or his son. Barack Obama put God-knows how many lives at risk and abused his office to spare his friend a few minutes of travel time and uncertainly... all for a trifling boo-boo. It is a case of unnecessary dramatics, of tremendous effort and expense, wasted needlessly, when a less rushed and practical approach would have been both less dangerous and more productive.
But that's becoming the signature of his entire term in office, isn't it?
OMG!!! Another crisis to create pandemonium. Or maybe it's just a cry for attention...
Posted by: Ky Woman at December 28, 2009 10:16 PMHmmm... a friend's kid get's a boo-boo, and it's all crisis and racing across town.
A nutbag tries to blow up a plane over American soil, and it's just... meh... I'll get to it in a couple of days... Tee up, boys!
Posted by: jana at December 29, 2009 03:03 AMLet's not be too hard on the guy. Those boo-boos hurt. Just ask John Kerry.
Posted by: Tim at December 29, 2009 09:19 AMThis really cast doubt on the Great One. I am an avid golfer and have been in many an emergency. In the face of a crisis, the game must go on. I have nursed someone shot when at a hole close to the road. We continued to play until back to the club house. On another occasion one of our group had heat stroke and we continue to play until we could get him a cart. We did not suspend play at that time as he was ahead on the bets.
This president needs to man up. He is a girly man.
Posted by: David at December 29, 2009 09:43 AMI think Obama like the drama and power of the presidency almost like a kid playing a video game. It is an adventure for him, the black cars, the fast moving caravan, the big blue plane. And he gets to stay the center of attention too since he is the main character. As for speed, all presidential motorcades (any thing with the president in it) move very fast for security reasons. I saw Clinton coming down 53st in Manhattan on his way to the Sheraton in a group of at least 25 limos, ambulences, Suvs etc rocking at about 60 mph. Really cool.
Posted by: mytralman at December 29, 2009 10:16 AMWhy was he in no hurry when over 200 lives could have been lost?
Or how about those killed at Fort Hood?
There was no urgency in his reaction to either of those incidents.
He cares not one bit about America. It is all about him and those that are in his immediate vicinity.
He was showing off for his friends--like a kid.
Posted by: SKAY at December 29, 2009 12:34 PMI sure hope they did not go to the emergency room.
In the words of Dr. Eric Whitaker: "You should not use the emergency department as the place to get primary care," Whitaker said. "For some reason, this is controversial. Emergency rooms should be used for emergencies."
Posted by: flenser at December 29, 2009 01:38 PMEgad. Normal rational people would quickly assess the extent of any injury and determine if medical care beyond their means was required. If so, they would quickly determine if that care was an emergency or not. It an emergency, they'd call an ambulance. For anything else, they'd simply drive to their doctor or nearest emergency room at a rational speed. No drama, no fuss, just reasonable, everyday folks doing what's necessary. And then there is our president...
By the way, isn't a qualified MD--military, I believe--always accompanying the POTUS, or at the least, very quickly available?
Posted by: mikemcdaniel at December 29, 2009 03:23 PMIt's as if Obama never grew up. Perhaps we should start referring to him as "the boy president".
Posted by: pst314 at December 29, 2009 06:31 PMI'm pretty sure someone on the secret service detail must be paramedic qualified, and they undoubtedly have something resembling a deluxe combat surgical kit within reach 7x24...or at least a basic Home Depot "construction site" type first aid kit with some compression bandages, butterflys, and basic suture set.
If they don't have any of that, then maybe they need to rethink their "road kit"
The Narcissist in Chief
Posted by: Capitalist Infidel at December 30, 2009 06:03 AMIt least they didn't unleash the power of the "football"
Posted by: Neo at December 30, 2009 04:39 PMWhy is no one mocking the fact that the 'guest' in question was a DOCTOR? Never mind that Obama should be accompanied by a medic at all times, forget that an ambulance is the typical response (which it seems like was there?), don't bother criticizing the severity of the injury. Just explain to me why a DOCTOR needed a Presidential motorcade for a minor injury. However, I find the article very unclear. I feel like I'm missing half the story and don't understand where the 'compound' came from, was that a hospital or a clinic?
Posted by: Kat at January 2, 2010 11:35 AM
