[bumped - BarbinMD]
George W. Bush, ironist:
Bush Exhorts Congress to Work Harder
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday accused Congress of dragging its feet on key pieces of legislation, urging quick action on budget and children's health measures.
Yeah, that’s right, Bush says Congress isn’t working hard enough. His proof? That they haven’t passed legislation on children’s health care...except, of course, they have, with bipartisan support, and he vetoed it, so now Congress has to waste valuable time trying to override his veto of wildly popular legislation wanted by almost everyone outside the GOP’s dead-ender base. And if Bush sticks to his threats, he will be vetoing dozens of bills sent to him by Congress.
But should Bush be criticizing the Congress for not accomplishing enough or not working hard enough? It’s certainly true that on the most important matter facing the country and on the minds of most voters, the war in Iraq, Democrats have disappointed. But outside of Iraq, the House and Senate Dems have delivered on many of the promises they made to voters. And it’s certainly not true that Congress isn’t working, as they’ve broken the one-year record for most roll call votes cast in a year, and they’ll be casting many more. And there are certainly a lot of Republicans who think the House is working hard; in fact, Republican members of Congress have been complaining that they’re being forced to work too hard.
But that just deals with whether it’s fair to level those charges against Congress. But does Bush have any right to complain about someone else not working hard enough?
Bush on Track to Become Vacation President
President Bush tries to set an example for Americans whenever he can, in terms of physical fitness, faith, optimism and a certain overall moral rectitude. He also sets an excellent example on taking vacation.
On Thursday, Bush left for a weekend in Kennebunkport, Maine, and his family's summer compound, Walker's Point. On Monday, he heads to his Crawford retreat, where he has spent all or part of 418 days of his presidency, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS News White House correspondent and meticulous record-keeper...
The presidential vacation-time record holder is the late Ronald Reagan, who tallied 436 days in his two terms. At 418 days, and with 17 months to go in his presidency, Bush is going to beat that easily...
Still, all this governmental time off is more than most Americans are taking. A recent survey by Yahoo Hot Jobs found nearly half of American workers did not take all of their vacation days last year.
Bush, on his 10th visit to Kennebunkport as president (according to Knoller), is scheduled for lunch Saturday with French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Indeed, on the issue of vacation, at least, Bush is much like a pleasure-seeking Frenchman. According to Expedia.com, French workers get about 39 days off a year and generally take all but one.