August 03, 2005
A posie that blooms every year, about this time...
Yet again there are lefties criticizing the President for taking too-long vacations, when he "should" be burning the midnight oil in the White House. Here's an article from the WaPo, Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record...
....But he will make time for fun, or at least his idea of it. Bush rarely takes the type of vacation one would consider exotic -- or, to some, even appealing. His notion of relaxation is chopping cedar on his ranch or mountain biking through rough terrain, all in 100-degree-plus temperatures in dusty Texas where crickets are known to roast on the summer pavement. He seems to relish the idea of exposing aides and reporters to the hothouse environment.
"I just checked in with the house -- it's about 100 degrees," he told reporters Monday. "But no matter how hot it gets, I enjoy spending time in Texas."...(Thanks to Orrin)
The STUPIDITY of the critics always amazes me...
- Bush has a Harvard MBA. You'd think people might just suspect that he knows something about management? In fact, it's a basic principle that the leader of any really large organization should not obsess over details. There are just too many of them.
- What the leader should do is put a lot of effort into personnel decisions. Strive to hire the very best people, then give them room to operate, and make decisions (and mistakes). This is precisely what Bush does.
- The Presidency is the ultimate burn-out job. Taking breaks, taking lots of time for exercise, is exactly what a president ought to do if he's going to stay strong for 8 years.
- Andy Card once drew a ton of flack for saying, in regards to Bush's apparent inactivity in August 2002, "From a marketing point of view, you don't introduce new products in August.'' But marketing is precisely the President's job. There's very little he can do by decree; he has to sell his programs to the public and to Congress.
- And, as I've often pointed out, every year Bush comes back strong around September, when people are done with vacations and are ready to get serious again.
And of course modern communications let the President do the same stuff at the ranch that he does in the White House. But still, there's this fantasy vision people have, of residents as mastermind-spiders, sitting in the Oval Office sleeplessly monitoring a thousand threads connected with everything. We've had presidents who tried to do that. Think LBJ, think Jimmy Carter...They were atastrophes.
Posted by John Weidner at August 3, 2005 10:10 AM | TrackBackBush's vacations aren't really vacations as most people know them. They are packed with briefings, conference calls, interviews, visits with foreign dignitaries, consultations with political strategists, et cetera. It's the same stuff he'd be doing in DC, but he does it in Crawford or Camp David.
The press corps hates the inconvenience and they always post whiny stories about it.
Posted by: lyle at August 3, 2005 05:22 PMYou know, I read your excerpts and I don't really see any criticism, simply accurate observations that he loves to spend time on his ranch, no matter how hot it gets...
In fact, seems to me, the only ones getting worked up over this are you guys? Are you getting that sensitive that he is just what he appears to be? A one-dimensional loser who has only had any success in life because of Daddy's money and powerful friends? You're sure getting defensive over Dubya...
Posted by: Zoomie at August 3, 2005 06:31 PMBy the way, saw some great quotes I wanted to share:
"You can support the troops but not the president."
"Well, I just think it's a bad idea. What's going to happen is they're going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years."
"Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?"
"If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain the y have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy."
"I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions...There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military."
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is."
Um, no. "Exit strategy" means "how to slink away a beaten puppy while declaring that you didn't lose."
In the real world, the only exit strategy is ... victory.
You know, like the exit strategy we had for Germany and Japan in WW2.
Nobody should go on about Bush's vacation and work-out time until they consider the leisure pursuits of Taft and Wilson. The latter two played more rounds of golf in office than today's Florida retirees.
Posted by: "Mindles H. Dreck" at August 5, 2005 07:11 AMThe president is on duty 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, no matter where he is or what he is doing. George Bush has not had a vaction since January 20, 2001, and he will not get one until January 21, 2009. The earlier commenter is probably correct that the whiney articles come from "journalists" who don't like to go to Texas because while the president is sleeping in his own bed, they have to check in to a motel.
Posted by: Cameron King at August 5, 2005 11:48 AMIf anyone cares, the quotes above were made by, respectively:
Tom Delay
Joe Scarborough
Sean Hannity (on FoxNews, 4/6/99)
Karen Hughes
Tom Delay again
and Ray, that quote on exit strategy you clearly think is crap...well, it was made by Gov. George W. Bush of Texas...
hmmmmm.....
IOKIYAR
Posted by: Zoomie at August 5, 2005 06:25 PMYes, the President is on duty 24x7...but weren't we at war? I thought...Guess even war takes 2nd place to vacation.
You know, I've been reading about Bush's vacation habits, and I've concluded he honestly believes most Americans routinely take vacation just like he does, that we all get 10-12 weeks of paid vacation per year. So whats the big deal?
Posted by: Zoomie at August 5, 2005 06:30 PMHe's not taking a vacation - he's telecommuting.
Posted by: Kathy K at August 6, 2005 10:55 AM
