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| Sunday, 28 July 2002 |
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Bush going away for 25 days, but is it vacation? By Steve Holland WASHINGTON, July 26 (Reuters) - To hear White House spokesman Ari Fleischer tell it, President George W. Bush's 25 days away starting on Aug. 6 will not be much of a vacation, even though he will spend most of the time at his Texas ranch. The president's second annual August getaway is a sensitive subject this year, as he wants to avoid the appearance of lollygagging at a time of economic uncertainty and war, heading into November mid-term elections. "The president is going to be home for approximately 25 days, and during that period of time he's going to be visiting some 12 cities across America, in addition to doing a lot of government business at the ranch," Fleischer said. Last August Bush spent most of the month at his Crawford, Texas, ranch, interrupting it to announce his decision on stem-cell research but mostly recharging his batteries by clearing a nature trail and jogging in 100-degree (38-degree Celsius) heat. This year, he will be playing host to an Aug. 13 economic forum in Waco, Texas, and otherwise will be traveling around the country promoting his agenda and raising money for Republican candidates. Last year Bush cut his summer vacation a bit short, leaving him three days shy of Richard Nixon's record 30-day vacation in 1969. Before traveling to Texas, Bush is to spend the Aug. 2-4 weekend at the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, hold events in a couple of states on Aug. 5, have his annual physical in the Washington area on Aug. 6, then depart for Texas. He is to return to Washington around Labor Day on Sept. 2. "My favorite vacation spot is my own ranch in the state I love," Bush told Polish reporters earlier this month. "And I like to get out and fool around on the land. And it doesn't matter how hot it is or how cold it is." White House officials were sensitive to Bush's long time away from Washington last year and appear even more so now. Fleischer told reporters: "I know you all are looking forward to all the early morning bag calls and the constant travel that you're going to be doing when the president returns home (to Texas)." This week, Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening, chairman of the Democratic Governors' Association, criticized Bush for planning to spend a month at his Texas ranch while the stock market plunges and foreign affairs remain volatile. "It's clearly the wrong signal," he told USA Today on Tuesday. "In times of financial crisis and international crisis, the public looks for hands-on, confident leadership. What we're going to see is every-other-day photo ops from the ranch." Fleischer dismissed the comment as a disappointing partisan jibe. Bush has enjoyed high job approval ratings for his response to the Sept. 11 attacks and 10 months after that devastating event his performance is still approved by nearly 70 percent of Americans. |
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