By MARC MCDONALD
If anything has been predictable in the administration of George W. Bush, it's that Bush loves his European-style month-long vacations.
And when he's vacationing in Crawford, Bush doesn't like to be interrupted, come hell or high water.
And while, around the globe, politicians are scrambling to cope with the world's latest crisis, the stunning assassination of Benazir Bhutto, Bush has once again shown that his leisure time comes first, before any other priority.
It's not the first time that Bush has relaxed in Crawford while a major crisis was unfolding.
Who can forget how a vacationing Bush casually strummed a guitar in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury in the worst natural disaster in the history of the United States? Who can forget how Bush ignored officials' warnings about how Katrina could breach levees and put lives at risk?
It wasn't the first time that a vacationing Bush has ignored urgent warnings. After all, in the midst of his 5-week vacation immediately preceding the 9/11 attacks, Bush ignored a Presidential Daily Briefing, hand-delivered to him by CIA officials, who flew from Washington to Crawford in August 2001.
The Aug. 6, 2001 PDB, as we now all know, was titled, "Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S." Bush took no action (and indeed, went fishing later that day).
In the turmoil of the past seven years of Bush's presidency, few things in this world have been predictable. However, one thing that has remained predictable like clockwork is that, when crisis strikes, Bush will put his vacation plans ahead of the interests of the nation, and the world.
On Wednesday, Bush arrived in Crawford for the 69th time of his presidency. In all, Bush has spent an incredible 418 days of his presidency in Crawford. In fact, at the current rate, Bush looks to easily beat Ronald Reagan's record as the president who took the most vacation time while in office.
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12 comments:
The lengthy vacation that Bush took immediately before 9/11 was the longest vacation that any president had taken in 32 years.
Hey wait! If you think about it...We would be much better off if he stayed in Crawford until January 09! At least he stands little chance of making things worse while trimming hedges with his lady trimmer chain saw.
You forgot the one vacation he cut short to sign a bill for Terri Schiavo. Once again preserving the world for freedom and democracy.
It's clear that, 6 years after 9/11, the Taliban are stronger than ever. Not only have they recaptured most of Afghanistan, but they are growing in power and influence in Pakistan.
When Bhutto announced she was going to return to Pakistan, the Taliban brazenly announced that they would greet her with suicide bombers. Of course, I don't think we'll ever really know the full story of what happened with Bhutto's death.
But one thing is clear: Pakistan was already the most dangerous nation on earth---and now it is on the brink of total meltdown with the assassination of Bhutto.
It's hard to fathom how disastrous the situation is. Consider:
1. Osama Bin Laden lives in Pakistan.
2. The Taliban is growing in power in Pakistan.
3. Al Qaeda is growing in strength in Pakistan.
4. Pakistan has nuclear bombs.
5. Pakistan is on the verge of meltdown---and when that nation goes up in flames:
6. Who can say who'll get their hands on the nukes in the ensuring chaos?
Meanwhile, our military is bogged down in the disastrous Iraq adventure---a fiasco that has all but bankrupted the U.S. and exhausted our military to the point where it'd be very hard-pressed to respond to an emergency elsewhere in the world.
How 30 percent of Americans can still support the bumbling idiot in the White House escapes me.
Bush is everything America has become. Stupid / lazy / quick tempered / leave the problem for somebody else, attitude.
Bush is the right man in the right place at the right time in America's present social climate.
It's clear that, 6 years after 9/11, the Taliban are stronger than ever. Not only have they recaptured most of Afghanistan, but they are growing in power and influence in Pakistan.
EXACTLY WHAT bush AND his cronies WANTED!
It's difficult to be a Concerned Citizen these days and not feel completely ignored, whether by this current misAdministration or by the M$M.
Having George twiddle his thumbs in Crawford as the world burns no longer surprises anyone who hasn't been asleep for the past 6+ years.
Thanks for keeping track of the sad stats for us, Marc.
The 30% is the complicit MSM. All the News that's fit to print.
To Beefeater: even if Bush had access to everything he did at the WH in the same time frame, etc., there is clearly a symbolic difference to the people in this country and others. Staying in Crawford communicates an entirely different message than returning to Washington. Had you studied in college rather than drinking with your pasty young republican friends while having ghetto and illegal immigrant parties, you would understand this. But alas, you and your friends did not learn much in college rather than to parrot some neo-con.
Marc, Carl Jung believed that about 30 percent of every population is certifiably pychotic. In America --that's the GOP.
In the past, the hard core nut jobs could count on peeling off some support that was just "slightly right of center". But, alas, pretending to be sane is hard work and the real hard core was getting nuttier by the day. Proof of that is the fact the GOP field is a list of whacked out nut jobs: Huckabee, Giuliani, Romney, Paul, Thompson. I am amazed that they have escaped the loony bin.
Beefeater is correct in that there is no theoretical reason why Bush can't give directions from Crawford just as easily as he gives them from the White House. But my own favorite example for his dereliction of duty is the summer of 2003. It was clear by the beginning of his vacation that year that the Iraq insurgency was obviously in a "sustained guerrilla conflict" mode, it was growing in strength and was clearly going to last for the foreseeable future.
For Bush to have cut his vacation to a week or so, to have gone back to the White House and for him to have huddled with generals and admirals in the Situation Room would have demonstrated seriousness and determination. It would have demonstrated "I know what's going on and doing whatever it takes to fix the problem and to get my strategy back on track." His taking a full month off demonstrated his cluelessness.
Oh please, you must work sometime for the other time to be a vacation.
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