Theories of why * is suddenly taking an "extended" vacation to Crawford?

[caledesi]

After that "Press" Conference the other day, it is obvious that this guy is either on tranquilizers, drunk, clinically-depressed or had a stroke. It was the worst press conf ever, so incoherent, the grasping for words, the ramblings, the non-answers...

Even my 89-yr old mother called me and as we talked (she seldom talks politically) said "Did you see that press conf? What is wrong with him. I am not the smartest person, but even I noticed that he wasn't "right." My mother is a Dem, but if she is talking, that means her friends are talking....yes, the tide is indeed turning.

Personally, I think it was a meltdown. I mean did you see this moran? It was pathetic. I actually felt sorry for him. Why did he even call this conf only 2 hours in advance?

So now we hear he is going on an extended vacation to Crawford?

Theories about what's happening, anyone?

Edit: forgot about my mother

[theivoryqueen]

1. They sidelined him

Cheney told him to go take a time out.

[Mari333]

2. Maybe he saw an actual newspaper

and realized he is the most hated man on earth.
Feel sorry for that rat bastard? Not me,
I feel sorry for the 15,000 dead civilians in Iraq, the 400 or so dead soldiers and thousands of wounded soldiers in Iraq, and the millions of people everywhere who are being destroyed by his admin policies..

[caledesi]

28. When I said I felt sorry for him, I meant

it as the kind of reaction you have went someone is making a speech and it is so embarrassing, that you, the listener are actually turning red for the speaker..almost feeling sorry for the guy.

Get the hook!

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Getting prepared for another 'terra' attack??

Is this why he appeared ill or nervous or rambling?

[maine_raptor]

4. One word: Fundraiser

n/t

[ixion]

5. I think you're right...

he's coming apart at the seams... constant lying will do that to a person... it eats you up. Also, the spoiled little rich monkey king probably can't stand the heat for all his lies and deceit. get ready for many 'extended' weekends on the Pig Farm.

[NicoleM]

11. Lying doesn't bother someone

who has no conscience.

[number six]

6. Relapse.

This reeks of a serious addict relapse.

[caledesi]

20. NS - Details as to why you think this? Personal experience?

I am curious bec my husband and I were discussing this crazy press conference and *'s demeanor.

My husband thinks that he is depressed AND on tranqs.

Also, even Freeperville was talking about how bad he looked, how depressed he seemed...

[number six]

25. From my experience, my suspicions are very strong

I have been very close to people who have been addicts, from heroin to alcohol to tranquilizers. From a personal perspective its an area i've visited myself, not to put too fine a point on it. Your husband sounds right. I'm not a doctor and don't pretend to diagnose, but the danger signals are the weird mood changes, inappropriate retorts and lack of focus. He certainly seemed medicated, whether prescription or otherwise.
My impression was that someone is leaning on this man, putting great pressure on him. Again, i'm no expert, this is just personal observation.

This doesn't contradict Janekat's post, btw. A nervous breakdown ties in with all of this.

[KoKo]

35. A post here said he spoke to some HS Students about his Alcohol Use and

Destructive behavior in his youth. A forty year old man is in his youth? But, that was a sign to me that he's thinking about his past and his behavior is very much on his mind. For someone as empty headed as he is to be doing retrospection, does seem he might be becoming unstable.

Since I've always thought it wouldn't take much in the way of having to perform Presidential duties to throw him over, I'm not surprised. Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon had disruptive Presidencies where so much was on their plates it took a terrible toll. Nixon acted out in the same way I think Chimpy has been and will continue to do. Lyndon had the guts to leave it.

[Wwagsthedog]

7. Should rush be ready to welcome him with open arms?

n/t

[kittykitty]

8. A caller to C-Span pointed out

that he no longer appears in from of banners, or surroundd by service men and women, or wears jackets or caps representing his audience.
His press conference was ourdoors (odd) and he wore a plain business suit. Distancing himself from everything?? and now going to Crawford?

Did that brush grow up again?

