He was supposed to be a girly man with “scrawny little arms”, according to
Arnold Schwarzenegger, but Barack Obama is shaping up to be one of the most
sporting presidents in history.
Obama has spent almost everyday working out obsessively in the gym while
preparing for his inauguration on January 20 – granting himself a day off
only at Christmas. In Hawaii, when he is not exercising at the local marine
base, he has been swinging his clubs at the lush tropical Kailua golf course.
For a politician who was elected on a promise to “bring change” to Washington,
the president-elect may have far more in common with his predecessor, George
W Bush, a jogging and cycling fanatic, than his supporters imagined.
The first lobbying war of the new presidency has already broken out between
representatives of bowling and basketball after Obama, 47, promised to do
away with the 1970s-era bowling alley at the White House and replace it with
a basketball court.
The campaign pledge was made after Obama almost blew his selection by
appearing to be an elitist wimp, rolling a bowling ball into the gutter for
a meagre score of 37 in macho, working-class Pennsylvania and blaming his
performance on the ill-effects of one beer. Hillary Clinton went on to
triumph in the state.
If Obama dumps the White House alley, it will seal the old-fashioned image of
bowling as the chosen sport of white men with proud beer guts. “It would be
a very sad, sad day,” said Jim Sturm, president of the Bowling Proprietors’
Association of America.
In a bid to salvage its reputation, the bowling trade has promised to update
the White House bowling alley, installed by President Richard Nixon, with
state-of-the-art balls, digital scoring and surround sound. Not to be
outdone, the National Basketball Association has offered to design a
high-tech hardwood court.
“If there is an upgrading of the basketball facilities, you can be assured
that the NBA and the players will be there,” said David Stern, the NBA
commissioner.
Obama has already been called the “First Hoopster” after his love of the
sport, which he played when at high school in Hawaii. His cabinet and White
House are stuffed with players, including General Jim Jones, his national
security adviser, Arne Duncan, the education secretary, Eric Holder, the
attorney-general, and Susan Rice, US ambassador to the United Nations.
“I think we are pulling together the best basketball-playing cabinet in
American history,” Obama said.
Craig Robinson, his brother-in-law, was a former top player as a student at
the Ivy League Princeton and is now head basketball coach of Oregon State
University. He wrote in Time magazine over Christmas that he was the “first
guy to vet” Obama by challenging him to a game after Michelle, the future
first lady, brought him home to meet the family.
As Robinson’s father used to say, “On the court you can tell who’s a selfish
jerk”, and it was his job to check out Obama on his sister’s behalf. Obama
passed the test. “I liked the fact that he was confident but wasn’t cocky or
talking trash,” Robinson said.
The historian John Sayle Watterson, author of Games Presidents Play, said
Obama’s love of basketball may have its roots in his African-American
heritage.
“Lots of people play basketball, but all the top basketball players are
African-Americans and it may have been part of Obama trying to find his
identity,” Watterson said.
According to Watterson: “There is a theory that there is a real difference
between presidents who have played largely team sports and presidents who
have played individual sports such as tennis and golf.”
Team players such as Obama are not afraid of delegating responsibility to
other heavy-weight players – Hillary Clinton as secretary of state comes to
mind – whereas solitary tennis players such as Jimmy Carter were notorious
micro-managers (he personally approved the list of players on the White
House court).
Nixon was a solitary man who used to bowl alone at the White House alley to
relax, but “Tricky Dicky” also played American football in college. He once
rang up his friend George Allen, the coach of the Washington Redskins, and
offered advice on a “trick” play to fool the opposition. It did not work any
better than Watergate.
Bill Clinton became infamous for cheating at golf as well as in the bedroom.
When he was losing he would pester friends for “mulligans” and gimme putts –
varieties of free shots – enabling him mysteriously to take 200 swings for a
recorded score of 82.
A headline in the January edition of Golf Digest reads “Yep, Obama plays golf
too”. The magazine places him eighth out of 15 golfing presidents and gives
him a handicap of 16, surprisingly low for a politician who claims to
practise only a couple of times a year.
