Axelrod explained in the 1994 interview that if “you cite these statistics that say the economy is improving, you almost do political damage to yourself.”

“If you stand up and claim great progress, you are only frustrating this alienated middle class more,” he said.

Now:

http://www.whitehousedossier.com/2012/06/17/obama-plays-golf-100th-time-presidency/

President Obama rolled out of his Kenwood, Chicago home Sunday morning and headed to out to play his 100th round of golf since becoming president.

The White House carefully downplays Obama’s golfing, rarely talking about it and releasing few pictures of the president swinging away. A search of the White House uploads on the Flickr photo-sharing website finds only a handful of shots of the president playing golf, compared to nearly two dozen of him playing basketball, which he spends far less time at.

Many argue that golf provides a badly needed source of relaxation for Obama, a refuge and a respite from extraordinary demands of the presidency. And most or all of Obama’s golf days have been on weekends or during scheduled vacations.

But others say the president could find another way to relax, and that golfing sends the wrong message to the poor and to the troops during a time of economic struggle and war.

George W. Bush gave up golfing in 2003, explaining his rationale five years later in an interview with POLITICO, saying it was wrong to play during wartime:

I don’t want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf. I feel I owe it to the families to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal.

Obama clearly disagrees and has been unperturbed by criticism of his golf, maintaining a steady pace even during an election year.