President George W. Bush takes a break from cedar clearing at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Friday, Aug. 9, 2002. Also pictured are, from left, friend Ken Englebrecht, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and White House staffer Reed Dickens.
Posted on 08/18/2005 10:51:58 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
If it's August and the press is languishing in Crawford, Texas, it's time for the annual Bush vacation media bash. This means that unless there's a kidnapping or runaway bride story to hold the nation's interest, the media will instead launch into their favorite summer pastime; turning the president's visit home into a four-week sentence of derision and contempt.
The media seem not only offended that the president has the audacity to take a month off but that he persists in doing so in the middle of media nowhere. Unlike Bill Clinton who, until he left office, had no private residence to call home, President Bush dares prefer the dry dust of Texas to the haughty climes of chic, liberal playgrounds.
Beginning with his first year in office, his month-long trek to Crawford has occasioned wrath and scorn from the left and their media wing. Barely six months into his first term, USA Today was already chiding with the headline, "Poll Finds Most Are Put Off By Bush Vacation." The paper immediately tagged him as another lazy cowboy:
Bush's advisers are sensitive to the perception that he doesn't work as hard as some of his predecessors. If Bush returns as scheduled on Labor Day, he'll tie a modern record for presidential absence from the White House -- held by Richard Nixon at 30 days. Ronald Reagan took trips as long as 28 days.
Gratuitous though it was of USA Today to include Nixon and Reagan, there was no mention of President Clinton's frequent soirees which, when covered by the press, often included posed photo-ops of romantic hand-holding or dreamy beach-dancing with his devoted bride and hobnobbing with Hollywood celebrities. No such treatment is accorded Bush in Crawford, as the only thing he brushes up against is brush.
A year later, USA Today returned to its now-favorite subject, this time with "Bush Vacation Plans Draw Heat from Democrat," reporting that "A leading Democrat criticized President Bush on Tuesday for planning to spend a month at his Texas ranch while the stock market plunges and foreign affairs remain volatile."
In 2003, CBS's website registered with a little ditty called "Bush Vacation Is Over," where we learned that "Vacation is over for President Bush, who is back at the White House with a long list of pressing issues awaiting his attention," which of course went on to discuss neglected budget deficits and volatile foreign affairs.
In the August run-up to the '04 election, CBS, in an otherwise even-handed piece, nonetheless couldn't resist citing a DNC press release titled, "George W. Bush: Taking Vacation, Not Responsibility." They dutifully went on to note his total ranch days to date as 254, adding, "The Democratic National Committee loves to needle Mr. Bush about the time spent at his ranch."
And a rollicking 2004 piece by Fred Kaplan in Slate called, "The Out-of-Towner," posited that Bush's 2001 vacation may have been responsible for 9/11. Kaplan explained "how our government let disaster happen" and concluded, "The 9/11 commission has unveiled many critical problems in the FBI and the CIA. But the most critical problem may have been that the president was off duty."
This year's serving of sour ranch dressing takes on historic proportions as the Washington Post headline screams, "Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record." And, to clarify his position in the slacker hall of fame alongside you-know-who, the subtitle reads, "With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total."
In a rare departure, the Post actually makes reference to Mr. Bush's predecessor: "Bill Clinton, lacking a home of his own, borrowed a house on Martha's Vineyard, except for two years when political adviser Dick Morris nudged him into going to Jackson, Wyoming, before his reelection because it polled better."
What the Post fails to mention, however, is President Clinton's own record-setting performance as the all time globe-trotting president, especially during the time of his impeachment. Clinton's total of foreign trips -- business and pleasure -- nearly eclipsed those of his three predecessors combined, at a cost of untold millions to the American people.
Typical of the media's treatment of Clinton was in 1998 when he jetted off to Africa with 1,302 of his closest friends. He was generally let off the hook for his role in the hideous genocide in Rwanda because, after all, he apologized for slavery, didn't he?
No; media mockery and derision are reserved for him who merely wishes to eschew Beltway bloodsuckers for boots and barbecue. With the Congress and most of D.C. scattered to the winds until fall, those unfortunate enough to be stuck covering the president will continue to bemoan their lot and bewail his sloth.
In truth, what they really despise is having to endure the 100 degree heat, suffer Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld's ill-advised attempts at cowboy-wear, and, worst of all, breathe the insufferable air of red-state America.
Lisa Fabrizio is a columnist who hails from Connecticut. You may write her at mailbox@lisafab.com.
They just don't like that there's nothing to do in Crawford while they camp out there.
OTOH, I wish I could take as much vacation as Bush does, even semi-working vacations as his are.
Friedman is a Democratic Party contributor who once spent a night in the Lincoln Bedroom at Clinton's invitation.
Ethics watchdogs object because Friedman often needs federal approval for his projects, including a controversial hotel plan for Boston's City Hall Plaza.
Charles Lewis, of the Center for Public Integrity, says, "It looks as though this real-estate developer is trying to take advantage of the president of the United States and the federal government because of his friendship with the president."
The federal official reviewing the Boston project says Friedman brags of his political influence. But he tells CNN Friedman has never mentioned Clinton and that he has never been contacted by the White House about the project.
Aides say Clinton, who's been a guest of Friedman three times, likes the island's golf and other recreation opportunities -- like today's boat trip with Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy.
The White House says there's nothing wrong with the First Family accepting accommodations, like these, worth $15,000 or more.....***
Get a job.. and maybe you will get vacation! I have been with my company for 10 years. I get 4 weeks of vacation.!
Last year's vacation ruining camp was ex-Senator Max Cleland. The libs are determined not to let Bush have some peace and quiet.
Bears repeating.
President George W. Bush takes a break from cedar clearing at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Friday, Aug. 9, 2002. Also pictured are, from left, friend Ken Englebrecht, Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin and White House staffer Reed Dickens.
[1997] Bill Clinton may be resting, but the reporters in his entourage seem restless. On Tuesday's This Morning, CBS reporter Bill Plante suggested: "It's August and there's not much news anywhere, let alone here on Martha's Vineyard. Things are so slow that the press corps covered the President's golf scores as though they were part of a congressional investigation into, well, campaign fundraising." Back in Washington, however, new developments in the Clinton scandals are still seeping out slowly with little sense of media urgency: Source
Perhaps, if he didn't do it so often, they wouldn't bash him about it!!
No kidding.
Clinton had more fun in the Oval Office than taking a trip with Hillary.
They complain that the president is on vacation. Then they complain that the president is in Washington, so what else is new?
How much of Bush's vacation do you think is actually spent having down time?
I think the press should be deprived of air-conditioning while they're there. Maybe they'd all go home and find something productive to do.
Good to see it.
Bump for our very own Freeperette LisaFab....
HA HA, no putting Black Dog sweatshirts and Chanticleer dinner tabs on the Expense Report. No, getting to take a spin with "Uncle Walter" on his yacht.
I have no idea, but appearances mean a lot these days, and it just fuels the bashers. If you don't want to be bashed, then don't do what appears to be bashable.
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