WP: Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record

[kskiska]

With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 -- President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- 33 days 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 five weeks 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.

To Bush and his advisers, that criticism fundamentally misunderstands his Texas sojourns. Those who think he does not remain in command, aides say, do not understand the modern presidency or Bush's own work habits. At the ranch, White House officials say, Bush continues to receive daily national security briefings, sign documents, hold teleconferences with aides and military commanders, and even meet with foreign leaders. And from the president's point of view, the long Texas stints are the best way to clear his mind and reconnect with everyday America.

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

[aquart]

1. I prefer he not shed cells in the White House.

[meganmonkey]

2. That just makes me sick

What a pig.

:(

[BiggJawn]

3. And he's Back in the Bottle, again...

Sung to the tune of Gene Autry's "Back in the Saddle, Again"...

He was popped before AF-1 got handed off to Memphis ATC...

Hey, it's HARD WORK(tm) being Pretzeldent! he NEEDS 10 weeks + vacation every year...

Asswipe.

[peekaloo]

5. I hear The Whisperin' Squash's version

Back from the Shadows again !
Out where an In-jun's your friend!
Where the veg'tables are green,
And you can pee into the stream!
Yes, we're back from the Shadows again!


How many times will he fall and go boom this month?

[SammyWinstonJack]

44. Some quality time with his long time friend Jack Daniels,

on his European type vacation time. I guess the little worm doesn't care how this looks to the majority of Americans. My brother gets seven weeks paid vacation/yr but he's been on his job for 32 years.

[Erika]

4. I'm just thankful that each day lessens the harm

W can do this country. He will have the worst legacy of any president.

[WhiteTara]

36. never fear, he left bully bolton behind

to do as much dirty work as he can.

[Redstone]

6. Let's see, 20 percent of his time on vacation; that adds

up to the equivalent of ten weeks a year of vacation.

Anyone out there, among the 70,000 DUers, bet ten weeks of vacation a year?

(Sound of crickets chirping in background...)

I didn't think any of you had that much vacation time.

I don't either.

Redstone

[Richard Steele]

15. No, no, you misread the numbers.

He has spent 20% JUST in CRAWFORD

That doesn't include his OTHER vacations:
Camp David, Kennebunkport, 2 hours in the middle of every day....all of that is IN ADDITION to the 20% figure.

[July]

54. Don't forget the Camp David, Kennebunkport, and foreign trips.

He's not working then, either.

[Lisa]

7. "the best way to clear his mind"

Okay -- so his mind is now completely emptied. What will he do with the remaining 32 days, 23 hours, 59 minutes, and 52 seconds of his vacation?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

8. "...the best way to clear his mind..."

I know there's a joke there. It's not like there's much going on that needs to be cleared.

[tavalon]

29. Actually, the punch line is

"and reconnect with everyday America."



:rofl:

[Rufus T. Firefly]

37. Only problem with that line...

you know how if you rolled your eyes and your parents would warn you that it might "stick" like that? Mine stuck.

[LiberalEsto]

39. And since when do everyday Americans

get that much vacation, huh, Georgie W.?

Look us in the eyes, we dare you, Bushboy.

[mcctatas]

9. Yeah, that's what I always thought...

being secluded on your heavily guarded "ranchion" where you are only in touch with your aides, military commanders and foreign leaders, surely must be the best way to reconnect with everyday America. What a load of horse shit!!!:mad:

[smartvoter]

10. From Mr. "It's hard work." nt

[Catherine Vincent]

11. Bush advisers should get paid a lot of money.

Because I have never seen so many excuses given for this asswipe.

[lyonn]

12. Actually AF1 needed a rest

Or overhaul. That baby never cools down. When bush isn't ranching he is hangin out in Fla., Ohio, Penn., that White House is too confining, people keep expecting him to do something. What do ya think he hired Cheney, Rove and Rummy for?

[SammyWinstonJack]

45. Maybe he feels guilty

:rofl: :rofl: hanging out in the WH, knowing full well he never won the right to be there.

[AuntPatsy]

13. That is not a vacation, they are regrouping, its pretty obvious...

[AuntPatsy]

14. dupe

[paineinthearse]

16. * is AWOL AGAIN?

Besare....remember what happened in September, after his last long vacation.

[KeepItReal]

17. Bush & Co. wouldn't know "Everyday America" if you put 'em in a Wal-Mart

<eom>

[electron_blue]

19. What about Cheney?

Where will he be during this holiday?

[KeepItReal]

22. Starts his vacation in Saudi Arabia, I believe

After that, his undisclosed location spider hole awaits...

[electron_blue]

25. what? You're joking of course

It's so late and I'm so tired, I can't tell the jokes from reality anymore.

[KeepItReal]

34. "Cheney will lead the American delegation to Saudi Arabia"

"WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Dick Cheney will lead the American delegation to Saudi Arabia to pay respects after the death of King Fahd and the accession of King Abdullah.

President Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, also will be in the delegation, along with Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and James Oberwetter, the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia.

Cheney is to leave Washington on Wednesday evening and return early Friday."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-5185616,00.html

[electron_blue]

42. Okay -I forgot he died

I was out of town when it happened and miss all the news about it. For a moment, I thought you meant Cheney was going to spend 33 days in S.Arabia whooping it up, clearing brush and other hard work.

[WhiteTara]

35. he'll be off starting a war in Iran eom

[bvar22]

18. If you had 33 days off,

would you spend it in CRAWFORD FUCKING TEXAS?????
That's just plain stupid! Its not like the Pig Farm is HOME or anything. Bush*s privileged Yankee blue blood roots are NOT in Texas.

West Texas would be the LAST place I would go.
There are SO MANY better places in the USA!

(I worked out of Odessa and Midland for a couple of years, I KNOW!)

[Skittles]

28. if I had 33 days off they'd realize they dd not need me

it is obvious the people really running the show do not need that fool

[Lisa]

31. isn't it funny that Mr. "I want to be buried in Midland" hardly ever goes

... to his "beloved" boyhood town. When it suited him, he wanted everybody to believe he'd been born there, and not in New Haven. He tried to claim that LAURA was the one who insisted on getting a place near Waco, and he's only abiding by her wishes.

But now he's dumped Midland like yesterday's coffee grounds.

[SlavesandBulldozers]

33. it's hard work presidentin

but it's nice to get out for a month or two, ya know, just to unwind. who doesn't like a month or two off every now and then?:eyes:

[girl gone mad]

20. Reconnect with every day America?

While he's holed up in his multi-million dollar fake ranch?

[TOhioLiberal]

21. Bite your tongue!

...it's his 'cherished' ranch, not his fake ranch...
:sarcasm: <---in case you think I'm serious..

[Gemini Cat]

23. "...the best way to clear his mind and

reconnect with everyday America" RECONNECT WITH EVERYDAY AMERICA!?
Who the blue bloody blazing hell in America can take a month long vacation like this vacationing fool!
Damn. Just damn!

[K8-EEE]

24. Lazy, Worthless Puppet....

Doesn't make any difference if he's there or not. He's not even a little bit in charge of the evil BushCo, he's just the spokesperson.

[LibDemAlways]

49. Absolutely.

He never works. He wouldn't qualify for a gig as a Wal-Mart greeter in the real world, anyway. What difference does it make whether he rides his bike in Crawford or DC?

[niallmac]

26. Mr Paranoia here; "...he spent a month at the ranch shortly before 911?!!

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

27. Clearing brush...what a fucking joke nt

[bvar22]

30. He must give his handlers FITS....

..playing with his little chainsaw (called a "lady finger" in Timber Country).

You KNOW what happens when bush* tries to ride a bicycle or eat pretzels. Even though his little chainsaw is practically a toy, it could take off a hand or foot REAL quick. I wouldn't stand within 10' of that awkward asshole while he had it running.
His handlers must REALLY sweat every time he picks that thing up!

I can hear them now, :"Hey George, This is a REALLY GOOD DAY for riding your bicycle. Wouldn't you rather ride you bike instead?"
:rofl:

[Lisa]

32. there was a time when he went out in his boat ...

Mr. Fidget spotted a tree snag sticking out of his lovely new expensive bass pond. Even though that kind of thing would actually be good for the pond life (and be useful for tying his boat to, besides), he decided that he HAD to get it out of there so it wouldn't spoil the beautiful smooth surface of the water or something.

So there he was, standing up in the boat, with the chainsaw, and it's starting to get windy out there. There are so many things wrong with that from a safety point of view that I don't even want to think about it.

No wonder they insist on having a doctor, a nurse, and several Secret Service guys on standby to keep branches from hitting him on the head, when he's out there swinging that chainsaw around. I'm just glad that he's not on my train maintenance crew -- he'd be a menace.

Unfortunately I'm not making this up.

[SammyWinstonJack]

47. Do they make electric chainsaws?

:think:

[CantGetFooledAgain]

38. I don't begrudge him his record vacation time

After all, things are going great. The war in Iraq was a cakewalk, as predicted, and it is now a peaceful and thriving young democracy that is standing on its own without a US military presence.

Homeland security is in place and keeping us safe from terrorism. Osama Bin Laden is in prison awaiting trial and Al Qaeda has disbanded. America is loved all over the world for our intelligent and effective response to 9/11.

Our clean, renewable energy initiatives are right on track and we're becoming less dependent on foreign oil every day. The environment is protected and pollution and toxic waste are being cleaned up across the country. The Clinton budget surpluses were protected and have grown. The economy is doing great and good jobs are available for all.

So let the President have his vacation. He's earned it!

