Senior Tour Awaits Ohio Congressman

A possible career alternative for the House GOP leader

By ROBERT A. GEORGE

Updated 9:52 PM CST, Thu, Jul 2, 2009

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With a "celebrity" -- Al Franken -- now heading to Congress as a U.S. senator, is it possible for someone to go the other way? Easy answer: probably not. However, if there's one member of Congress who might have a shot, it's House Republican Leader John Boehner.

The congressman from Ohio was already brought into the spotlight earlier this year following a wicked jab from the president of the United States at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Boehner's George Hamilton-ish permanent tan has been the source of amusement from reporters and congressional staffers for years. Noting this, Obama referred to Boehner as a "fellow person of color. Although not a color found in the natural world." Ouch! Boehner took it in good humor.

Well, Boehner had something approaching the last laugh this week as he got to hit the links Wednesday in Tiger Woods' charity tournament. Boehner has apparently earned his tan honestly -- out playing the game. And he's evidently better than the average hacker:

For at least one hole, anyway, all those hours that the 7.5 handicap Boehner logs with the clubs. Boehner sank a 35-foot putt for birdie on the 8th hole. The near-immortal Woods made a mere par.

Yeah, a "7.5 handicap" is pretty darn good.

So, given that Boehner currently leads one of the smaller minority conferences in the House in recent years, maybe he should consider an alternative career? Several sports stars have gone into politics. North Carolina Rep. Heath Shuler had a brief career as an NFL quarterback. Kentucky Sen. Jim Bunning was a Hall of Fame pitcher (throwing no-hitters in both the American and National Leagues). But the nature of pro sports is that they are ventures for young men. Golf isn't quite that way. Boehner could actually join professional golf's senior tour and craft a pretty good living.

And, hey, if he started playing golf professionally, he can find some comfort and encouragement from his Wednesday golfing buddy: After all, Tiger Woods doesn't have to answer awkward questions about his tan.

New York writer Robert A. George blogs at Ragged Thots. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.