Presidentin’: It’s Hard Work, Part II
So it apparently takes two giant crises in the Middle East to get Bush to shorten his vacation time. I wonder what it’d take to get him to cancel it altogether? An invasion by the minions of Xenu, perhaps?
August is usually when President Bush stays away from Washington to recharge at his Texas ranch.
This year, Bush is cutting his down time to only 10 days — the shortest summer break of his presidency — against the backdrop of the Middle East in crisis, Baghdad beset by violence and Cuba in flux.
Not a lot of time to clear brush. You better get crackin’, G-Dubz.
Bush usually spends three to four weeks at his 1,600-acre spread near Crawford, Texas. His rest, though, has been marred by wars, a re-election campaign, anti-war protests and Hurricane Katrina.
The poor dear. Presidentin’ is such hard, hard work!
Analysts see Bush’s shorter vacation as partly a response to the angry criticism last year from the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast that he and his administration were slow to respond to the disaster. Bush cut his month-long Texas stay by two days.
Oh yeah… that little thing…
“Last summer, he was not seen as being on top of the job,â€? says Merle Black, a political scientist at Emory University in Atlanta. “He doesn’t want to be seen taking a whole month off right now. It doesn’t look good.â€?
Sure doesn’t.
Also, that G-chord you’re pretending to play is a fret too high. Loser.
On his way to the ranch today, Bush planned to stop in Mission, Texas, to tour a Border Patrol facility and speak on immigration.
Hooray! Another photo-op!
Next Thursday, he will headline a $1,000-a-plate luncheon for Republican congressional candidate John Gard in Oneida, Wis.
More hard work.
The president’s only restful summer stay at the ranch was his first one, the month before 9/11.
“They don’t understand the definition of work,â€? he responded to critics of his time away at an Aug. 8, 2001, news conference. “I’m getting a lot done. Secondly, you don’t have to be in Washington to work. It’s amazing what can happen with telephones and faxes.â€?
See, Bush is secretly sending Morse Code signals to Condi and Rummy when he’s clearing brush.
At the risk of sounding all “fox and grapes” here: I haven’t had 10 days off work since 1995. So, SHUT UP, DUB!
You’d think with all these historic disasters popping up in August, he’d change his vacation date to, you know, never.
Maybe he is getting nervous about the direction the neighborhood is taking:
But then again, maybe there will be more vacation:
So, what disaster will befall us during his August vacation this time?
His rest, though, has been marred by wars, a re-election campaign, anti-war protests and Hurricane Katrina.
“Marred”? Funny word choice by USA Today, considering Bush was directly responsible for three of them, and fucked up badly in preparing for the fourth.
Also, “Cuba is in flux” …??? I thought that word got retired with the Back to the Future franchise.
In the picture with the guitar, to me the background always makes it look like the President has a serpent’s tongue.
And if I’m not mistaken, Oneida, WI, has an Indian Casino – perhaps an appearance by Abramoff and Bennet is in order?
Man he is Mr. America isn’t he.
The best reflection of all America stands for.
The Right Man as Frum said.
I’m not sure Bush being on vacation is such a bad thing really. Maybe if he’s clearing brush he won’t have time to further destroy the country for a bit.
And I’m glad he’s coming to WI to campaign for Gard. Gard is certainly a Bush conservative; cutting taxes is basically his only issue. Well, that and a bone tossed occasionally to the fundies, just to GOTV. Gard’s not terribly popular here and Bush is radioactive. Every time he comes here the Libertarian and Constitution parties get a big boost in membership.
Tough call. Do more people die when Bush is actively involved, or when he isn’t paying attention?
Best answer would be to give the poor boy a permanent vacation- I’m talking impeachment, here.
Feh. He’s gonna be in Wisconsin next week. Probably screw up all the traffic around the airport too. I hope he eats an undercooked brat.
Cutting taxes is a lousy issue in Wisconsin. Thompson did that for sixteen years, and left us with a budgetary flapdoodle (sound familiar?) that it took a Democrat to repair. Wisconsinites are budgetary conservatives, and view deficit spending as irresponsible.
Davidson Goldin, NY1: The president has been on vacation this summer. Do you think he takes too much vacation? Some have said he might.
Rep. Charlie Rangel: Oh no, it makes the country a lot more safe. The further Bush is away from Washington, the better it is. And sometimes I don’t even think Cheney is awake enough to know what’s going on.
actually, in the guitar picture george is playing the correct voicing of his signature chord, “G demolished”.
This is horribly unfair. You’re forgetting the fact that the president is The Decider(TM). If he suddenly cut short his vacation just because of a couple of regions of the US being flooded, it would show that his Decisions are not infallible, giving comfort and aid to our enemies.
Little known fact: The Harriet Myers fiasco? All because The Decider cut short his vacation to interfere with the Terri Shiavo situation. True story.
Presidentin’: It’s Hard Work, Part II
An excellent piece. I eagerly look forward to Part III in August of 2007 and Part IV in August of 2008. Will the series end in 2008 or will it continue into the next decade?
I hear Iraq is looking for tourists. Maybe he could spend his vacation there, showing us how safe it is. I understand, for example, that the murder rate is much lower there than it is in Washington, DC, where he normally lives.
Brad R., tsk, tsk, he’s obviously playing an Abmaj7b5/9 chord. Typical lie-brul, can’t handle The Preznit’s advanced harmonic sophistication. Why, he could have probably sat in with either of Miles Davis’ great quintets without any problem.
Just repeating this because it’s so true:
Tough call. Do more people die when Bush is actively involved, or when he isn’t paying attention?
Best answer would be to give the poor boy a permanent vacation- I’m talking impeachment, here
Why the FUCK is it that the President of the United States can take a fucking month-long vacation (10 days if a crisis comes up), and the country will be just fine, no need to worry, but if Rosie the Riveter or Carl the Cubicle Worker takes the same amount of vacation, the economy will fall into disrepair?
Fucking entitled piece of shit.
Brad R., tsk, tsk, he’s obviously playing an Abmaj7b5/9 chord. Typical lie-brul, can’t handle The Preznit’s advanced harmonic sophistication. Why, he could have probably sat in with either of Miles Davis’ great quintets without any problem.
Isn’t that The Lost Chord?
as I recall, Joel blew up his guitar when he tried it on the Satellite of Love.
Will the series end in 2008 or will it continue into the next decade?
Well, one sorta hopes so, what with the whole “two term limit” thing and all. You know something the rest of us don’t? The GOP gonna offer up yet another brain-dead empty suit to kiss babies and be availible for photo ops?
I knew it! Bush unleashed the 9/11 hijackers! The BASTARD!!1!11
Actually, I think Jose is showing his true colors in wishing for cancelled elections, martial law, and a lil’ ol’ military dictatorship come 2009. Because he lurves freeance!
[…] A leader who delays his vacation during an international crisis? Why, I’d almost forgotten they existed. […]
god bless Charlie Rangel.