White House Letter: Presidential campaign ruins Bush's vacation

[Rose Siding]

by Elisabeth Bumiller

WASHINGTON George W. Bush has spent the last three Augusts at his ranch in the scorched flatlands of Crawford, Texas, where he has cleared brush, gone for runs in scorching heat and summoned sweaty cabinet members to eat fried jalapeño peppers at the only restaurant in town. No one ever confused the place with that white-wine-swilling island in the Atlantic Ocean, to reprise the president's putdown of Martha's Vineyard, and so Bush has loved it all the more.

But this year, the 2004 campaign has ruined Bush's Texas vacation. Or, put another way, if Bush doesn't give up a lot of his summer holiday, the fear at the White House is that he could be on a permanent one as of January.

"The decision was made a while ago," a Bush adviser said on Friday. "The president will spend a good portion of his time traveling in August as we head toward the convention." The adviser insisted on anonymity because the president's August schedule is still in flux.
...
In deciding on Bush's vacation, as in all decisions at the White House, politics were paramount. During a summer when Michael Moore's film "Fahrenheit 9/11" is attacking Bush for spending 42 percent of his first eight months in office on vacation instead of worrying about Al Qaeda (Moore's calculation came from The Washington Post), the image of Bush lazing away August on his sprawling ranch was not one that Karl Rove, Bush's chief political adviser, particularly relished.

Still, there was debate over Bush's vacation within the White House. One group argued that the president should do whatever he wanted, while another, including Rove, said in essence that Bush should not.

http://www.iht.com/articles/529958.html

[mbperrin]

1. Doesn't that make you want to bust out

cr.............dying laughing!!!???? Har dee har har!

[joanne]

4. He's not only the dumbest President in history

He's the laziest. Even Reagan never took that much time off.

As long as his vacation to Crawford is PERMANENT in January.

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. I think that's why we haven't seen much of W

or the rest of his cohorts, lately. It seems they're taking their August vacation in July this year and hoping that no one will notice.

[Sporadicus]

3. Damn Straight!

You need to take that vacation! Don't listen to 'turd blossom!' He's not the boss of you! You do what you want!

[mermaid]

9. Right On!!

Don't listen to "turd blossom!" Get that vacation! I feel better when you AREN'T in Washington, anyway, you asshat! Even though you being in Crawford means you are that much closer to ME...which makes my skin crawl!!

Why am I suddenly having an earworm going on?? The theme song from "Malcolm In The Middle" is going thru my head..."you're not the the boss of me now, you're not the boss of me now, and you're not so big...life is unfair..."
Tee hee hee...

[olddem43]

5. Yes, the poor man will have to keep on -

pretending to be doing something useful, while Cheney and Rove call the shots.

[fearnobush]

6. Is ok Chimpy, you go to your summer camp.

[DS1]

7. Goddammit!!!!!! F*CK* We now officially have something in common

I like fried jalepenos too :nuke: :grr:

[mermaid]

11. Ah, Don't Worry About It...

I like fried jalapeños! And knowing the sadistic S.O.B. Dubya is, he probably slips HIS to the dog, while making his staffers eat them, so he can laugh at them with their wouths and eyes watering, breaking out in a sweat, and chugging water!

Somehow, I don't see a guy who chokes on friggin' PRETZELS as being able to handle fried jalapeños!!

[TacticalPeek]

12. Caution - appearances are appearances.

Shrub might hate fried jalapenos, and dread clearing brush. But if Rove tells him it makes him like Raygun, or it gives the press good pics and 'color', the aWol toad will hop exactly where KKKarl says.

Remember, he bought that Crawford ranch one year before he ran for governor, IIRC. His pollsters may have worked up a demographically optimized menu for him as well. All indications are that this is how it works with this self-described "media creation".

[mermaid]

14. Correction

He bought the Crawford ranch after he was already the Republican nominee for President.

Before that, he lived in Midland, and the Gubnor's Mansion here in Austin.

He wanted to cultivate the "cowboy" image, the better to look like Ray-gun, and so the Crawford ranch became his new home.

By the way, in case anyone from outta Texas didn't know this, Crawford is not too far outside of Waco.

[TacticalPeek]

15. Cool. Even better.

At first I thought it was as you say, but thought, nah, too cynical, and was too lazy to google it. Thanks for the correction.

