A Day in the Life of President Bush...12/26/08-12/28/08

yahoo news; whitehouse.gov;daylife.com | 12/30/08 | Daisyscarlett

[daisyscarlett]

President and Mrs. Bush left the D.C. area today and arrived in TX where they will vacation at their ranch in Crawford.

[daisyscarlett]

ENJOY YOUR VISIT TO SANITY ISLAND

[daisyscarlett]

DOSE PING

PLEASE DO NOT POST OR REPOST PHOTOS TILL THE "ALL CLEAR"

[daisyscarlett]

A warning to trolls, disruptors and other BDS sufferers:

"If you value your posting privileges, don’t let me catch you on a Dose thread again. Got it?" ~ Lead Moderator

[radiohead]

hi

[daisyscarlett]

Silentjonny has computer problems today...he should be back next Weds....

[daisyscarlett]

U.S. President George W. Bush and family gather on Christmas at Camp David presidential retreat in Thurmont, Maryland, December 25, 2008. Seated front row, Lauren Bush, Ashley Bush, Ellie LeBlond, Gigi Koch, Elizabeth Andrews, Marshall Bush, Pace Andrews, Walker Bush. Second row, John E. Bush, George P. Bush, Barbara Bush, Pierce Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, former first lady Barbara Bush, President George W. Bush, first lady Laura Bush, Jenna Hager. Top row, Mandi Bush, Sam LaBlond, Neil Bush, Ally Bush, Maria Bush, Bobby Koch, Doro Koch, Margaret Bush, Marvin Bush, Columba Bush, former Gov. Jeb Bush, Henry Hager, Noelle Bush, and Robert Koch.

[daisyscarlett]

US President George W. Bush (2nd L) tries to help his mother Barbara Bush (C) with her dog as they walk off Marine One at Andrews Air force Base, Maryland, on December 26, 2008 before departing to Crawford,Texas.

Former first lady Barbara Bush untangles Air Force Col. Steven Shepro, commander of the 316th Wing, from her dog

[MamaB]

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

[daisyscarlett]

US President George W. Bush (L) talks with his father former President George H.W. Bush (2nd L) as his mother Barbara Bush (2ndR) walks off Marine One at Andrews Air force Base, Maryland, on December 26, 2008.

President George W. Bush walks with his father, former President George H.W. Bush, right, on Friday, December 26, 2008 at Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

[daisyscarlett]

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush speak with their daughter Barbara Bush, left, upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. on Friday, Dec.. 26, 2008. The Bush family are en route to Crawford, Texas.

[daisyscarlett]

First lady Laura Bush walks with former first lady Barbara Bush and her dog upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Dec.. 26, 2008. President George W. Bush and his family departed for Crawford, Texas.

President George W. Bush waves as he walks with his father former President George H. W Bush upon their arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. on Friday, Dec.. 26, 2008, before leaving for Crawford, Texas.

Former President George H.W. Bush (L) waves as he boards Air Force One with First Lady Laura Bush (2nd L) and his wife Barbara (top) as US President George W. Bush (C) talks with visitors at Andrews Air force Base, Maryland, on December 26, 2008.

President George W. Bush waves from Air Force One before departing Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Friday, Dec.. 26, 2008, before leaving for Crawford, Texas.

[daisyscarlett]

President George W. Bush and first lady Laura Bush wave to onlookers from Air Force One, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, as they arrive in Waco, Texas.

U.S. President George W. Bush (R) carries his dog Barney next to his wife, first lady Laura Bush, after arriving in Waco, Texas, aboard Air Force One, December 26, 2008.

President George W. Bush waves to onlookers as he carries Barney, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, after arriving in Waco, Texas.

[daisyscarlett]

President George H. W. Bush waves to the traveling press as he steps off Air Force One, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, after arriving in Waco, Texas with his son President George W. Bush and family.

Former President George H. W. Bush smiles at the press after arriving aboard Air Force One on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 in Waco, Texas.

[daisyscarlett]

Former President George H.W. Bush, right, and Barbara Bush walk their dog after arriving aboard Air Force One, Friday, Dec. 26, 2008 in Waco, Texas.

[daisyscarlett]

Former President George H. W. Bush waves to onlookers as he drives away with wife Barbara on Friday, Dec. 26, 2008, after arriving in Waco, Texas with his son President George W. Bush

[unkus]

Thank you daisyscarlett. We’re going to miss this American family.

[Humal]

Absolutely love the 2nd picture here. Imagine a former First Lady “untying” an Air Force Colonel from a leash.

The family picture above is so nice. Quite a large family they have now.

[Kaslin]

Thanks for the ping. Great photos, especially the family photo

[daisyscarlett]

"ALL CLEAR"

[rickmichaels]

Despite disagreements anyone may have with their policies, both President Bushes are class acts.

[daisyscarlett]

You are first today and win the toaster!

[daisyscarlett]

How was baby’s first Christmas?

[daisyscarlett]

You are welcome and they are quite a family, aren’t they? Maybe Jeb will be able to host his family at Camp David some day?

