As War Ravages Gaza, Silent Barack Works on Golf Game

With the death toll in the Gaza Strip still rapidly rising, incoming President-elect Barack Obama’s initial reaction of “no immediate comment” has seamlessly segued into an official policy of no comment, period. As Obama and family continue to enjoy a luxurious vacation in Hawaii, his attention seems far more focused on his golf game than the foreign policy crisis he is poised to inherit.

The silence from Hawaii is almost deafening, with Obama’s staff using the oft-repeated excuse that the US “has only one president at a time” to justify his lack of commentary. The silence, combined with his cabinet choices, has punctuated what many already believe: that when the Obama Administration takes the White House next month, little will have really changed.

A small group of protesters at his rented vacation home hope to ensure that the President-elect is at least aware of what is going on. But if Obama saw the protesters as his motorcade took him to play a game of basketball, he didn’t show it. There was no word of how many points Obama scored, but it is unlikely to have rivaled the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip during the game. And the silence continues.