President Obama is actually quite knowledgeable in American history. He taught Constitutional law at the university level. He is the only president in recent history who has read the Federalist Papers in their entirety(perhaps Clinton has as well) and is able to discuss them on a level that impressed even conservative columnist George Will, which is really saying something.
I also don't begrudge him his time on the golf course. Why should we, when other Chief Execs have spent as much or even more time than he has spent there?
My suspicion is that he skipped out on the Gettysburg ceremonies due to his considerable ego. He knew that any speech he was bound to make would be compared to the speech you-know-who made there 150 years ago...and was bound to fall waay short. He wanted to avoid the inevitable unflattering comparisons, so he did not attend.
Just a guess.
Lincoln Funeral Train
