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Obama glad 'Interview' released, but won't say if he'll watch film

Category: Obama

President Obama cheered Sony's decision to make the Seth Rogen comedy "The Interview" widely available on digital platforms, but declined to say whether he would be streaming the spoof of North Korea while on his Hawaii vacation.

During a photo op midway through a round of golf with Malaysia's prime minister, the president was asked whether he'd watch the film. After thinking over the question for a moment, the president simply smiled and said, "I'm glad it's being released."

It was just last week that Obama called it a mistake for Sony to scuttle plans for releasing the film, which is about a wacky plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, amid threatened retaliatory attacks. The entertainment industry should not engage in self-censorship for fear of offending foreign dictators like North Korea's president, Obama said at a White House news conference.

By Monday, Sony announced it would go ahead with a limited release in theaters starting Christmas Day. And on Wednesday, the studio made the film available to rent on platforms such as YouTube, Google Play and Microsoft's Xbox Video.

For now, it appears Obama would prefer to enjoy time in the open air rather than stay inside to watch movies. Wednesday's round of golf was his fourth in five full days on the island of Oahu, skipping an outing only Monday because of rainy conditions. But it was the first time reporters were allowed to catch a glimpse of Obama on the course, documenting two missed putts on the 18th hole.

While the president was golfing at the Marine Corps base near his vacation residence, First Lady Michelle Obama was continuing an annual tradition of taking calls to update children about the whereabouts of Santa Claus through NORAD's "Santa Tracker" program.

One child, identified as Sara, asked the first lady whether she and the president believe in Santa. "I do believe in Santa," Mrs. Obama replied. "The president believes in Santa very much, yes."

Follow @mikememoli for updates on President Obama's holiday trip to Hawaii.

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Obama glad 'Interview' released, but won't say if he'll watch film

December 25th, 2014

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Obama Tees off in Hawaii With Malaysian Leader

Category: Obama

What do two world leaders do when they find themselves on the same Hawaiian island on Christmas Eve? If you're President Barack Obama and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, you round up a few aides and make common cause on the golf course.

Both vacationing this week in Oahu, Obama and Najib teed off Wednesday on a cloudy but balmy afternoon at a Marine Corps base, not far from where Obama is renting a home for his two-week stay. The two leaders seemed at ease together, smiling and laughing in casual clothes as they sized up their shots.

Although Obama plays golf nearly every day while on vacation, he typically restricts his foursome to a small circle of longtime friends and advisers. But in recent years, his annual trip to Hawaii has allowed Obama to mix in a little diplomacy. Last year, he hit the links with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key, who owns a home in Hawaii.

Media access to Obama's golf games is typically restricted, but reporters and photographers were permitted to briefly watch the two leaders Wednesday about halfway through their game. Neither leader was having particularly good luck with their short game.

Up first to finish the hole, Najib came up short with his putt. Obama crouched low to line up his shot, but the ball tilted left and evaded the hole. After another failed attempt, he picked up the ball and called it quits. Najib, too, missed his next shot, but a gracious Obama gave him a pat on the shoulder and praised his golf game just the same.

"Merry Christmas," Obama said as he waved to the media.

Then he added a note of caution for reporters covering his Hawaiian getaway.

"Be careful about those fruity drinks," he said. "You never know - they might have a little kick to them."

Ever the statesmen, Obama and Najib also used their time on the course to discuss world affairs, including Malaysia's rotating leadership next year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN. "The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss the growing and warming relationship between the United States and Malaysia," the White House said in a statement.

Najib has served as Malaysia's prime minister since 2009. In April, Obama paid the first presidential visit to Malaysia in nearly half a century, when Lyndon B. Johnson visited the Southeast Asian nation. During that visit, Obama met with Najib and pressed his government to improve its human rights and political freedoms.

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Obama Tees off in Hawaii With Malaysian Leader

December 25th, 2014

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In Hawaii, Obama golfs with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

Category: Obama

HONOLULU President Obama has generally refrained from mixing business and pleasure on the golf course. On vacation here in Hawaii, he has mostly hit the links with the same circle of longtime friends and White House aides he usually pals around with. Until Wednesday, when a newbie joined the First Foursome Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

The White House said Najib, along with aides Joe Paulsen andMike Brush, was playing with the president on the course at the Marine Corps base at Kanehoe Bay. Turns out Najib was in town on his own getaway, and it is not unprecedented for Obama to do a golf summit with a world leader. Last year in Hawaii, he played with New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. (In 2011, Obama famously played a round with House Speaker John A. Boehner at Andrews Air Force Base that did not exactly lead to a good working relationship off the course.)

Obama has established perhaps a better working relationship with Najib, after making the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to Malaysia in nearly half a century last spring. It was unlikely they had an in-depth discussion of their foreign policy agendas on the course, however, but perhaps focusing instead on trying to avoid the sand traps.

In a statement, the White House said: "The two leaders took the opportunity to discuss the growing and warming relationship between the United States and Malaysia. The president said he looked forward to working with Prime Minister Najib in 2015, during Malaysia's chair year of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations."

On the 18th hole, reporters were allowed onto the course briefly. Obama missed a putt to the left off the hole, then tried to tap in but "picked the ball up before it missed again," according to a pool report. Najib also missed a second putt, but Obama consoled him with a pat on the shoulder.

President Obama and Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia play golfed together on Christmas Eve in Hawaii. (Reuters)

Wall Street Journal reporter Carol Lee asked Obama if he planned to watch "The Interview," the Sony movie that will be released on Christmas after the studio initially canceled the release in the wake of the company being hacked, allegedly by North Korea.

"I'm glad it's being released," replied Obama, who had criticized the studio last week for its initial decision.

The president wished the reporters a Merry Christmas, according to Lee, then offered: "Be careful about those fruity drinks. You never know they might have a little kick."

Lee reports that she asked him if he'd been drinking fruity drinks, but he didn't respond.

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In Hawaii, Obama golfs with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak

December 25th, 2014

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