[Churchillspirit]

Great picture - thank you.

Glad to see First Lady Barbara was well enough to be there.

[Kaslin]

Check your freepmail

[daisyscarlett]

I love the matching scarves 41 and Barbara are wearing. Wonder if one of the grandkids made them for them. Also check out 41's tie...too cute...

[Churchillspirit]

Wonder why the ladies are both wearing black.

Has someone died?

[daisyscarlett]

Got your freepmail...no problem.

[unkus]

Yes and Yes. God bless our country.

[daisyscarlett]

Yes, Barbara Bush looks fit again.

[daisyscarlett]

Has someone died?

First of all, black is always in fashion, especially with pearls. Second of all, Laura only has a black coat on; in TX she is wearing a blue jacket.

[daisyscarlett]

In regards to your first comment, please see post #3.

In regards to your second comment, they are indeed class acts.

[daisyscarlett]

Kaslin...thanks for the following info: Tonight on Special Report with Brit Hume, Bret Baier had a report on the President’s physician, Major Tubb, who will also be leaving the White House when the President leaves. Not only was Major Tubb the physician for the President, but also for the the Vice President and 350 other employees in the White House.

Also Bret Baier had a report on chief White House photographer Eric Draper-showed us so many great photos of the President.

Major Tubb certainly did a fine job, keeping W and Cheney healthy all these years. Here is a photo of him taken last week when he accompanied W to Walter Reed to have an MRI of his shoulder.

If you missed Special Report, it will be rerun later tonight. I would love to see Eric Draper. He has taken so many wonderful photos that we have used on the Dose.

[SuziQ]

I love Poppy and Bar’s purple scarves!!

[SuziQ]

Hope your Christmas was wonderful, too, Mama B.

We got ourselves a daughter-in-law to be for Christmas! Our #1 son proposed to his girlfriend last week. She's a real sweetie. They're planning a wedding for later in 2009, but not sure of the date yet.

[Kaslin]

Here is a photo of Eric Draper from an Ask The White House report that I just found via Google search

http://www.whitehouse.gov/government/draper-bio.html

[NordP]

And I'm takin' it to be a sign that my VIKINGS will beat the NY Giants on Sunday, too! ;-)

[MamaB]

She got so much attention and it is just starting. She loved the baby girl pink and white blocks but she was also more interested in the boxes and paper. We are going to TN tomorrow to see my late hubby's mom, brother, his daughter who is a senior this year, his sort of adopted sister, her husband and daughter who goes to UT. Will be a bunch with all of us. Then Sunday, baby and parents are going to w. AL to see his relatives. She is going to be one tired baby after all of these trips. We all enjoyed her so much and she is the best baby we have ever been around. The new little girl will be here in a few weeks. So, won't we all have fun with 2 little ones to spoil.

I have been listening to BostonPete.com which is having cowboy Christmas music on the OJ Sikes show. So many beautiful songs which I had never heard before. One is Corn,Water and Wood. Had never heard it before but ordered the cd which has it on it. Y'all need to listen to this show. Don't know how long he will have it on.

[NordP]

Thanks for posting that Kas. I’ve never seen him, but have seen his NAME 100s of times.

[Kaslin]

James Lewis has a great editorial in the American Thinker

The psychopathology of Bush hatred

The Bush hatred we are seeing in the media today belongs in the long catalogue of human psychopathology -- not rational behavior. The latest version is the shoe-throwing incident in Iraq. Iraq happens to be a hot war zone, in which tens of thousands of innocent people have been killed by hidden bombs. Bush's protective detail had no way of knowing whether an assassinaton attempt was under way, in just the way Saddam tried to assassinate George H.W. Bush, Sr. At the end of his two terms of office, the President flew to Iraq, into harm's way, knowing the dangers, to hold an open press conference.

But our media harbor such bitter hatred for him that they turned a potential bomb-throwing incident --- by one of their own --- into a joke, just another reason to sneer at the President. If anybody threw a cream pie at Obama, screaming headlines would be launched for days afterward. Nothing but sneers followed the potential attack on George W. Bush, which he fended off with his usual grace and humor. I have never known a US president to be treated as disgracefully as this one. The political case against him is based almost entirely on media falsehoods, slanders, and greed for power. Not much rationality there.

Our public melodrama is therefore being driven, not by facts and reason, but by the most primitive emotions that prey on human minds. Human  brains haven't changed much in the last thirty thousand years. Homo sapiens is a lot more prosperous species than ever, but prosperity just allows those ancient demons to come out more freely. If we were huddled by a small fire in a cave, hungry and miserable, we could not indulge our fantasies as much as the pop media now allow themselves to do. Prosperity permits our primitive urges to flourish on the public stage.

President George W. Bush is being crucified in the public square in spite of his plain decency and goodness, and in spite of his remarkable success in winning two difficult wars to protect this nation from harm. All wars are hard; all wars involve mistakes and self-correction. All wars, if they are to be won, come at a cost.

