No PIX available of Bush today

[Stephanie]

I've been checking often and nothing new has appeared since yesterday. This is the latest. Not one new photo has appeared since last night. Where is BUSH?

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Mon Dec 27, 7:40 PM ET
AFP

US President George W. Bush (news - web sites) speaks to reporters at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC 21 December 2004. The United States pledged nearly 15 million dollars in immediate aid and promised to lead relief efforts after a mammoth tsunami battered Asia, killing nearly 24,000 people.(AFP/File/Luke Frazza)

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[Rose Siding]

1. The WP is busting him for his invisibility

...I was pleased to see-

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1105364&mesg_id=1105364

[Stephanie]

9. THANKS for that article -

I am getting beaten up for makng the same criticism.

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Aid Grows Amid Remarks About President's Absence -WP

...Skeptics said the initial aid sums -- as well as Bush's decision at first to remain cloistered on his Texas ranch for the Christmas holiday rather than speak in person about the tragedy -- showed scant appreciation for the magnitude of suffering and for the rescue and rebuilding work facing such nations as Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Indonesia.
After a day of repeated inquiries from reporters about his public absence, Bush late yesterday afternoon announced plans to hold a National Security Council meeting by teleconference to discuss several issues, including the tsunami, followed by a short public statement.

Bush's deepened public involvement puts him more in line with other world figures. In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cut short his vacation and returned to work in Berlin because of the Indian Ocean crisis, which began with a gigantic underwater earthquake. In Britain, the predominant U.S. voice speaking about the disaster was not Bush but former president Bill Clinton, who in an interview with the BBC said the suffering was like something in a "horror movie," and urged a coordinated international response.

Earlier yesterday, White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president was confident he could monitor events effectively without returning to Washington or making public statements in Crawford, where he spent part of the day clearing brush and bicycling. Explaining the about-face, a White House official said: "The president wanted to be fully briefed on our efforts. He didn't want to make a symbolic statement about 'We feel your pain.' "
...

Some foreign policy specialists said Bush's actions and words both communicated a lack of urgency to an event that will loom as large in the collective memories of several countries as the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks do in the United States. "When that many human beings die -- at the hands of terrorists or nature -- you've got to show that this matters to you, that you care," said Leslie Gelb, emeritus president of the Council on Foreign Relations.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32337-2004Dec28.html?nav=rss_politics

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[xray s]

2. The United States pledges "nearly" 15 million in aid..WTF?!?

How much was it...$14,975,584.13???

[Journeyman]

12. That's 2.4 Iraqi Hours . . .

the occupation of Iraq is currently costing the U.S. ~$6.25 million per hour. So $15 million equals somewhat less than 2-1/2 hours of our Iraq expenses. Good of us to cut loose with so much of our "time."

[tuvor]

3. He's on vacation, relaxin' and clearin' brush.

Presidentin' is indeed hard work.

[Be Brave]

4. Maybe just as well. Who wants to see his mug

with the ongoing emergency in Asia?

[nytemare]

5. Where is Kevin Kline when you need him?

You know, the guy on Leno does a great impression of Shrub. I have been reading about some sort of defibrillator vest Bush has had to wear, and something of a heart murmur. We need a dude like "Dave" to take over!

[NYC]

6. Detox?

[LizW]

7. Frankly, I was hoping for a bicycling picture to surface

while they are still recovering thousands of bodies from the tsunamis.

[kc.ink]

8. I caught the nude one posted early Monday on DU, it wasn't pretty either.

[MADem]

10. Maybe his meds are a bit off, and they are "adjusting" them

You'd figure they'd toss out a biking or brush clearing one, or a 'taking a walk with Laura' one, if that was what was really happpening.

I'm thinking he's having a "NQR" (not quite right) period, so he's under wraps until they can get him sorted.

[kc.ink]

11. bull, he's probably meeting with the Saudis,

the tsunami is natural diversion.

eom