The Wall Street Journal reports that President Bush will be headed to Crawford in August for his usual summer vacation:
BUSH WILL MIX work with vacation time at Crawford ranch. Aides explore August swing to battleground state such as Pennsylvania, where Republicans are defending three endangered House seats and Sen. Santorum. Also planned: one-year commemoration of Hurricane Katrina, viewed by Republican strategists as biggest second-term setback.
The president has spent more time on vacation than any other modern president. As of last August the president had spent twenty percent of his presidency at Crawford, according to a Washington Post story published in 2005:
Presidents have often sought refuge from the pressures of Washington and from life in the White House, which Harry Truman called the crown jewel of the American prison system.Richard 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 Dick Morris nudged him into going to Jackson, Wyo., before his re-election 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 three and a half years left in his second term.
"The Oval Office is wherever the president of the United States is," said Kenneth 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 after 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.
Should President Bush take a long vacation this year, with all that's happening? Please comment below.
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