The year before governor must have been when KKKarl explained to him the difference between Medicaid and Medicare. His inadequacies are so plentiful it is hard to keep them straight.

And I know better than to consider ANYthing too cynical or callous for these creeps.

[mermaid]

29. NOTHING Is Beyond Those Creeps on the Right

'nuff said.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

26. And it's not a ranch - no cattle.

However, before he bought it, it was a pig farm. :-)

Notice how Jeb was born in Texas, but has no accent, while Dubya was born in Connecticut and has what people think is a Texas accent but is incredibly fake?

All hat, no cattle.

[mermaid]

30. Of Course No Cattle

Bush couldn't hit the broad side of a bull's ass with a bass fiddle!

Why you surprised? He couldn't find oil in Texas, and he has a "ranch" that has no cattle...he was born in Connecticut and claims to be Texan...he has a fake Texas accent...Nothing about the man is real...except, of course, the damage he and his Evil Empire are doing to this country!

[Judi Lynn]

47. They have portrayed it in the media as being waaay out in the middle

of nowhere, like the King Ranch, for cryin' out loud. Thanks for the real picture.

[peterh]

41. It’s no biggie….

The fact that I like fried jalapeños (Jr.) and dislike broccoli (Sr.) means squat in the big picture….it’s one’s taste for humanity that supersedes all and the Bush critters have zip….

[lanparty]

8. Yeah, the whole "president" thing has interefered constantly with ...

... his 3.5 years of vacation.

Even if Bush stops now, he'll have taken more vacation in 4 years than Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter combined over TWELVE years.

[Demeter]

10. Go On, Take the Vacation

Take as long as you want--take the rest of your life. Stay out of Washington, and any other city.

It's amazing how quiet it gets when they turn off thew GOP echo chamber.

[MichiganVote]

13. Time for another visit

to South Park.

I hope he rots wherever he is. He is worse than useless. Can't wait till we're not hearing from the likes of his governess, Karl Rove,either.

[cliss]

16. OK, here goes: I'm gonna cuss.

Has it occurred to anyone else that this guy has been bragging about being "wartime president". And yet, he's out of the office 42% of the time (I think that's what Michael Moore claimed). And while a war is raging which HE instigated in the Middle East.

This just occurred to me while I was reading down the thread.

In the meantime, American soldiers are getting shot at, getting injured and maimed, are in harm's way while this guy is out CAMPAIGNING. Or worse yet, at home clearing brush.

Doesn't Rove understand how this sounds? A war where no one makes any sacrifices, certainly not the rich who are actually getting their taxes CUT.

The fucker.

[mermaid]

31. Of Course!!!

You really think the average SOLDIER is getting 42% of his time on vacation??
Ah, but in bush's world, they ARE...because, after all, the government paid for their ticket to an exotic location...fuckin' Baghdad!!

[truthisfreedom]

17. bush's biggest disadvantage here is not that he can't go on vacation. it's

that he can't secretly meet with his handlers. see, his vacations are only to provide time for him to meet secretly with people who can be kept off-the-record from lists at the WH. in Crawford, nobody has to be accountable for anyone who meets with bush. he can do all of his dark dealings in private. now, he has to arrange clandestine meetings on the road, furtive meetings that risk exposure. when he's in Crawford there's no phone records that are public information, no visitor lists, no recordings, no witnesses... but in the WH everything is on record somewhere and bush is required to be on his best behavior, something he has serious difficulty with.

i hope the stress is too much. i hope he's one seriously confused mofo when he has to debate Kerry.

[Sideways]

22. Exactly TIF This Is The Bigger Issue For Bush

His MF "vacations" are where the psych-ops dudes work overtime on him so he can prepare for "speeches", "interviews", "press conferences" IOW his fucking job. He is going smack into the convention having been forced to spend August on the bus looking glum and having to stay somewhat sober. August is also his drink/snort 24/7 colonic.

So no heavy duty coaching and no drinky and drugging. He is going to lose it "BIG-TIME" in in early September. Take it to the bank.

This should be a good fucking melt down. Almost as good as my exes when I cut up his Armani suit after his "working weekend" with his then sex-ratary. :evilgrin:

[mermaid]

32. Yeah...And He Uses Air Force One

to do it...by making some sort of token "public business" trip coincide with a fundraiser a mile away on the same day. Anyone remember Atlanta, on MLK Day?

