Media Cheer Obama's Golf Outings; Criticized Republicans' Trips to Course

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

How fast some forget what a name W made for himself during his first six months in office...

The vacation president

Bush can take as much holiday as he wants

Special report: George Bush's America

The Guardian, Thursday 9 August 2001 01.42 BST

You are probably expecting us to be outraged by the news that George W Bush has spent 42% of his presidency on holiday. How dare the man play hooky so often that he has managed to rack up a whopping 54 days at his Texas ranch, 38 days at the presidential retreat at Camp David and four more at his parents' place in Kennebunkport, Maine - and all in the seven short months that have elapsed since he took the oath of office.

Now he is back in Texas, starting the longest White House vacation since 1969. Forget Kennebunkport; this is the Can-I-bunk-off presidency.

That would be the predictable reaction. Recalling the fears of last year's campaign - including the charge that Mr Bush was an indolent, glorified fratboy, more suited to organising a neighbourhood barbecue than occupying the world's highest office - would be cheap.

Instead we have a subtler reaction. We begin by noting that American presidents have often taken their leisure time seriously. Bill Clinton may have had a feverish appetite for the job, but Ronald Reagan was forever disappearing off to his California ranch, while Dwight Eisenhower was rarely glimpsed off the golf course. The voters did not mind: both Ike and Ronnie are still revered in America.

So we do not begrudge Mr Bush his month-long vacation. We simply request that he now let Americans follow his example. The US currently gives workers the stingiest holidays in the industrialised world: a fortnight if you are lucky. That is clearly not enough for the president - even a fortnight a month barely does the trick for him - and it is not enough for his nation.

We would welcome such a move: it might slow down US productivity and give the rest of us a chance to catch up. Come to think of it, we would encourage Mr Bush to take even more time off: given what he has done when he has been at work, the more time he spends out of the office the better.

And less seriously but quite to the point:

CHENEY, BRIEFLY ASSUMING BUSH’S DUTIES, SAYS HE ENJOYED THE DOWNTIME

President’s Colon Procedure Offered Welcome Break From Grueling Vice-Presidential Schedule

Vice-President ####### Cheney, having briefly assumed President Bush’s duties while the President underwent a routine colon procedure on Saturday, told reporters today that he “enjoyed the downtime immensely.”

The two hours and fifteen minutes spent doing Bush’s job were “incredibly relaxing,” Mr. Cheney said, adding that they were a welcome relief from his exacting Vice-Presidential schedule.

Invoking the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the Constitution Saturday morning, Mr. Bush transferred to Mr. Cheney all of his presidential responsibilities, which meant that Mr. Cheney spent Saturday jogging, going to the gym, and hitting a ball for Mr. Bush’s dog to retrieve.

In addition, Mr. Cheney called the nations of East Timor and Luxembourg “evil,” stumbling briefly over the pronunciation of Luxembourg.

Finally, as Mr. Bush’s colon procedure was winding down, Mr. Cheney made some remarks about the Japanese economy, mistakenly using the word “devaluation” instead of “deflation,” sending the NIKKEI stock market into a tailspin.

All in all, Mr. Cheney said he emerged from his brief tenure as President rested and refreshed, ready to plunge back into his demanding Vice-Presidential workload.

As for the President, Mr. Bush’s doctors pronounced his procedure a success, but said that they were having difficulty determining whether or not the President’s anesthesia had fully worn off.

Mr. Bush’s doctors indicated that when they asked the President the standard post-operative questions – such as, “What is the capital of the United States?” – Mr. Bush got only two out of five correct.

“Before the operation, he got three out of five right,” one doctor said.

so let's add them up and compare in another 3 months?

The Guardian article is dated August 9 - that's a little more than 6 weeks away. But sure, let's compare. Bush's gonna win this one hands down.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What is there to compare though?

Bush courted the press when he was "recreating", Obama doesn't. There's really nothing more to it than that - and it can be hardly argued that one is getting favorable coverage over the other. The only reason Obama isn't being criticised is because he isn't giving the reporters anything to report.