[Changenow]

32. The last time I remember him speaking

with an audience behind him it was soldiers. The other details escape me but several of the troops didn’t salute when the time came. I assume those soldiers were disciplined, but it looked horrible for the Chimp. If the media reported that it would be a real fiasco, so I assume the policy of using soldiers as back drops ended then. Maybe the soldiers themselves also complained since they would pick African-American and Latino soldiers to be over Chimps shoulders, it could be that they said enough’s enough. Now they often use a big flag.

[NicoleM]

9. Yeah.

1. He's lazy. He took a trip around the world and it was hard work compared to what he does most of the time. He probably thinks he's earned a vacation.

2. He's a pouty brat. He didn't like the tone of some of the questions he got, and he didn't like the reception he got abroad, so he's taking his ball and going home for a while.

[rasputin1952]

38. LOL...

maybe that Thai curse is working!

:bounce:

[janekat]

10. Nervous Breakdown time.... and I aint kidding

I'm speaking as a former psychiatric social worker.

[caledesi]

21. Wow! This is scary. Will he come back to the WH and be sent

to the attic for the rest of his term? LOL!

[janekat]

43. I thought he was already there.... ya know who's REALLY running things

n/t

[qwertyMike]

12. Detox

Was this scheduled?

He needs a rest from being Leader Of The Free World

[maine_raptor]

13. No.......

We need a rest form his being Leader of the Free World!!!!

[Zero Gravitas]

19. If its been more than 2 weeks since the lasy vacation

its time for another, so yes its "scheduled" in the sense that he hasn't been there for a couple of weeks.

[diplomats]

14. Did they just announce he was going on an "extended" vacation?

I must've missed it. Do you have a link? This is awfully strange. Something has to be up. He must be ill, or drugged, or something.

[demnan]

15. I didn't see a story about another vacation Link?

Does anybody have a link to this story?

[caledesi]

24. This isn't the initial link I saw bec that one specifically said

"extended vacation from Wed-Sun.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/keye/20031030/lo_keye/presidentbushtakestimeforrestandfundraisers

[Mr. Brown of MD]

16. People say this every time Bush comes on TV

I have no choice to conclude that this means either:

1. he has always been messed up like this,
2. people exaggerate, or misunderstand, his condition.

Which it is, I can't say for sure.

But seriously, how many people who are supposed "swing voters" were probably watching this daytime press conference? Is it really going to put much of a hit on his apparent popularity with these people? I'd hope so, but I'm no longer expecting it.

People around here have been claiming that the tide is turning for two years now. Then, within a week or two, something comes along and everyone is pissed off and defeated again. It's a sad cycle. The only time it matters to have the tide turning is going into Election Day next year. Hopefully, whatever higher powers govern the universe are on our side at that point.

-CollegeDude
Shower time

[NicoleM]

17. The difference this time

was that the press asked him real questions. Questions that he didn't like. They made him mad. He said stupid stuff. And this time they called him on it.

[diplomats]

18. I don't think that many people were watching it

as you say. But if he's suddenly going on vacation, that does seem very odd.

[Mr. Brown of MD]

30. Not that he's ever needed an excuse to take a vacation

It's like his freaking default behavior.

"I haven't had a vacation in a couple of weeks, I think I'll take another vacation."

I haven't seen anywhere else that he's taking a vacation, but it wouldn't surprise me. I think a few days ago someone predicted that he'd take another Crawford vacation, not long after he got back from his Asia trip, and that is spot-on to what seems to be happening.

If there's any one thing the Dem nominee should be able to nail Bush for, not even getting into issues, it's got to be this frequent taking of vacations. There've got to be some vicious ads that can be constructed for this. Unfortunately, if one of the people in Congress wins the nomination, I'm not sure they'd have strong enough ground to attack Bush on this, since they have missed a lot of votes from campaigning. I guess we'll see what happens.

-CollegeDude
Could use a vacation but can't take one so easily

[Loonman]

22. Storage

The shit is coming down hard, and poor Georgy's fragile psyche can't handle it.