While it is natural enough for conservatives to be upset by the blatant unfairness of the propaganda media  --- indeed, by their visible madness --- if we just take a little mental distance, we can easily see an ancient anthropological drama: The crucifixion of the reigning king, along with the messianic glorification of a new one, who will surely rescue us from our media-driven despair. (Of course the new king will also grow weaker in time, in spite of his charismatic magic  ...) This is the stuff of Shakespeare and Sophocles. George W. Bush's "head is bloody but unbowed," to quote the poem Invictus, ("undefeated') the Victorian answer to political witchhunts.

The novelist Mary Renault described the whole ordeal in her classic story, The King Must Die. Renault based her tale on legends of royal sacrifice from the ancient Mediterranean world --- in Greece, Asia Minor, Crete, Italy, and elsewhere. Read it if you want to understand Bush hatred and Obama worship. Her source was Sir James Fraser's remarkable book, The Golden Bough. While anthropologists have backed off Fraser's claim that king sacrifice is universal, the respected scholar James D. Brown argues that the evidence favors "Oedipal rebellion" as a universal among native peoples studied over more than a century. We no longer hang our kings physically, but the Left and the media act just like the lynch mobs of old. Listen to their voices and you'll hear the ancient roar of the mob.

We can watch the tragicomedy of our psychopolitics unfold and still keep some perspective. Think of it as a stage play like King Lear, and pray that reason prevails in the end. The Leftist media are actors playing the ancient role of the politically envious, who exist in every tribal culture where the head of the clan sleeps uneasily, fearful of plots and assassination attempts. All politics is not just local, as the Washington saying goes, but deep down it is tribal.

What is hopeful today is what was hopeful at the American founding: the use of constitutional means to channel our loves and hates into a fairly reasonable course of common action. The majority of Americans are pretty sane and rational; they don't trust the political class, and they are deserting the Big Media in the tens of millions even now. The American Founders knew all about vulgar mobs, and lived to see them in the French Revolution of 1789, with Napoleon rising on top of the revolutionary chaos to explode into a mass war of conquest in Europe. The Founders despised all that. They designed the Constitution to steer a steady course in spite of mobs and demagogues. It has worked magnificently for two centuries, and with luck and courage, it will hold.

Alexander Hamilton famously said, "The people? The people is a great beast!" But that was not accurate: We are all "the people," as the Declaration of Independence tells us. "The people" are the source of all good and bad things. The people -- properly balanced by a constitutional apparatus -- have brought prosperity that was unimaginable two hundred years ago. The people harbor wisdom and common sense in a way that snobbish elites soon forget.  Conservatism is skeptical about human nature, but not cynical or  despairing. Nor do we look to  messianic leaders like Barack Obama to solve our problems. We look to muddle through, to give individuals the space to grow and succeed, to stand against the mobs, to fail at times, and then to fight again.

Whenever conservatives see yet another mob movement from the Left, we feel it is our obligation to stand in opposition. It is not unpatriotic to criticize the messiah of the moment -- though the Left will say so. It is our duty. We can do so with reason, with humor, and with clear thinking about the bad ideas the Left seems to carry around like a scratchy case of the fleas.

President Bush is not a theoretical politician. He is a practical man. He has constantly made the best decisions by his lights, sometimes against his own ideals, because reality sometimes makes things like war necessary; sometimes it makes massive bailouts necessary. The conservative question is always, "What is the realistic alternative?"

The end product of conservative politics is a mix of realism and idealism. Bush has liberated some fifty million Muslims, including one Arab journalist who just hurled his trendy hush puppies at him in an ancient gesture of contempt. That man is alive today because of George W. Bush -- Saddam would have fed him screaming into a plastic shredder. Compared to Obama and the corruptocrats, Bush will soon look like an American hero. Just watch it happen.

[Kaslin]

You’re welcome. I have never seen him either

[maica]

Re First Lady Barbara, it seems that Bush 43 was more solicitous of the care of his father than his mother. Perhaps it is because his father is not steady due to the replaced hips, but I think his father is failing mentally, and his mother is still very sharp.

[Majie Purple]

Neat info/pi re:Eric Draper...He takes great photos of Pres.B. & F Laura etc...That would be a great job to have!
:)More like a privilige/honor then a job.

[Majie Purple]

Great Fam & Great Fam pic!!

[Jewels1091]

why would you say 41 is failing mentally?

[Majie Purple]

Purple scarves for CHRISTmas gifts(my guess,LOL!...If so,cool! (amoung other stuff,natch.

[Kaslin]

He sure does, as do all the other White House photographers

[Majie Purple]

info/pi... I meant pic,there...
:)

[Kaslin]

I know what you meant. :)

[Majie Purple]

The mal treatment of Pres. B. by the media & other Bush bashers is: shocking;uncalled for;unprofessional;biased and undeserved...

Sad to see Him have to go through it all...

& So sad to see Him & Laura go at end of terms:(

But He & Laura certainly deserve a rest!!!!!!!! and a forever honored/remembered legacy of “Well done thou good and faithful servent” type of remarks & recollections.