Edited June 23, 2009 by Private Pike

[alienlovechild 75]

The Guardian article is dated August 9 - that's a little more than 6 weeks away. But sure, let's compare. Bush's gonna win this one hands down.

Which wars and plummeting economy was Bush facing prior to Sept. 11th?

As I've said before, it really doesn't matter what Obama says or does as long as he's got the media in his pocket. Even saying nothing to the press while golfing is seen as a positive to the media.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

The media goes off of public perceptions as much as it has a role in shaping them.

[HAL 9000 96]

Maybe there's a bit of logic to the media's apparent love affair with all things Obama. Or was it all things departed from GWB? ALC alluded to it by noting we weren't in a war nor had a plummeting economy until GWB came along.

Maybe it has more to do with relief than with pleasure.

Edited June 23, 2009 by HAL 9000

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Maybe there's a bit of logic to the media's apparent love affair with all things Obama. Or was it all things departed from GWB? ALC alluded to it by noting we weren't in a war nor had a plummeting economy until GWB came along.

Maybe it has more to do with relief than with pleasure.

The media was also gung ho and pro-government after 9/11. There was relatively little (if any) criticism of Bush back then...

Though things were a bit muffed up when Bill Clinton arrived on scene quicker than GWB who was by then cowering in his fallout shelter half a mile beneath the Rockies

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

The Guardian article is dated August 9 - that's a little more than 6 weeks away. But sure, let's compare. Bush's gonna win this one hands down.

Which wars and plummeting economy was Bush facing prior to Sept. 11th?

As I've said before, it really doesn't matter what Obama says or does as long as he's got the media in his pocket. Even saying nothing to the press while golfing is seen as a positive to the media.

Memory issues?

487 Days At Camp David For Bush

He will likely miss the place: According to CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, today's trip marks Mr. Bush's 149th visit to the presidential retreat. The planned three-day stay, during which the president is being joined by family and former and current aides, will bring his total time spent at Camp David to all or part of 487 days.

Yes, that's 487 days. And Camp David is not even where the president has spent the most time when not at the White House: Knoller reports that Mr. Bush has made 77 visits to his ranch in Crawford during his presidency, and spent all or part of 490 days there.

487 + 490 = 977 days = 2.68years = 33.5% of two terms

There were no wars and no tanking economy during Bush's two terms which is why he could afford to spend a third of his presidency either at his Crawford Ranch or at Camp David? Intersting perspective.

This from Aug 2005 - no wars then either, no?

Vacationing Bush Poised to Set a Record

With Long Sojourn at Ranch, President on His Way to Surpassing Reagan's Total

By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker

Wednesday, August 3, 2005

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 -- President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of -- nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time.

The president departed Tuesday for his longest stretch yet away from the White House, arriving at his Crawford ranch in the evening to clear brush, visit with family and friends, and tend to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

President Bush, getting ready to fly to his ranch with dog Barney, said the day before: "No matter how hot it gets, I enjoy spending time in Texas." (By Duane A. Laverty -- Associated Press)

The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and Tuesday was the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- roughly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president's travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents' compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush's time away from Washington even further.

Bush's long vacations are more than a curiosity: They play into diametrically opposite arguments about this leadership style. To critics and late-night comics, they symbolize a lackadaisical approach to the world's most important day job, an impression bolstered by Bush's periodic two-hour midday exercise sessions and his disinclination to work nights or weekends. The more vociferous among Bush's foes have noted that he spent a month at the ranch shortly before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, when critics assert he should have been more attentive to warning signs.

To Bush and his advisers, that criticism fundamentally misunderstands his Texas sojourns. Those who think he does not remain in command, aides say, do not understand the modern presidency or Bush's own work habits. At the ranch, White House officials say, Bush continues to receive daily national security briefings, sign documents, hold teleconferences with aides and military commanders, and even meet with foreign leaders. And from the president's point of view, the long Texas stints are the best way to clear his mind and reconnect with everyday America.