[Virginian]

23. I thought he just had a vacation in August.

Sometimes when he answers questions he sounds like he has an earplug with someone transmitting to him what to say. I would like to scan the audience to see if there is someone talking into his wristwatch or a curtain behind which is the Wizard of Oz.

[Stephanie]

26. Here's a link

He can run but he can't hide!

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?President Bush Takes Time For Rest And Fundraisers
Wed Oct 29, 9:00 PM ET

President Bush (news - web sites) is in Texas to raise money for his reelection bid and to spend time at his ranch near Crawford. Bush flew to Dallas for dedication of the Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship's Youth Education Center as part of his push for faith-based initiatives. Bush thanked the crowd for praying for him and his family. Meanwhile, about 50 protesters lined the street near the Dallas church. The demonstrators represented a number of factions. Some carried Palestianian flags, while others had US flags. One person held a sign that says: "Who would Jesus bomb?" Bush will attend two fundraisers for his reelection bid. One is out of state in Columbus, Ohio. The other will be in San Antonio.

[Changenow]

27. Tin foil hat time here.

Remember Ashcroft stopped flying commercial before 9/11? Cheney was still in DC which is strange, but Chimp was safely away.

Something’s up. Who else is out of DC?

[Virginian]

33. Suspicious, isn't it.

Did anyone see Cheney in DC on 9/11? They may have only told us he was there.

Suposedly, Cheney and Laura Bush were evacuated from the WH. Maybe they weren't there to begin with or evacuated the day before.

Bush doesn't seem to like staying at the WH. I hope we elect someone else who wants to sleep there.

[Stephanie]

34. No, Cheney ALSO took a month long vacation before 9/11

They both split town like the Chickenhawk Cowards that they are, KNOWING what was about to go down.

www.msnbc.com/news/907379.asp?0cv=KA01

The Secrets of September 11
The White House is battling to keep a report on the terror attacks secret. Does the 2004 election have anything to do with it?

April 30 — Even as White House political aides plot a 2004 campaign plan designed to capitalize on the emotions and issues raised by the September 11 terror attacks, administration officials are waging a behind-the-scenes battle to restrict public disclosure of key events relating to the attacks.

<snip>Some sources who have read the still-secret congressional report say some sections would not play quite so neatly into White House plans. One portion deals extensively with the stream of U.S. intelligence-agency reports in the summer of 2001 suggesting that Al Qaeda was planning an upcoming attack against the United States—and implicitly raises questions about how Bush and his top aides responded. One such CIA briefing, in July 2001, was particularly chilling and prophetic. It predicted that Osama bin Laden was about to launch a terrorist strike “in the coming weeks,” the congressional investigators found. The intelligence briefing went on to say: “The attack will be spectacular and designed to inflict mass casualties against U.S. facilities or interests. Attack preparations have been made. Attack will occur with little or no warning.”

The substance of that intelligence report was first disclosed at a public hearing last September by staff director Hill. But at the last minute, Hill was blocked from saying precisely who within the Bush White House got the briefing when CIA director Tenet classified the names of the recipients. (One source says the recipients of the briefing included Bush himself.) As a result, Hill was only able to say the briefing was given to “senior government officials.”


www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A15957-2001
Summer Spinning
To GOP, Vacation Boosted Bush Agenda; To Democrats, Voters See a Shirk Ethic
Aug 29, <2001>

<snip>The White House had announced that Bush would stay at his 1,600-acre ranch in Crawford from Aug. 4 through Labor Day on Sept. 3, a 31-day stretch that would have broken a modern record for a presidential vacation, held by Richard M. Nixon for a 30-day trip to San Clemente, Calif., in 1969. News reports played up the record, and a Gallup Poll found that 55 percent of respondents thought Bush's vacation was too long.