Obama’s enthusiasm for golf began as a way to advance his political career. He
honed his golfing skills when he was a state senator for Illinois in the
1990s as a way to schmooze colleagues who liked to spend mornings
legislating and afternoons on the golf course.
However, it is not an image he wants to project. Theodore Roosevelt, an avid
mountaineer and conservationist, said golf, with its exclusive country club
associations, made presidents look bad. According to Douglas Brinkley, the
historian, Roosevelt warned: “Photographs on horseback, yes. Tennis no. And
golf is fatal.”
Image-conscious President John F Kennedy took the advice to heart. His
predecessor, Dwight Eisenhower, was addicted to the game, prompting
accusations that he was the “duffer in chief” and out of touch with average
Americans. The wealthy aristocratic Kennedy was an even better golfer, but
kept his love of the game in the closet until the election was safely out of
the way.
The sport later became a good cover for other offences. When rumours surfaced
that JFK was sneaking out to see girlfriends, Pierre Salinger, his
spokesman, would say, “No, no, no. He’s playing golf.”
Obama’s addiction to exercise was also kept under wraps, although not
completely hidden, on the campaign trail. It was presented as a way to keep
fit while flying coast-to-coast and giving speeches to stadium-size rallies,
rather than as an obsession – partly to get away from its associations
with Bush, who prides himself on having the low heart rate of a champion
athlete.
“It is typical for Democrats running against Republicans, who have an image of
spending too much time on sport, to distance themselves from it,” said
Watterson.
In the pantheon of sporting presidents, George W Bush has yet to match the
reputation of his father, George H W Bush. Watterson places Bush Sr top of
his list of all-time sporting greats. He was a fighter pilot during the
second world war and went on to captain the baseball team at Yale University
on his return. He celebrated his 80th birthday by parachuting out of a plane
and last spring, at the age of 84, he reeled in a 135lb tarpon off the
Florida Keys.
It is too soon to say how Obama will measure up in office, but he has already
surprised the nation with his athletic physique, which was on show in Hawaii
last week.
Even Schwarzenegger, the muscle-bound former Mr Olympia and now governor of
California, has stopped throwing sand in his face: “I’ve seen him playing
basketball. He’s a better player than I am.” All that talk about scrawny
little arms was “not meant to be an insult in any way”, Schwarzenegger
stammered. “It was meant to lighten up the place and make everyone laugh a
little bit.”
How the presidents stayed fit for office
George W Bush Gave up running because of knee injury and took up
cycling. Collided with a policeman while riding his bike in the grounds of
Gleneagles, the Scottish hotel, at G8 summit in 2005.
Bill Clinton A keen jogger but gave up after a quadruple heart bypass.
He gained notoriety for cheating at golf, regularly taking extra shots known
as mulligans and misplacing the ball, according to those who played with
him.
George H W Bush One of America’s most athletic presidents. He was
captain of the football and baseball teams at his prep school and captain of
the baseball team at Yale. Once held a respectable golf handicap of 11.
Carried out his sixth parachute jump in 2007 at the age of 83.
Ronald Reagan A strong swimmer who was a lifeguard for seven years in
Dixon, Illinois.
Gerald Ford Star player of American football at university, turned down
the offer of a professional contract to study law at Yale.
Richard Nixon An avid bowler, he built the one-lane underground bowling
alley in the White House where he often played alone. He once said that if
he lost in politics he would want to be a sports writer. He did not become
one.
John F Kennedy A gifted golfer with an average handicap of between
seven and 10. He was a member of the Harvard golf team as a student but, as
president, preferred to enjoy the sport in secret.
Dwight Eisenhower Played more golf than any other president – 800 games
during eight years in office. Had a putting green installed on the south
lawn of the White House.
Calvin Coolidge The least athletic president to inhabit the White
House.
Theodore Roosevelt A keen sportsman who enjoyed hunting, hiking and
horse riding.
Abraham Lincoln Renowned for his wrestling skills.
George Washington Was a champion wrestler before he became America’s
first president.
