Patriot Games
Time for the president to stop turning over the ball
2009-10-29
By Terry Glover

Obama has got to stop playing Mr. Nice Guy. I’m not talking about his trying to make nice with Republicans. On that front, he seems determined to be the uber-arbitrator who sees the good in even the most despicable – sorry, I mean even the least welcoming corners. I wish him the best in his quest and try to keep my frustration in check, recalling his equal unwillingness to duke it out old school with the McCain/Palin ticket during the presidential campaign. That situation turned out pretty well for him, so maybe he knows what he’s doing. On that social experiment, I’ve given up. No, I’m talking more circumspectly about complaints surrounding the business of the old boys club atmosphere that exists between the president and several of his staffers.

Apparently because the public health care option, soaring federal deficits, rampant unemployment and concerns over strategy on the Middle East conflicts aren’t newsy enough, criticism has been leveled at Obama for getting out there and rough housing with the boys. The endless rounds of golf, the raucous pick-up games on the basketball court have become just too much to bear, and the time was nigh for the vigilant journalists among us to point out such blatantly sexist fun.

NBC special correspondent Savannah Guthrie sounded the call to outrage during an interview with Obama, asking about the gender lineup for one of his regularly scheduled basketball games, ordinarily played at a venue outside the White House. Guthrie’s investigative instincts led her down the road of, “Some people might look at this and say, ‘Gosh, there’s the old boys’ club again.’”

Obama’s initial reaction to the dust-up and her question was to call it, in a word, “bunk.” And that’s exactly how he should have reacted because it was. To conclude that Obama is sexist flies in the face of a few realities, namely that 15% percent of his cabinet is female, his first appointment to the Supreme Court was female, he counts a woman among his most trusted advisors, and he  (up until this point, at least) enjoyed a healthy approval rating with female voters. Need more? Hillary Clinton. Barbara Boxer. Anita Dunn. Olympia Snowe. Lily Ledbetter.

The sexist argument says that the issue runs deeper than gender exclusion, the real issue being more about access. The long-held belief that deals are struck, decisions made during these informal outings suggests that women are sidelined in that process when they are not invited. But, like it or not, the fact of the matter is that an invitation is still no guarantee. If you’re going to be in on the deal, it will be because of what you bring to the table, not your mere presence there. Even Fox’s Bill O’Reilly couldn’t get worked up enough over this to skewer his White House foe. Bill knows what we all should know: there is no “there” there. Not on the basketball court, not on the golf course, not where the wild things are.

And therein lies my disappointment with Obama’s eventual (actually, ridiculously swift) cave-in. Just days later, who should turn up in the POTUS golf foursome but White House policy advisor Melody Barnes. “Coincidentally,” goes the official story, Barack and the boys discovered that Barnes enjoyed going a round or two on the course herself. What do you bet that the internal memo went out, looking for a woman – any woman! – who could sink a shot. Held a golf club? OK, how about a woman who owned a pair of suitable khakis?

Much like being picked last when choosing sides, the invitation came somewhat grudgingly. The implication, of course, is that there was, indeed, something to the charges and that the Prez has been called on his woman-hatin’ tendencies. And, rather than stick to his guns and let his record speak for itself, Obama has allowed himself to be led, once again, down a pandering path. Now that he’s capitulated in the face of such silliness, will he be reduced to covert recreation with the fellas, organizing pick-up games under cover of night at the local boys (and girls) club? Will every outing be a dual-gender affair, in spite of the reality that men and women do, in fact, spend quality time relaxing with friends of the same sex? Who’s got next, Mr. President, Lisa Leslie?

To her credit, Barnes held her own, handily working with Obama to win money from their opponents. Ironically, the Chicago Tribune reported this momentous occasion as “the first time since the inauguration that Obama has golfed with a “gal”.

Of course, there could actually be an upside to this madness – if it caused Bill O’Reilly to come to the president’s defense, Obama’s dream of non-partisan cooperation might be within reach.

Terry Glover is managing editor of Ebony magazine. She writes about culture, politics and trends for EbonyJet.com.