You know, if Bush likes his ranch so much and can't get enough vacation, there's a way for citizens to grant his wish this November. Why keep the poor guy in Washington doing his job when he'd prefer much more clearing brush and watching his dog play?
Right after 9/11 I was thinking of Bush's August vacation that year. He was down at the ranch, noodling around, who knows what. They sent him out once in a while just to make it look good, but for the most part he was taking it easy. Lots of R & R. From Al Franken's latest book Liars, of which at least one chapter is on the internet: As he told a $1,000-a-plate crowd at a fund-raiser in June [2001], "Washington, D.C., is a great place to work, but Texas is a great place to relax."
But leave it to Osama bin Laden to have a work ethic! While George the Jolly Rancher frolicked with his dog, OBL was actively working in the shadows. First we have George, from the Franken book: On August 25, still on the ranch, Bush discussed with reporters the differences between his two dogs. "Spot's a good runner. You know, Barney-terriers are bred to go into holes and pull out varmint. And Spotty chases birds. Spotty's a great water dog." Then we have OBL: 'Wire the money! Get the flight training! Are the tickets bought yet? There's no one on your trail, right?' [That's our characterization, not actual OBL quotes, insofar as we know.]
Let's see, it's still August 25, 2001, at the ranch: What should I do? Should I protect America? Nah... "I'll go fly-fishing this afternoon on my lake." [GWB quote from the Franken book, talking with reporters.]
I just posted this letter that was reportedly in the NYT, but repeat it here, as it expresses my opinion to a T: "It continues to baffle me that the Republican Party insists on reminding the American people over and over again that George W. Bush's administration is responsible for the greatest security failure in the history of the United States." - Seth Appel
The info was out there, if only we had a president and administration who weren't on vacation, out playing golf or fishing:
On August 16, the INS arrested Zacharias Moussaoui, a flight school student who seemed to have little interest in learning to take off or land a plane. The arresting agent wrote that Moussaoui seemed like "the type of person who could fly something into the World Trade Center." Trying to pique the interest of FBI Headquarters in Washington, a Minneapolis FBI agent wrote that a 747 loaded with fuel could be used as a weapon. lf this information had been shared and analyzed, for example by a newly founded Homeland Security Agency, it might have sparked memories of the Clinton-thwarted 1996 al Qaeda plot to hijack an American commercial plane and crash it into CIA Headquarters. [Franken book]
We've got all this going on! The exact target is specified in the agent's report! But because of politics (the Administration's hatred of Clinton to the point of excluding intelligence warnings from his time in office) and personal disinterest (Bush personally), they let it all go. They let it all slip away. OBL was home free!
Just in conclusion, though, to be fair to Mr. Bush, he was interested in things that are fairly interesting:
"One of the interesting things to do is drink coffee and watch Barney chase armadillos," he told reporters on a tour of the ranch later in his vacation. "The armadillos are out, and they love to root in our flower bed. It's good that Barney routs them out of their rooting.'' [Franken book]
He's still got Barney. But now that Spot's passed on, that's all Bush has left to keep himself occupied these days!