Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record---This about sums it up!

[demo dutch]

washingtonpost.com
Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record
With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, August 3, 2005; A04

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 -- President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.

The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening for a stretch of clearing brush, visiting with family and friends, and tending to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- nearly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president's travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush's time away from Washington even further.

Bush's long vacations are more than a curiosity: They play into diametrically opposite arguments about this leadership style. To critics and late-night comics, they symbolize a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job, an impression bolstered by Bush's two-hour midday exercise sessions and his disinclination to work nights or weekends. The more vociferous among Bush's foes have noted that he spent a month at the ranch shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when critics assert he should have been more attentive to warning signs.

[wallwriter]

1. Is having him on the job any better?

[NicRic]

11. has he ever been on the job N/T

.

[wakeme2008]

2. A link would have been nice

:)

[Ian David]

8. Link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201703.html

[Vickers]

3. Recess appointments are HARD WORK!

:rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl::rofl:

I can hardly wait for the pictures of the "president" clearing brush at the "ranch." :eyes:

Probably got a few cattle drives lined up, too. :eyes:

[izzie]

6. On his bike.

==the wimp

[rfranklin]

4. "Cherished ranch?" He never set foot there until he needed...

a movie set for cutting brush. Before that it was always the country club.

[katinmn]

5. Bush is just a dust goober at the White House. They sent him to

camp so Rove could focus on Bush's strategy for dealing with Rove's treason.

[seafan]

7. Link here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/02/AR2005080201703.html

[rniel]

9. We should all chip in and get him a trophy

The most absent president ever.

[jenjenen]

13. Most Absent both physically...

...and mentally.

[JohnnyBoots]

10. I read somewhere it cost $40K to fly one way DC to Crawford, if

he has flown there more than 10 times it exceeds his salary...going to look for a link to back this up...

[kansasblue]

12. I can't complain.

[Catchawave]

14. I'd love to find out how many vacation days previous

"war" presidents took ?