Bush Vacation to Set Record

According to a story in the Washington Post Wednesday by Jim VanderHei and Peter Baker, President Bush’s Crawford Texas vacation, started Tuesday, will be the longest stretch away from Washington by any president in the past 36 years. This vacation will last about five weeks.

Adding to the cost of transporting the First Family on Air Force One, Bush plans to make day trips to seven states during the vacation. Also, it is expected that cabinet officers and other officials will be traveling to Texas to meet with Bush or with White House staffers traveling with Bush.

According to the White House, this will allow Bush to reconnect with everyday America. Press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters that it was a time for the President to “meet with folks out in the heartland and hear what’s on their minds.”

We will have to wait and see how many “folks out in the heartland” will be able to let Bush know what’s on their minds. However, Bush has missed many chances to hear what’s on peoples minds when he traveled to promote social security changes and spoke only to a screened audience and only allowed invited guests to speak

Fourth Anniversary of “Bin Laden Determined To Strike” Presidential Brief

On August 6th, 2001, President Bush, while on vacation in Crawford, Texas, received the “Presidential Daily Brief” (PDB) that warned that Bin Laden was determined to strike the U. S., and brought up the possibility that hijacked planes would be used. Apparently the warnings were not taken seriously until slightly over a month later, September 11, 2001.

Just as four years ago Bush is again on vacation in Crawford Texas. We can only hope he is more serious about his briefings this year.

See Kicking Ass, the official Democratic Party blog for more.