The length of the trip revived old questions about Bush's work ethic, and the poll and the news coverage caused consternation in the White House. Aides said they had planned an ambitious schedule for Bush as long ago as late June, but reporters were not told about it, even after they landed here. The White House, suddenly defensive, took every opportunity to show Bush on the go and even created a "Western White House" logo for the briefing room at Crawford Elementary School. Bush revealed that his ranch had new video conferencing equipment for keeping in touch with his national security team.

www.jacksonholenews.com/Archives/NewsArchive/2001/010815-News.html
News story - Aug. 15, 2001
A Working Vacation
Vice President Cheney plans to fish, travel during month-long valley sojourn.
By Angus M. Thuermer Jr.

Vice President Dick Cheney took time off from his month-long working vacation Monday to outline his plans for August in Jackson Hole and to reflect on "an amazing year."

Cheney, who will live at his Teton Pines home about six miles west of Jackson until Labor Day, defended his energy policy, supported a local decision to limit drilling around the Gros Ventre Wilderness, recalled a life of service in Washington and said his health problems are not affecting his ability to fish for trout on his favorite Western waters.

www.cbsnews.com/stories/2001/07/26/national/main303601.shtml
Ashcroft Flying High
WASHINGTON, July 26, 2001

(CBS) Fishing rod in hand, Attorney General John Ashcroft left on a weekend trip to Missouri Thursday afternoon aboard a chartered government jet, reports CBS News Correspondent Jim Stewart.

In response to inquiries from CBS News over why Ashcroft was traveling exclusively by leased jet aircraft instead of commercial airlines, the Justice Department cited what it called a "threat assessment" by the FBI, and said Ashcroft has been advised to travel only by private jet for the remainder of his term.

"There was a threat assessment and there are guidelines. He is acting under the guidelines," an FBI spokesman said. Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department, however, would identify what the threat was, when it was detected or who made it.

[DoYouEverWonder]

44. Cheney and W were both in DC yesterday

President Bush, left, walk down the Colonnade at the White House with Vice-President Dick Cheney, right, prior to his departure from the South Lawn of the White House Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2003 in Washington.


Then W flew to Texas and went to Dallas for this photo op:




Today he's in Ohio:



U.S. President George W. Bush acknowledges applause as he arrives for remarks at a fundraising luncheon for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, October 30, 2003 in Columbus, Ohio.


Seems like he's doing a lot of hopping around and a certain amount of disinformation is coming out of the WH in regards to him being in Crawford for an extended vacation. So far, he might have slept there last night but that's about it.

[Marymarg]

47. That middle picture is eerie!!

The pic of W in front of the cross weirds me out. It looks like the lights are out inside his head. Is there really nothing in there??:shrug:

[meg]

29. They're shredding papers and they want him out of town for

plausible deniability

[Aidoneus]

31. he's a lazy bugger who takes more vacation than a dozen working people?

wouldn't read much into this particular retreat, he's kinda been doing it quite consistantly since he took office..

[rasputin1952]

36. Maybe he needs to have a "Kitchen meeting"...

with Osama and Saddam. I hear that cell phones were interupted because of the sun's belch, and face to face talks work better anyway.

Besides, it's been a while since he read them bedside stories in Crawford.

:kick:

[calimary]

37. Well, that coupla days back in the office was just too much for our

li'l ol' First Dilettante. Him needed him nap-time.

[Stephanie]

39. Gunman in the Capitol, Suspicious Truck near the Pentagon

Bush? Out of harm's way. In Crawford.

Any more questions?

[number six]

40. Look, George... you go to the ranch

we hire a guy with a gun to run around the Capitol like a nut, Dick hides all your empties, you're back up in the polls!

[Yupster]

41. Why he's going to Crawford

Because he goes there all the time, for long periods of time.

[ignatius]

42. He needed some quality time with his buddies, the rattlesnakes

back on the ranch.

[Blayde Starrfyre]

45. Hmm

Well, you asked for theories about what is happening. As we all recall, he took a nice, long, regenerating, month long break at the ranch right before 9/11.

Should we be fearing for our safety? Is he preparing himself for another crisis?

[ComerPerro]

46. Three reasons

1) He is lazy
2) He is an alcoholic
3) One press conference every six months is too much for him.