President Obama has wined and dined members of the Senate GOP in order to advance his agenda via charm offensive.
Today, the commander in chief, stinging from a gun-control defeat, wanting to push immigration reform through and about to get flambéed on Benghazi again, went for broke by allowing select senators into his inner sanctum.
Obama took them golfing.
Sens. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) rounded out the foursome hauled out to Andrews Air Force Base around lunchtime for a few hours on the links. Udall was one of several Democrats to vote against Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s (D-Calif.) assault weapons ban as an amendment to broader gun-control legislation.
The Senate went back into session after a weeklong recess at 2 p.m. today, but it looks like Obama is helping the lawmakers play hooky instead of debate the online sales tax, which comes up for a vote after 5:30 p.m. The group didn’t hit the green until 1:20 p.m.
Reporters were told that there would be a photo opportunity during the golf outing, another rarity for Obama, who usually takes the same trio of confidantes to the course and socks the press pool away out of sight at the food court.
“The golfing party arrived at the first green … with the president chipping his first shot the pool viewed passed the hole,” reads the White House pool report. “He later appeared to miss a putt. The president is wearing a blue jacket and wearing a ball cap. Corker, in a gray sweater and khakis, at one point tossed the president a ball from about 15 feet and they later stood together chatting as Udall and Chambliss took putts. Pool was out of earshot of anything said on the green. Corker drove a cart toward the second tee with Udall but pool couldn’t see the president or Chambliss after being herded away from the first hole. Pool now holding at base exchange.”
“The golf party will be hearing regular pops of gunfire from a training exercise or firing range in the distance. The routine of the base continues with lawn mowers at work quite near where the president’s party is playing.”
Today isn’t the best day to play golf, with cool temps and clouds as a storm moves in.
UPDATE: The game wrapped up close to 5 p.m. Chambliss’ spokesman said the senator scored a hole-in-one on the 11th hole, but the White House will not confirm.
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