Golfer in Chief?

The GOP has been ripping the president's trips to the golf course. But is Obama's time on the links really getting out of hand?

Republicans have made a habit of ripping the president's habit of playing golf. The GOP launched a website that features the clever headline “Play Golf or Save the Gulf?” next to a picture of the President walking off of a putting green. And today, Politico's Ben Smith reports that Mitch McConnell was set to give a speech in which he lambasts the President's periodic trips to the golf course:

The politics of personal destruction is always the last gasp of a politician on the ropes. That’s why you can’t pick up a newspaper these days without reading about some Democrat trying to convince people that their opponent is a crazy person. Their opponents aren't crazy. What’s crazy is a $13 trillion debt. Out of touch? Scheduling more tee times than Phil Mickelson during the greatest environmental disaster in our nation’s history is out of touch.

Their opponents aren’t wrong. Asking our children and grandchildren to pick up the tab tomorrow for Democrats’ inability to control spending today is wrong.

According to the RNC site, the president has played golf 10 times since the Gulf oil spill began 86 days ago. Now I can't be certain, but based on my calculations, Phil Mickelson has teed it up at least 28 times (21 competitive rounds plus at least one practice round prior to each of the seven tournaments (and that's being pretty generous since Phil is also a professional golfer and spends most days at the course.) In any event, Senator McConnell is not correct. Mr. Mickelson makes it out onto the links far more often than the President.

Follow Jeb Golinkin on Twitter: @Jgolinkin