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June 10, 2008

Obama on the links: Not real pretty

Posted at 12:31 PM by Alan Bastable | Categories: Golf and Politics

Where do the similarities end between Sen. Barack Obama and John F. Kennedy? On the golf course, apparently. JFK was a legit player, a member of the Harvard golf team. Obama, well, he’s still working out some kinks.

The Illinois senator was spotted this weekend leaving his Chicago home with a golf bag slung over his shoulder. No word on where he played, but an Obama spokesperson, according to the L.A. Times, said: "They went to a golf course, and they swung golf clubs. I don’t think it was real pretty."

Obama's — let's see, how might a politician put this? — "golfing inefficiencies" won't likely cost him any votes this fall, and if he does win the White House, he will join a long line of presidential duffers. Fourteen of the last 17 presidents played small ball, according to Don Van Natta's "First Off The Tee: White House Golf Tales," beginning with William Taft, who "looked like a sumo wrestler trying to hit a fly with a fly swatter."

As for Sen. John McCain, a quick Google search reveals no evidence that he’s much of a golfer either — if at all. But that hasn't stopped him from using the game to help fund his campaign. In fact, act now and you can pick up your very own "McCain Golf Pack" just in time for Father’s Day!

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