First there were emerging details (and price tags) from First Lady Michelle Obama's trip to Spain. Then the inside scoop of President Obama's birthday celebration in Chicago with gal-pal Oprah Winfrey and others. Now we hear how the president enjoyed a weekend of golfing with friends and playing basketball with current and former pro athletes. In an effort to legitimize using his position to indulge in childlike fantasies, the basketball game was played in front of a group of US troops injured in action.

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What could cheer up wounded warriors more than seeing their Commander-in-Chief taking yet another day off to rub (and possible throw) elbows with even more rich and famous celebrities? Perhaps he could have sung Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better and done a little dance before taking the court in front of them.

We don't know what kind of reaction the game drew from the audience since reporters assigned to the president were not allowed into the gym. According to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, media coverage was not allowed because Mr. Obama "just wanted to play." (source) No kidding.

And after he played, some of the players joined the president and a group of his friends for a barbecue on the South Lawn of the White House to end the week long festiviries marking his 49th birthday. The White House made sure the press was aware that shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico was to be served at the event. Maybe that's how the administration feels justified hosting another lavish event by Mr. Obama and for Mr. Obama.

Of course all this fun with his buddies must come to an end because President Obama has plenty planned for the remainder of the summer. First there's a weekend family vacation on Florida's gulf coast rapidly followed by a 10-day family vacation at Martha's Vineyard. Good thing he got to relax and have some fun over his birthday week - that upcoming schedule sounds just brutal.