Yes, the President (any President) puts in long arduous hours but Obama seems to use his "downtime" to perpetuate his candidacy as though he were still running for office. Wanna relax, Mr President? Use the frikken WH swimming pool.

Ah, for Christ's sake, lighten up.

Woudth the idiot lefties had been as wise the past 8 years and held their fire.

Yes, the President (any President) puts in long arduous hours but Obama seems to use his "downtime" to perpetuate his candidacy as though he were still running for office. Wanna relax, Mr President? Use the frikken WH swimming pool.

Nah!... That's Axelrod's job!

As for the slacker president.... That would be America's best hope!

If the President is drinking beer at a basketball game, or relaxing at a ranch, or diving into a McDonalds, then he is interacting with the people that he governs. While a modern President cannot be completely accessible, it's good for him to interact with people other than those he'd run into in the Oval Office. A President desperately needs someone who will boo the Wizards while he cheers them, or yell at him about how idiotic his agenda is, or why doesn't he just get that mean Simon off of American Idol?

If you're constantly surrounded by your yes-men, then a bunker mentality can set in, which is what destroyed Hitler, and to a degree adversely affected Nixon. Every President must be on guard against this.

While families across the country wonder about mortgage payments and tuition he goes to a basketball game rather than just watch on TV.

How much money is he putting into the economy by watching it on TV? Now what does it cost for him and his security to go to a public arena? And have you seen the price of beer there? Basketball games and beer are just a part of Obama's stimulus plan, we all have to do our part.

[T]he fact of the matter is that the United States is, by leaps and bounds, the most powerful economic and military power on the planet and the president, as the effective head of government, is therefore more impactful than any other single individual.

Oh, I don't disagree with that at all. If you haven't done so, though, I'd recommend checking out Gene Healy's "The Cult of the Presidency". He makes a fairly persuasive case that the Presidency is far more powerful than it either needs to or should be, even in today's world.

From the other side, though, should he be restricted from the same modes of relaxation that other Americans enjoy simply because he's President? I acknowledge that most Americans don't go to NBA games every night - but the price of a ticket or four is such that most middle class Americans who really want to can afford to attend a game or two per season if they live within range of it.

The President of the United States was never meant to be this powerful, and there's a pretty good argument that he (or she) shouldn't be.

I don't disagree. Still, the fact of the matter is that the United States is, by leaps and bounds, the most powerful economic and military power on the planet and the president, as the effective head of government, is therefore more impactful than any other single individual.

The president of the United States is arguably the most important single individual on the planet but he’s not Master of the Universe.

But there seem to be a lot of people who think, oherwise, no ? And it seems to get reinforced by the increasingly absurd amounts of grandeur that we ascribe to the Office of President.

Part of the blame for this, I think, can be traced to the increased power that the Executive Branch has taken upon itself since roughly the 1930s. Nobody would've thought of Grover Cleveland or Calvin Coolidge as "the most important single individual on the planet," for example.

But I think part of it can also be traced to the fact that there is a certain segment of the voting public that looks upon the President the way some nations used look upon their royalty, as someone who dare not be questioned, criticized, or ridiculed. We've seen it in both political parties, of course, but the chill-up-the-leg that Obama has received from some quarters is somewhat unprecedented.

The President of the United States was never meant to be this powerful, and there's a pretty good argument that he (or she) shouldn't be.