No Cable News, Just ESPN for POTUS
For months rumors have swirled around the Commander-in-Chief holed up in his 2nd floor office watching sports shows on a big screen television. Now the President has offered his own insider details about what goes on behind closed doors at the White House.
In an interview with ESPN's Bill Simmons, Obama admits he makes room for briefings on issues like the economy, energy policy and national security in between ball games.
Well, first of all, I don't watch network news or cable news. So in the morning, when I'm working out with Michelle, it's on SportsCenter. This is the one thing that she allows me," Obama told Simmons.
Obama says he is also able to "sneak in" a game while he is reading his briefings.
I usually have to stay up until midnight or 1 a.m. reading stuff. And every once in a while I'll sneak in a ball game as I'm reading my briefings," he said.
Simmons joked that he "always pictured" Obama watching League Pass on his iPad while he was working. League Pass is a regular season package you buy from your cable provider that provides subscribers with games from outside their local viewing area.
It turns out, though, that Obama does indeed have access to the League Pass.
I do have League Pass on my iPad," Obama said to a surprised Simmons.
During a CIAA tournament in Charlotte North Carolina last Friday, Michelle Obama gave even more credence to the rumors about Obama's over-the-top obsession with the sport and its players.
As you all know, we are a basketball family...My husband is a crazy fanatic about basketball.
By now, most of the country knows Obama prefers hoops to the gritty work of governance. Apparently, the sports channel has become the go-to remedy for presidents and radicals when they need a break from their 24/7 community agitating.
Recently, Obama's Chicago pal Bernardine Dohrn articulated her disillusionment with politics when replying to a question Andrew Breitbart asked her at the Super Bowl dinner. Turns out she's also a fan of ESPN.
I'm so unhappy with electoral politics that I switched to sports radio," Dohrn said early in the dinner, adding that she has dropped NPR in favor of ESPN radio's "Mike & Mike in the Morning."
Do all radicals share an enthusiasm for sports shows? Who knew?
In any case, our country is in the hands of someone who believes he discovered Jeremy Lin and who brags about inviting a record number of basketball teams to the White House. Come November, we'll have to fire the occupier-in-chief.
Read more M. Catharine Evans at Potter Williams Report