The Poles are pissed. And who can blame them? President Obama used volcanic ash as an excuse to play golf instead of attending the funeral of Polish President Lech Kaczynski.
The Washington Times has the details:
On a cool but sun-drenched Sunday, the president and three golfing companions went to Andrews Air Force Base to play 18 holes. It is the 32nd time Mr. Obama has played golf since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, according to CBS Radio’s Mark Knoller.
After canceling the Poland trip on Saturday, the White House announced that Mr. Obama had no public schedule for Sunday. He was to have arrived in Krakow in the morning, attend the 2 p.m. funeral and leave for home by 5 p.m., arriving back at the White House after midnight.
Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, along with dozens of top Polish government officials were killed April 10 when their airplane went down in heavy fog after clipping a tree on approach to Smolensk, Russia.
Mr. Obama has not gone to the Polish Embassy in Washington since the accident, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both have. There, they signed a condolence book.
French President Sarkozy and German Chancellor Merkel also used the volcanic ash as an excuse to cancel. But other world leaders managed to get to Poland using alternate methods of transportation.
Russian President Medvedev flew from Moscow for the funeral. The President of Slovenian drove 500 miles to Krakow. The Romanian President helicoptered to northwestern Romania, then drove through Hungary and Slovakia. The Estonian Prime Minister made an 18-hour drive to the funeral. The President of the Czech Republic traveled by car and train. And Viktor Yushchenko, former President of the Ukraine, left Kiev with his wife early Saturday morning to make the long drive to Poland.
President Obama said, “Hey, I made a long drive, too. Nearly 200 yards on the 7th hole.”
Source: Washington Times