[Solly Mack]

18. so now we know what's important enough to get Bush off vacation

the sad shape America is in was never enough...

[mermaid]

33. Yeah...He's Gotta Plot How To Steal The Next Election n/t

n/t

[dusty64]

19. Oh what a shame,

for once the naked emperor may have to work through a summer.

[mermaid]

34. Work? Bush?

Are you kidding...the man hasn't worked an honest day in his life! He wouldn't have the first clue what work even was!!

[jpgray]

20. Consider also this is when he has the money advantage over Kerry

Since the conventions are so far apart, August will be GOP spendtime.

[mermaid]

35. I dunno about that...

Kerry/Edwards are breaking all the records for fund-raising. Bushie's in trouble and he knows it!

A conservative-leaning EV counter recently, based on new polls, has shown Bush losing Ohio, Nevada, and Missouri!!

And very close to losing Virginia, North Carolina, and Louisiana!!

He's gonna go down in flames in November, unless he can find a way to cheat!

[pathansen]

21. It sounds like Karl Rove is Bush's boss.

I was not aware that he was Bush's Chief Political Officer

[mermaid]

36. He's Not

He's Bush's Puppet Master. Bush is the face guy. Rove's the "President" in all but name, of course.

[yellowcanine]

23. It was ok to vacation when a credible terrorist threat was received in

August 2001 but not ok when your election campaign might suffer? Ok George - nice to know where your priorities lie.

[mermaid]

37. you Ever DOUBTED Where His Priorities Lay??

n/t

[progressivebydesign]

24. Uh huh... and Kennebunkport, Maine is different from Martha's Vineyard.

Oh brother.. who writes this shit? Bush ONLY clears brush for the cameras? Are journalists that stupid? Did you SEE how much his little ol' pig ranch is valued at? Millions of dollars. He's in Crawford, Texas.. even hundreds of acres there would NOT sell for that much. His house in Crawford is a fucking mansion. He is used to living in extreme wealth. They make it sound like he's living in the pre-Beverly Hills home of the BEverly Hillbillies. What a sham article.

[louis-t]

25. I love the little staged area

where reporters stand when broadcasting. The tiny ramshackle chicken house or whatever it is. * is a phony's phony.

[mermaid]

39. It's not a chicken house

It's an outhouse! Where else do you think they come up with all the shit?

[louis-t]

43. I thought it was where they keep

the chickenhawks.

[glitch]

27. That's Elizabeth Bumiller - lightweight candidate for the

Judith Miller-Susan Schmidt sorority.

[mermaid]

38. Nope. The Media Is His Lapdog.

They don't print what he wants, they don't get access to him, ever again. He made that very clear in the early days of his "Presidency."

no media outlet wants to be frozen outta the White House.

It's all about ratings and money.

It isn't about journalism anymore!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

28. Just a reminder - from 12/31/03

They were all set to just sit back and win by being "above the fray."

http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/12/31/elec04.prez.bush.elections.ap/

CRAWFORD, Texas (AP) -- With Democrats dominating the political landscape as the primaries approach, President Bush is staying above the fray publicly while his campaign quietly maps out ways to spend his unprecedented war chest and to put his opponents on the defensive.

<snip>

Some view it as a modified Rose Garden strategy, a variation on the tactic Jimmy Carter complained President Ford was using in 1976. That year, Ford basked in the glory of the White House, signing bills, making pronouncements, getting free publicity, while Carter had to fight for attention. Carter used the same Rose Garden tactic four years later; They both lost.

[mermaid]

40. Well, Let's Hope Bush Loses, Too

One termer. Like father, like son. And both of them can't hear the message..."IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID!!"

[charlie105]

42. You're really determined to get out of the 700 club aren't you?

Well, good luck. I'm sure you'll do it.

:-)

[Aunt Anti-bush]

44. With any luck

after November he'll be on permanent vacation...

[Hekate]

45. Oh da poor t'ing! I know just how he feels...

...My hubby isn't getting a vacation this summer either. He's prepping to teach classes for a colleague who never thought he'd be called up for service again after being in Gulf War I. Well, colleague thought wrong, so sometime in August he'll kiss his wife, new baby, and new mortgage goodbye and be shipped out.

So I'm sure Bushie and Laura know just how we all feel, too.

Hekate

[Tight_rope]

46. WHO THE FUCK CARES...HE'S ALWAYS ON VACATION...WHEN DOES HE WORK!