March Madness Lets Us Forget About the Economy

President Obama has taken some heat in the past month for trying to do too much. His critics say that he should be spending all of his energy on the nation’s economic problems. Forget health care. Forget education. The economy is Job One. One of the latest to tell Mr. Obama to get back to work on the economy is Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.

ESPN aired a segment last week called “Barack-etogy” in which ESPN’s Andy Katz watched as the President worked through his NCAA bracket on a large whiteboard. The President picked North Carolina to win it all and had the Tar Heels’ archrival Duke bowing out to Pitt in the Elite 8.

Coach K was quick to respond that “the economy is something that he should focus on, probably, more than the brackets”.

It’s clear that every time the President addresses something other than the economy, he is going to have his critics tell him to refocus on Job One.

In the midst of serious problems, we all need to take a breather and that includes the Executive office. It’s not like Obama is going to be glued to his TV watching March Madness. He told Katz that he would sneak a peak at some of the games but doubted he would get to watch any of the games in their entirety.

By the way, the President had 14 of the final 16 teams in the tournament and ranked 2,167,290th in the ESPN pool. That may not sound too hot but it does to me. I only had 10 of 16 in the same ESPN pool and didn’t even crack the top 3 million entries. For what it’s worth, my Final Four picks are Louisville, Memphis, Villanova and Gonzaga with Memphis beating Villanova in the championship.

Now it’s time for the President and I to get back to working on things we know better–at least until Thursday.

 

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  1. Pitt’s inside game will overwhelm Duke. Besides there’s only one team left to pull for and that, of course, is Purdue.

    March 23, 2009
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  2. Klamarra said:

    I had 11 of 16 – and I don’t really follow college basketball (except for kind of UK). But you’re right, the President needs to keep what makes him an individual, and if that is a love of basketball, so be it. Anyone who thinks that NASA is going to retask a satellite so he can see every game is “misguided” (I’m being polite). A good leader knows how to take a break from the never-ending duties presented and refresh the spirit!

    March 23, 2009
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