[supernova]

40. I prefer * on vacation, just imagine

the havoc he could wreak if he worked full-time at it!

[atommom]

41. Did he get another urgent PDB or something?

The aides are right about one thing, though ... we don't understand "Bush's own work habits". That's such an oxymoron that I don't even know where to start. :crazy:

[mopaul]

43. 5 weeks?...FIVE FUCKING WEEKS? did i read that right?

[newportdadde]

46. How can he take off all of this time?

I don't get it. I mean I have to part the waters just to get a whole damn week off, find people to cover me at the office etc its a real pain in the ass and I'm just a regular guy not the fucking President.

[dsc]

48. Teachers get a lot of flack for our vacations

but let's do a simple comparision. Bush is up to 319 days at his ranch with 4 and a half years of work. That works out to 70.888 days a year. The typical teacher's summer vacation is around 2 months which is 62 days. (July and August have 31 days). Christmas has 2 weeks which is 14 days. Spring break ads another 7. Thus the typical teacher gets 83 days off a year not including weekends except those included in the various breaks. So we take an extra 12 days off over Bush who is leader of the free world. We also don't get 2 hour lunches in which to jog.

[Lisa]

52. the teachers I know are busy for most of the summer ...

Teaching summer school, taking professional development training courses, doing administrative duties (particularly since cash-strapped school boards have been laying off secretaries, clerks, etc.) -- and of course, getting lesson plans ready for when things are totally slammed in September.

Along with the other estimates you quoted, there's also the fact that most teachers contribute some of their weekday evenings (and even parts of their weekends) to supervising student activities. Often unpaid. By the time Bush is asleep in his bed at 9 PM, a lot of teachers are still at it with night school, tutoring, football coaching, or school play/concert rehearsals.

My dad was an elementary-school teacher, and by the 3rd week of July he was already going over the fall syllabus and planning what he'd need to do. When he was promoted to administration (arranging alternate education programmes for troubled kids, teenage moms, and others who were falling through the cracks) -- after Canada Day (July 1) he would still be going for meetings at the Board of Ed building with the Social Services people, trying to tie up loose ends on his caseload. The meetings would start again about a week into August -- though we made it a ritual that we'd have a family getaway on Labour Day weekend, even if it was only for one day, our last taste of freedom before we both headed back into the classroom!

So when I began teaching at the college level, I had a pretty clear idea that the "two month solid summer vacation" for teachers/profs was much-exaggerated (usually by those who didn't have firsthand knowledge). And sure enough -- the last 2-month holiday I had was in 1992, before I started teaching summer classes in addition to regular term work. The people who sign up for teacher training with a long vacation as their main reason usually wash out before they learn the truth!

[midnight armadillo]

50. 'connect with everyday america'?

Bullshit! He'll be in a 10000 sq ft 'ranch' in the middle of friggin' nowhere, surrounded by sycophants and servants. Hardly 'everyday america'.

[symbolman]

51. These guys KNOW the White House is

TAPED, it's bugged, they are Evil but not that stupid.. all the bullshit they dream up to kill more innocents or avoid JAIL is done at the Pig farm, which they built to specs for safe Fascism planning.

Probably two miles underground he can cool off and play Nintendo all day in the Doctor Strangeglove suite..

Meanwhile on Planet EARTH 15 more marines DIED TODAY. Does he give a shit? A half a mouse's turd? Nope.

This fungus needs to be IMPEACHED and rapidly. THEN we impeach everyone one around him that can't be jailed. Then we jail the rest of them, let's toss the Media in so they can cover the suicide watches.

Scum. PURE Scum.

Wouldn't be surprised if they have Rove Hiding out there to avoid being served by Fitzgerald - the fucking HOLE IN THE WALL GANG that Can't Shoot Straight.

They should be tried and the Hague and sentenced to bury the dead while naked with SPOONS for the rest of their lives and only allowed to EAT whatever dead bloated animal they can find among the bodies, with a cup of maggots for dessert.

Rumsfeld should have to live on Nutrasweet and nothing else for the rest of his days.

Rove should never be allowed to SLEEP again.

Cheney should have to repair broken Microwave machines 18 hours a day and sleep on a cot next to a corpse..

In case anyone from the SS if reading this, it's all SATIRE, I have no means to harm any of these brain trusts and no intent to be near them for any reason - if you could please ship them all to another planet where they can pollute it endlessly and make farting noises with their armpits for the rest of time, I'd sure appreciated it.

I'm beginning to wonder if there's a single human cell among these monsters, that the haven't eaten from a person with a soul.

I think Satan must have better Karma than these clowns, is it still legal to HATE these bastard Killers?

[cornermouse]

53. Republicans belly-ache about the french and other european's

vacation time as being too much but see nothing wrong with Bush being on vacation 20% of the time? Spread it out over the year and that means Bush works no more than 32 hours a week.