Off-Duty Bush Home on the Range

Washington Post ^ | 8/10/02 | Scott Lindlaw

[Jewels1091]

CRAWFORD, Texas –– President Bush is filthy, his wrist is bleeding and sweat is dripping from his chin. But he is exuberant as he hauls freshly cut cedar to a burn pile.

"We're lifting weights!" he says, a thick log on each shoulder. Throwing them onto the pyramid, he cries: "Oh, baby!"

This is Bush Unplugged at the Texas ranch he loves. It is the president in his anti-Washington mode, in a world where he can roam canyons, jog across the open prairie, fish for bass and rescue his beloved oak trees from the suffocating cedar.

[Libertina]

Special thanks for posting this Jewels. President Bush is great because he is a regular guy, and more than a regular guy. The best kind IMHO! :)

[surely_you_jest]

Rubbing elbows just might do them some good.

Nah. At least it will piss them off.

[terilyn]

Fun article!

Thanks for the ping wphile.

[Afronaut]

Gee why do the work when he can get some of those Mexicans for 4 bucks an hour?

When is Fox coming?

[Wphile]

Here's another pic from another thread.

[terilyn]

I'm confused...

Is he wrong because he's doing the work himself?

Or is he wrong because he didn't hire "some of those Mexican's for 4 bucks an hour?

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

he hauls freshly cut cedar to a burn pile.

Global Warming Enviro Nut ALERT!

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

Yeah, 'cause playing golf at Kennebunkport is soooo different from swilling wine at Martha's Vineyard....

Three differences I can see. 1)The family OWNS a home at Kennebunkport and the elder Bush spends half the year there. 2)GWB spends more time in Texas than in Kennebunkport. 3)He doesn't drink white wine.

[ivegotabrain]

What have you got against white wine? I like wine. I buy it in a box.

[GretchenEE]

Wonder if Scott Lindlaw is vying to be the first at the WAshington Post to follow in Major Garrett's footsteps!

Great read. Thanks for pinging me.

[Afronaut]

If you beleive that GWB is in his element in these shots then I have a bridge to sell you. Photo Opp. city here folks...

[twyn1]

OOOO-I really, really LIKE this pic (#45-drivin' the pickup)!!

[Clara Lou]

Please tell us what you know about Bush's "element." Who but a knowledgeable rancher knows that you have to clear non-native cedar? He could just run on his jogging path and skip clearing the cedar. How many votes does cedar-clearing get him? -- in your knowledgeable opinion, of course.

[twyn1]

Photo Opp. city here folks...

Ummm..nope I don't think so...maybe with the former president and his "look how much I love my dog, Buddy" pics...but not these--nobody gets "filthy" and bleeds during a photo op...President Bush LOVES being at his ranch...and he is not faking it

[kayak]

Wrong! He'd be doing that whether the cameras were there or not.

How do I know that? Because on several occasions he has mentioned clearing the cedars when he has a chance to get to the ranch ..... and those times he has talked about it there were no pics, no cameras.

Your replies are beginning to sound like you just signed up on FR with an agenda.

[Mercat]

My husband is the same. He'll be 60 in November and averages 100 miles a week on his bicycle and that's not a spin class, it's out on the roads.

He looks like he's 45.

[Miss Marple]

Correctomundo. Signed on last month.

Those who don't support the President like to think that he is a fake, that his appeal is based on "photo ops" and "image consultants."

The reason he is successful is because he is real. They can't stand it and thus posts like Afronaut's.

It doesn't occur to those folks that there are millions of people who spend their weekends clearing brush, pulling weeds, staining decks, working on cars, etc. and LIKE IT. Ha!

[olliemb]

Kennebunkport is where his parents live.

There are public golf courses. That is how we afford it.

Most people when they take vacation leave their work at work. The president moved his office and brought his work with him. Why can congress take a month off but the president can't ? And if congress says they work during their August time off, the same can be said for the president.

The comment about Marthas Vineyard and the wine was said for all the reporters who b***ched about Crawford.If the Clintons and the Kennedys happen to do the wine thing at Marthas Vineyard--well they are collateral damage.

It is the democrats who constantly decry the class warfare argument. So don't pounce on the president.

[Dakota gal in Seattle]

Your post was exactly what I was thinking as I read this article.

Thank God...a real man as our President!

[McLynnan]

Wow! I struggle to do a few slow miles on the treadmill a few times a week. Very impressive.