George W. Bush: The War President is Missing in Action (External Links)

The following are External Links for George W. Bush: The War President is Missing in Action.

Spoof

• "Crawford Bound" sung to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel's "Homeward Bound".
• Andy Borowitz, "Cheney Urges Bush to Remain on Vacation through 2003. Crawford Ranch 'Seriously Overgrown' With Brush, Veep Warns," Borowitz Report, Updated April 14, 2004.
• "The 3rd Annual Crawford Retreat: President's Statement Kicking Off His Month-Long Fund-Raising Fiesta & Buckaroo Photo-Op Hoedown," whitehouse.org, August 3, 2003.
• "Bush calls in sick, tries to extend vacation at Texas ranch," gwbush04.com, August 31, 2003.
• "Bush Extends Vacation," Nation of Bob, April 15, 2004: "Bush representatives have announced that the President will remain near the small town of Crawford for 1,235 days in addition to the 30 he has just concluded. Current plans are for Bush to return to Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2005, the day of the next presidential inauguration."

"W's Vacation Chronicles: August 6-31, 2001"

• "W's Vacation Chronicles," Capitol Times (Madison, Wisconsin), August 6, 2001: "George W. Bush has apparently been shamed into announcing that his one-month break from a grueling schedule of workouts in the White House exercise room will not be a standard fun-in-the-sun respite. ... Rather, aides say, the president's extended visit to his ranch in Crawford, Texas, will be a 'working vacation.' ... Unfortunately, this 'explanation' begs further explanation. What we can't figure out is this: How can you take a working vacation from a working vacation?"
• II: August 7; III: August 8; IV: August 9; V: August 10; VI: August 13; VII: August 14; VIII: August 15; IX: August 16; X: August 17; XI: August 20; XII: August 21; XIII: August 22; XIV: August 23; XV: August 24; XVI: August 27; XVII: August 28; XVIII: August 29; XIX: August 30; XX: August 31; "Bush Break for America," September 3.

