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President Obama said in an interview published this week that he has, in fact, shot a gun recently, and conservative skeptics are having a field day with the latest in presidential sport shooting. This isn't just a standard-issue defense of the Second Amendment, goes the new narrative, it's a cover-up from a man whose "athletic prowess" is not to be trusted, especially in the middle of a fight over new gun legislation.
The quote that brought out the so-called "skeet shooting truthers" came from the president's much discussed interview with The New Republic, when editor Franklin Foer asked Obama if he had ever fired a gun. The response seemed typical:
Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time ...
Not the girls, but oftentimes guests of mine go up there. And I have a profound respect for the traditions of hunting that trace back in this country for generations. And I think those who dismiss that out of hand make a big mistake.
It's a classic politician's dodge: "we" and "do" is not nearly as committal as, say, "I shot a gun last week." And there's history to this example — even Glenn Beck's site acknowledged that everyone from Eisenhower to Kennedy has taken to the Camp David skeet range.