"I'm looking forward to getting down there and just kind of settling in," Bush told reporters from Texas newspapers during a roundtable interview at the White House on Monday. "I'll be doing a lot of work. On the other hand, I'll also be kind of making sure my Texas roots run deep."

"Spending time outside of Washington always gives the president a fresh perspective of what's on the minds of the American people," White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters Friday. "It's a time, really, for him to shed the coat and tie and meet with folks out in the heartland and hear what's on their minds."

Just as Bush has made these August trips a regular feature of his presidency, so, too, have Democrats made a tradition of needling him about them. This year, opposition politicians are tying his departure from Washington to the CIA leak case that has swept up his top adviser, Karl Rove.

"The White House stonewalling operation is moving to Crawford for the dog days of summer, but they can't hide from the legitimate questions dogging the president and his refusal to keep his promise to fire Karl Rove," said Josh Earnest, a spokesman for the Democratic National Committee.

Presidents have often sought refuge from the pressures of Washington and from life in the White House, which Harry S. Truman called the crown jewel of the American prison system. Richard M. Nixon favored Key Biscayne, Fla. Bush's father preferred Maine. Bill Clinton, lacking a home of his own, borrowed a house on Martha's Vineyard, except for two years when political adviser ####### Morris nudged him into going to Jackson, Wyo., before his reelection because it polled better.

Until now, probably no modern president was a more famous vacationer than Ronald Reagan, who loved spending time at his ranch in Santa Barbara, Calif. According to an Associated Press count, Reagan spent all or part of 335 days in Santa Barbara over his eight-year presidency -- a total that Bush will surpass this month in Crawford with 3 1/2 years left in his second term.

"The Oval Office is wherever the president of the United States is," said Kenneth M. Duberstein, who was Reagan's last White House chief of staff. "With the communications being what they are, the president can communicate instantly with whomever he wants anywhere in the world."

Bush will not return to the White House until around Labor Day, but his staff has peppered his schedule with events to dispel any impression that he is not on duty. He will visit at least seven states, mostly with quick day trips, including New Mexico, where he plans to sign energy legislation into law. He gets off to a quick start this week, with a speech Wednesday in nearby Grapevine, Tex., then he plays host to President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia at the ranch Thursday. His schedule is clear Friday through Sunday.

At some point, Bush told reporters Monday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld will visit for consultations. "I have a busy couple of weeks down there," Bush said.

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."

Edited June 23, 2009 by Mr. Big Dog

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I don't think bush ever did much more than play at the presidency. It might as well have been a sporting trophy.

[alienlovechild 75]

The media was also gung ho and pro-government after 9/11. There was relatively little (if any) criticism of Bush back then...

Most liberals were terrified of somehow getting called unAmerican or soft on terrorism then lied later about knowing nothing about what the Bush Administration was doing. It didn't actually happen (or much) but liberals are still haunted by the taut as if happened daily.

Now we have a media which says very little critical of Obama on any issue because it's their boy in the White House even though most of the issues are the same. The standard line is now "If Bush did it so can Obama" thereby strangely sanctioning anything Bush did and expanding on the policies. When Cheney's approval goes up as Obama goes down on national security issues, you know the media is having trouble spinning the message.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Now we have a media which says very little critical of Obama on any issue because it's their boy in the White House even though most of the issues are the same. The standard line is now "If Bush did it so can Obama" thereby strangely sanctioning anything Bush did and expanding on the policies. When Cheney's approval goes up as Obama goes down on national security issues, you know the media is having trouble spinning the message.

Dave - that's a nice flight of fantasy, but none of it (not one bit of it) is demonstrated in any way by this article.

It seems to me that the President gets to set a limit on where, when (or if) the press have access to them when they're not engaged on offical business. Obama not allowing reporters to interview him on a golf course is hardly some smoking gun of media bias.

[alienlovechild 75]

Dave - that's a nice flight of fantasy, but none of it (not one bit of it) is demonstrated in any way by this article.

