Obama spends more time playing golf than in economics meetings
I won't vouch for the absolute accuracy of this story, for the simple reason it is probable that the president spent time talking and thinking about the economy beyond meetings with his advisors.
Still -- it's one of those fun facts that jabs at Obama's penchant for being lazy -- a charge made by White House insiders as well as others.
An eye-opening new report by the Government Accountability Institute reveals that President Barack Obama averages just eight minutes more a week on economic meetings than the average dog owner spends walking their dog.
When it was recently reported that Mr. Obama had played his 100th round of golf, the president said that playing golf was "the only time that for six hours, I'm outside." Therefore, by his own estimate, the president has spent 600 hours playing golf, as compared to just 412 hours in economic meetings of any kind throughout his presidency.
"You should know that keeping the economy growing and making sure jobs are available is the first thing I think about when I wake up every morning," Mr. Obama said in 2011 to an audience of UPS workers. "It's the last thing I think about when I go to bed each night."
But just how little time Mr. Obama has spent working on the economy can be seen in the data contained in the Government Accountability Institute's analysis:
Throughout the first 1,257 days of his presidency, Mr. Obama has spent just 412 hours in economic meetings or briefings of any kind.
In 2012, so far Obama has spent just 24 total hours in economic meetings of any kind.
Assuming a six day, 10-hour workweek, Obama has spent less than 4 percent of his total time in economic meetings or briefings of any kind.
There were 773 days (72 percent), excluding Sundays, in which he had no economic meetings.
Mr. Obama has spent an average of 138 minutes a week in economic meetings. According to a study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, new dog owners spent an average of 130 minutes a week walking their dogs.
Maybe when the president retires next November, he can turn pro. He certainly practices enough and the money is good. I'm sure Tiger Woods could give Obama some tips.
As for the economy, the less he does trying to "fix" it, the healthier it will get.