Memories of Bush 41 and The Vacation Debate
A group of Washington pundits have been giving President George W. Bush published admonishment over taking vacation time while world crises continue to flourish.
I disagree. Of all people, the President of the United States needs time to reflect and get the batteries charged. But imagery is very important and HOW a President allows himself to be seen on vacation is a critical element. So far, George W. has been smart about it, doing most of his recreation in private and also doing a fair amount of work at his retreats.
There is a political lesson to be learned from his father, the first President Bush, and it was a costly one.
I remember it well. It was August 1990 and the President, responding to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, had sent thousands of troops to the desert to prepare for the first war in the Persian Gulf. Since Kuwait had been invaded, and Saudi Arabia was threatened, the President’s firm response was welcomed by the American people.
The troops were living in excruciating heat in the Gulf region , and the television reports showed how difficult life was for them.
During a 6 o clock newscast in late August, I watched from the anchor desk as the President held an interview session at an unfortunate setting, sitting on a golf cart while vacationing in Maine.
I knew this would be big trouble for him. Watching him hold forth in the comfort of a golf cart while several hundred thousand troops were maneuvering in the desert and preparing for war, was a startling contrast. Whoever allowed him to be interviewed in that setting should have been reassigned to put it nicely.
I will never forget that imagery, and what a message it sent. I’m positive that the first President Bush didn’t intend it that way. But it was not good.
President George H.W. Bush has always been a likeable man. He has done great things in his post-Presidency, but on that day, in the middle of a crisis of war, witnessing that imagery of comfort versus combat, was a vital lesson to all politicians.
It is unfair to attack the current President Bush for seeking rest. But it is also important for poltical leaders to understand the images they project. I think that the current President comprehends that as he takes a private long weekend in Maine.
The Presidency is a tough job and anyone who takes the position should be entitled to a little R&R. After all, it’s not like W was fooling around with a guitar and a county/western performer on a runway while a major US city was being destroyed by a hurricane..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-corn/hurricane-katrina-and-bus_b_6618.html
Matt:
Great comment.
Got your point!
Larry
Okay, I may have oversimplified my first post. According to this:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/30/AR2005083000945.html
he left San Diego (site of the impromptu concert) for TX in order to return early to DC.
You can plausibly make the argument that since the Coronado trip was planned before Katrina was a rain squall it’s proof of W working on vacation. You can kind of claim that W was aware of Katrina since he cut his vacation short (per this Newsweek article)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9287434/site/newsweek/
However, the guitar photo also demonstrates the man was clearly not taking Katrina seriously at the time. Anyone with the tiniest passing interest in current events could see how devastating the storm was. If he is that smart about his vacation image, the picture should not have happened. Period.
There. Now I’ve got both the libs and the conservatives po’d at me. Let the flaming commence…
Hey, Larry:
I was busy constructing my answer to War and Peace while you posted. Hopefully my last one was a tad more thought out.
This research stuff is a back-breaker…
I watched Farenheit 9/11 and one of Michael Moore’s shots was about President Bush’s vacations, namely during the period before 9/11. I understand the importance of making the effort to take a time out from everyday life to take a vacation. However, as you had mentioned, Larry, imagery is important. I tend to notice that on my family’s minds during a crisis, they like to turn to the president to hear what he has to say. Assuming that this reflects everyone else’s attitude, they won’t to feel that the president is right there with the rest of the nation. I don’t think that would be conveyed if the president spoke relaxing from his Texas ranch.
Larry- They may be Ok if he was not the worst President in History with the most vacation time taken by any president in History.
No wonder his 8 years will go down in AMerican History as the beginning of our dark ages. We may no longer be a Super Power when he leaves office.
That standing is already in question with a leader that cant lead.
Once a bully now a pleader
boy how times have changed.
Oh, My … President Bush is hardly the reason that we might not be regarded as a Superpower in the rest of the world! I spent over 20 years in your United States Army, and watched the wholesale destruction of the Defense Department by the likes of the Carter and Clinton administrations and their ‘rightsizing’ policies that virtually decimated the defense of our great nation. No, my friend, it is not President Bush’s fault - relook your history.