2001

• Sonya Ross, "Bush invites Blair to Camp David," AP, January 27, 2001.
• Kelly Wallace, "Bush calls world leaders from Camp David," CNN, February 3, 2001.
• "Bush, Blair discuss Iraq sanctions" (at Camp David), AP, February 23, 2001.
• "Bush, Blair conclude meetings at Camp David," CNN, February 24, 2001.
• Judy Keen, "Family, friends, staff fill Bush's overnight list," USA Today, May 16, 2001: "A list of 152 people who have spent the night at the White House or Camp David since President Bush took office includes nine of 214 elite "Pioneers," who raised at least $100,000 for his campaign. However, four of those Pioneers are Bush's relatives, and four are friends from before he entered politics. The ninth is Labor Secretary Elaine Chao." See Bush's Rangers.
• "Bush To Receive Musharraf At Camp David," PNS, June 7, 2001.
• "Bush, Japanese prime minister forge relationship at Camp David," CNN, June 30, 2001.
• Ron Fournier, "Bush heads to family retreat in Kennebunkport," AP, July 5, 2001: "The president is the second Bush to turn the stone-and-shingle oceanfront home into a summer White House. His father golfed, raced his speedboat and jogged during Kennebunkport stays. ... The last time Bush came to Kennebunkport was in June 2000, when he and his siblings converged for a birthday party for their mother."
• Lawrence L. Knutson, "Bush returns to Maine family home for brief vacation," AP, July 6, 2001.
• Ron Fournier, "Bush arrives in Maine for birthday weekend with family," AP, July 6, 2001.
• Laurence McQuillan, "White House to move to Texas for a while," USA Today, August 3, 2001.
• Scott Lindlaw, "Bush flees White House - again - for a month in Texas. But his staff calls this trip a working vacation," AP, August 4, 2001: "President Bush seems to bolt from the White House every chance he gets. He begins a month-long vacation on his Texas ranch today, and by the time he returns he will have spent nearly two months of his presidency there. ... And that doesn't include the many weekends he's spent at Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. ... He has spent 14 weekends at Camp David, bringing paperwork and an aide or two along. ... Bush also logged a long weekend last month at the family's Kennebunkport, Maine, compound, throwing horseshoes, playing golf, fishing."
• Tom Carver, "Bush's holiday mission," BBC/UK, August 6, 2001: "Inside the White House press room there was an end of term mood last weekend. ... Washington is turning out the lights for August and Mr Bush is leading the way. For the next month the world's superpower will be run from a farm seven miles down Prairie Chapel Road in Texas. ... Rest assured, the president will be receiving his daily intelligence briefings from the CIA but not much else."
• Editorial: "W's vacation chronicles II," madison.com, August 7, 2001.
• Mimi Hall, "Many Frown on Bush's 30-day Leave," USA Today, August 7, 2001.
• Mike Allen, "A White House On the Range. Bush Retreats to Ranch For 'Working Vacation'. President Bush confers with aides Monday at his ranch near Crawford, Tex.," Washington Post, August 7, 2001.
• "Bush vacation puts spotlight on tiny Crawford," CNN, August 7, 2001.
• Jim Puzzanghera, "Bush's break is longest in a generation," San Jose Mercury News, August 8, 2001.
• "The vacation president. Bush can take as much holiday as he wants," Guardian/UK, August 9, 2001.
• "Bush's 'Excessive' Vacation,", Cyberalerts, August 9, 2001. Links to here.
• "Could a vacation reform bill be next on Bush's agenda?," Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, August 11, 2001.
• John Balz, "Bush's earned vacation: 6 1/2 days," Washington Journal, August 12, 2001: "Barely six months into his first term and George W. Bush is taking the longest presidential vacation in history: a month. If Bush was like any other first-year federal employee, his work schedule wouldn't be quite so accommodating."
• Gene Collier, "President's extended stay at his Texas home isn't vacation as usual," Pittsburg Post-Gazette, August 12, 2001.
• Barton Wong, "Bush In Crawford: And Other Reflections on Texas,", Houston Review, August 12, 2001.
• "Vacation Time. The big news last week was not that President Bush has finally made his stem cell decision (what was it again?), but that he announced it during the middle of his 31-day vacation," Newsweek, August 13, 2001.
• Reg Henry, "Don't beat around the bush for R&R," Pittsburg Post-Gazette, August 14, 2001.
• Francine Kiefer, "No grocery, $5 haircuts - and the Bush ranch," Christian Science Monitor, August 14, 2001.
• Jay Carney, "A Vacationing Bush Works Hard for His Photo-Ops. No one expects a President to ignore a good photo opportunity. But do Bush's recent choices make him look caring -- or cynical?," Time Online, August 16, 2001.
• Major Garrett, "Resignation of Bush's faith-based program director," CNN, August 17, 2001: "Major Garrett is a CNN White House Correspondent. He joined the chat room from Crawford, Texas where he is reporting on the president's activities during Mr. Bush's vacation."
• Will Durst, "Bush Goes From a Nap to a Coma," AlterNet, August 21, 2001.
• "President Bush makes most of golf vacation," golfweb.com, August 23, 2001.
• "Bush's vacation limps toward a conclusion," StAugustine.com, August 23, 2001: "The president and Mrs. Bush originally planned to stay at their ranch through Labor Day but announced last week they would leave Aug. 31 and spend the Labor Day weekend in Washington. Bush didn't elaborate on why the first lady wanted to head back to the White House even earlier."
• Chris Sutton, "Is Crawford Heat Making Reporters Pout?," Accuracy in Media, August 24, 2001.
• Derrick Z. Jackson, "While Bush Talks to Cows, Workers Get Milked," Boston Globe, August 29, 2001: "The Washington Post recently calculated that Bush has spent 42 percent of his first eight months as president at vacation spots. By the end of this week, only eight months into his presidency, he will have logged about 50 days alone at his range in Crawford, Texas."
• "Quibbles and Bits. President Bush's vacation," polkonline, August 25, 2001.
• "When presidents take a breather," The Week, September 1, 2001: "President Bush says he will gain valuable perspective from his 31-day 'Home to the Heartland' vacation at his Texas ranch. How have other presidents escaped the heat of Washington politics?"
• "Camp David Serene, Bush Hard at Work" (cache file), AP, September 15, 2001.
• Elaine Sciolino, "Bush Warns That Coming Conflict Will Not Be Short" (at Camp David), New York Times, September 15, 2001.
• "Bush retreats to Camp David as reserve call-up set to begin," ABC News (Australia), September 16, 2001.
• Elisabeth Bumiller, "Part Timer: For a President at War, Refuge at Camp David," New York Times, November 5, 2001.
• "Bush Marks Thanksgiving at Camp David," AP, November 23, 2001.
• Michael McGuff, "Crawford, Texas. A look at the President's second home," ABC13.com, November 14, 2001.
• Scott Lindlaw, "Weighty issues will fill Bush vacation," SouthCoast Today, December 27, 2001.
• George W. Bush, Transcript: "Bush Press Conference at Crawford, Texas Ranch," December 28, 2001.