I left the golf course green and went into the rough.

It seems to me that the President gets to set a limit on where, when (or if) the press have access to them when they're not engaged on offical business. Obama not allowing reporters to interview him on a golf course is hardly some smoking gun of media bias.

Obama is a master at picking and choosing when, where and whom to talk to in the media. My problem is that if Bush had pulled the same stunt we'd get endless footage of Bush or boating juxtaposed to foreclosed homes or photos of the wars. What he said wasn't remembered but the photos on the golf course were.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Dave - that's a nice flight of fantasy, but none of it (not one bit of it) is demonstrated in any way by this article.

I left the golf course green and went into the rough.

It seems to me that the President gets to set a limit on where, when (or if) the press have access to them when they're not engaged on offical business. Obama not allowing reporters to interview him on a golf course is hardly some smoking gun of media bias.

Obama is a master at picking and choosing when, where and whom to talk to in the media. My problem is that if Bush had pulled the same stunt we'd get endless footage of Bush or boating juxtaposed to foreclosed homes or photos of the wars. What he said wasn't remembered but the photos on the golf course were.

No - what was remembered was how insincere it looked for the President to make a big deal about victims of Middle East terrorism and then tell reporters to "watch this drive" a second later.

As I said - its all about managing appearances, and while someone may have advised Bush that making like a "man of the people" in front of cameras might give him some kudos, it did also make him look excruciatingly banal.

Edited June 24, 2009 by Private Pike

[Ban Hammer 13,636]

bush spending on war: 600 billion in 5 years

obama stimulus plan: 850+ billion in 3 months

bush plays golf. obama plays golf.

end result: bush is a #!@%!#$#$!^@$!!!!111

[웃 910]

bush spending on war: 600 billion in 5 years

obama stimulus plan: 850+ billion in 3 months

bush plays golf. obama plays golf.

end result: bush is a #!@%!#$#$!^@$!!!!111

Hows your states unemployment rate doing? My state is doing so bad it's ranked 51 out of 50

Libs can argue Bush caused this but the truth is Obama is only magnifying the problem.

Unemployment Rates for States

Monthly Rankings

Seasonally Adjusted

May 2009^p

RankStateRate

1 NEBRASKA 4.4

1 NORTH DAKOTA 4.4

3 SOUTH DAKOTA 5.0

3 WYOMING 5.0

5 UTAH 5.4

6 IOWA 5.8

7 MONTANA 6.3

7 OKLAHOMA 6.3

9 NEW HAMPSHIRE 6.5

9 NEW MEXICO 6.5

11 LOUISIANA 6.6

12 ARKANSAS 7.0

12 KANSAS 7.0

14 TEXAS 7.1

14 VIRGINIA 7.1

16 MARYLAND 7.2

17 VERMONT 7.3

18 HAWAII 7.4

19 COLORADO 7.6

20 IDAHO 7.8

21 CONNECTICUT 8.0

22 DELAWARE 8.1

23 ARIZONA 8.2

23 MASSACHUSETTS 8.2

23 MINNESOTA 8.2

23 NEW YORK 8.2

23 PENNSYLVANIA 8.2

28 MAINE 8.3

29 ALASKA 8.4

30 WEST VIRGINIA 8.6

31 NEW JERSEY 8.8

32 WISCONSIN 8.9

33 MISSOURI 9.0

34 WASHINGTON 9.4

35 MISSISSIPPI 9.6

36 GEORGIA 9.7

37 ALABAMA 9.8

38 ILLINOIS 10.1

39 FLORIDA 10.2

40 INDIANA 10.6

40 KENTUCKY 10.6

42 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 10.7

42 TENNESSEE 10.7

44 OHIO 10.8

45 NORTH CAROLINA 11.1

46 NEVADA 11.3

47 CALIFORNIA 11.5

48 RHODE ISLAND 12.1

48 SOUTH CAROLINA 12.1

50 OREGON 12.4

51 MICHIGAN 14.1

Edited June 24, 2009 by Confucian