So first: Vanity Fairasked President Barack Obama what he'd do if he had one day off. Our president from paradise said:
“When I lived in Hawaii, I’d take a drive from Waikiki to where my grandmother lived—up along the coast heading east, and it takes you past Hanauma Bay. When my mother was pregnant with me she’d take a walk along the beach. . . . You park your car. If the waves are good you sit and watch and ponder it for a while. You grab your car keys in the towel. And you jump in the ocean. And you have to wait until there is a break in the waves. . . . And you put on a fin—and you only have one fin—and if you catch the right wave you cut left because left is west. . . . Then you cut down into the tube there. You might see the crest rolling and you might see the sun glittering. You might see a sea turtle in profile, sideways, like a hieroglyph in the water. . . . And you spend an hour out there. And if you’ve had a good day you’ve caught six or seven good waves and six or seven not so good waves. And you go back to your car. With a soda or a can of juice. And you sit. And you can watch the sun go down …”
Naturally, Surfer magazine picked up on this, because......our president surfs! Stoke! But the comments following this piece? Gnarly, brah! Apparently the surfing world is just as divided as the rest of us:
From Joe:
I would run him over if I saw his commie butt anywhere near the lineup. Not all surfers are miserable hippies with socialist ideas Surfer Mag. If it was up to this clown, we’d be taxed for every wave, so the kooks could have their “fair share” of the lineup. How’s that for Hopelessness that’ll never Change?
From Gus:
This is BS…he’s NOT a surfer. He’s not even a bellyboarder, or kneelo, or a damn SUP…he’s a dime a dozen kook body surfer. Who just so happens to be hell bent on ruining this country. I don’t want a president who surfs…I want a president who will work for this country and get us back on our feet. The last four years? Are you FREAKING KIDDING ME?
On the other foot, there's Rob:
…and if Romney surfed, I’m confident he would be a Stand-Up Paddler barrel-dodging and wave stabbing his way through a pack of what he sees as entitled victims.
And this, from Havok:
So many haters, yet when was the last time you heard any politician break it down like that? A pure, non-phony expression of stoke for riding waves. Simple. Awesome!
An finally, From EP:
Slater K, I surf with K. Slater, I know K. Slater, K. Slater is a friend of mine. And Sir, you’re no K. Slater.
So Surfer-in-Chief Barack Obama: dime-a-dozen kook body-surfer? Or stand-up paddler and barrel-dodging wave stabber? Aloha.
