President Obama wants you to know that he is not a golf addict.
He simply spends so much time unwinding on the links because security restrictions mean he can't go out for long walks or go to the car wash or the grocery store anymore.
The president's comments came during a session with editors and publishers from Hearst Magazines in which he described life behind the scenes at the White House, from leisure activity to reading materials.
"If there are any magazines in the (White) House, they probably come from you guys," he told the Hearst Magazine executives.
Hearst Magazines publishes periodicals including Good Housekeeping, Marie Claire, O, The Oprah Magazine, Popular Mechanics, Redbook, Esquire and Cosmopolitan, among others.
The president says he loves his life in the White House but doesn't enjoy some of the ways of Washington, such as the "kabuki dance" among political partisans before serious policy discussions begin. He also regrets his loss of personal privacy.
"I just miss — I miss being anonymous," he said at the meeting in the White House State Dining Room. "I miss Saturday morning, rolling out of bed, not shaving, getting into my car with my girls, driving to the supermarket, squeezing the fruit, getting my car washed, taking walks. I can't take a walk."
He says he enjoys golf but is not the fanatic that some have portrayed him to be because of the frequency of his golf outings.
"It's the only excuse I have to get outside for four hours at a stretch," he told the Hearst executives.
His impossible dream: "I just want to go through Central Park (in New York) and watch folks passing by...Spend the whole day watching people. I miss that."