2002

• "Camp David lures Bushes," AP, April 2, 2002: "Unlike President Clinton -- who typically went to the 143-acre camp only on holidays, such as Thanksgiving -- Bush said he plans to be there every weekend unless he's giving a speech somewhere or is at his ranch in Texas. ... Camp David was the site of much Bush-family bonding during the presidency of Bush's father. The second Bush was keeping that tradition this weekend..."
• Alan Bisbort, "Napping On The Job. The Public Record of George W. Bush, pre-Sept. 11," American Politics, May 23, 2002.
• "Bush Takes Kennebunkport Vacation," CBN News, July 5, 2002.
• Poster Apolitical, "Missing in Action: The Post 9/11 President Has Vanished," Free Republic, June 5, 2002: "Like the '80's George Bush, this new malfunctioning Bush clone doesn't seem to believe in anything but pleasing the media and special interest groups, and getting re-elected. And one suspects that if the FBI can't find the old bold Bush soon, the new clone Bush will duplicate the questionable claim to fame of the '80's Bush -- squandering unprecedented popular support earned by showing unwavering leadership in a time of crisis and then being soundly defeated in the next election because of all the dithering and pandering to special interests.
• "Bush Begins Month-Long Vacation as Preparations are Made for War,", Dallas Morning News, July 8, 2002.
• "Bush Winds Up Birthday Vacation" (in Kennebunkport, ME), Asia News, July 8, 2002.
• "President George Bush left Washington for his parents' summer home yesterday for a month-long holiday, to growing criticism of his relaxed schedule. A defensive White House insisted that the criticisms were nothing but 'silly pot-shots'," Guardian Newspapers, August 2, 2002.
• Bob Devers, "Protest Plans Could Make Long, Hot Texas Summer for Bush," Houston Independent Media Center, August 2, 2002.
• "Bush Monitors Iraq From Vacation," CNN, August 3, 2002: "President Bush has some tough issues weighing on his mind as he begins a month-long vacation, one of them being the father-son legacy of Saddam Hussein. ... He is beginning his break at the family compound in Maine."
• "Bush begins vacation with workout, golf," Morning Sun, August 3, 2002: "A hug for mom and dad, and then President Bush hit the treadmill Friday, beginning along the rocky Maine coast his 32-day escape from Washington. ... At the same time, his aides began their monthlong campaign to have his dog days of August -- most of which he'll spend at his Texas ranch -- defined as anything but a vacation."
• David Jackson, "Administration sensitive about Bush `vacation',", Dallas Morning News, August 4, 2002.
• L. Brent Bozell III, "Bush Takes a Vacation," CNS News, August 5, 2002.
• Bob Kemper, "Bush heads to Texas ranch after flurry of activity," Chicago Tribune, August 6, 2002.
• "Town Readies For G.W. Bush's Vacation" (Abstract), Getty Images, August 6, 2002: "A billboard declares Crawford the home of U.S. President George W. Bush August 6, 2002 in Crawford, Texas. Bush will spend the next three weeks on vacation at his Crawford ranch."
• "Bush Starts Working Vacation in Texas," CBN.com, August 8, 2002.
• "Senator Clinton Asks for Bush Vacation Visit," evote.com, August 8, 2002.
• "President Bush's vacation," Chicago Tribune, August 16, 2002.
• G. Robert Hillman, "For Bush, vacation's over," Twin Cities Pioneer Press, September 1, 2002.
• Dana Milbank, "Bush by the Numbers, as Told by a Diligent Scorekeeper," Washington Post, September 3, 2002: "President Bush's trip to Pittsburgh yesterday was his 13th to Pennsylvania since taking office, his third to the Pittsburgh area, his second Labor Day appearance with the carpenters union and his 72nd domestic trip overall. ... Bush has spent a whopping total of 250 days of his presidency at Camp David (123 days), Kennebunkport (12) and his Texas ranch (115). That means Bush has spent 42 percent of his term so far at one of his three leisure destinations."
• "Bush and Blair plot Iraq strategy" (at Camp David), BBC/UK, September 7, 2002.
• Bill Whitaker, "Vacation's Over," Waco Tribune Herald, September 30, 2002.

2003

• Kathy A. Gambrell, "Bush to Camp David as war continues," UPI, March 21, 2003.
• Ron Fournier, "Bush says U.S. troops making progress, heads to Camp David," AP, March 21, 2003.
• "President Bush, Prime Minister Blair Hold Press Availability" (Camp David, Maryland), White House Press Release, March 27, 2003.
• Scott Lindlaw, "Bush Joins Parents at Family Compound," AP, June 12, 2003.
• G. Robert Hillman, "There may be little rest, relaxation for Bush during family getaway," Dallas Morning News, June 13, 2003.
• Scott Lindlaw, "Bush opens long weekend of relaxation," Maine Today, June 14, 2003.
• Steve Holland, "Bush hosts Pakistani president at Camp David" (cache file), Reuters, June 25, 2003.
• "It Speaks For Itself," Pandagon, June 30, 2003: "It was Mr. Bush's sixth visit this year to Crawford, and the 24th since he moved into the White House, bringing his total days at his ranch during his presidency, as of Monday, to 161. (The statistics come from Mark Knoller of CBS News, whose numbers are often more reliable than those of the White House.) Locals are still mystified as to why the president of the United States would actually spend so much time in this central Texas inferno but have long since stopped asking questions for the larger pursuits of commerce."
• "Bush has busy Crawford vacation schedule," AP, July 30, 2003.
• Lisa Kadonaga, "The Hundred-Twenty Degree Club," Liberal Slant, August 1, 2003.
• "Bush vacation means many TFRs west of the Mississippi," AOPA, August 1, 2003.
• Poster Mary, "Bush Missing in Action re: War on Terrorism," The Left Coaster, August 2, 2003.
• "Bush Vacations, Asks Americans to Work Harder for Less," Dean for America, August 3, 2003.
• Mike Allen, "Bush Aces Physical, Begins a Month at Ranch," Washington Post, August 3, 2003.
• "GMA (Good Morning America) Frets About Bush's Vacation, 'Shouldn't He Be Hard at Work?'," Media Research Center, August 12, 2003.
• Barbara, "26 American Soldiers Have Lost Their Lives in Iraq Since President Bush Began His August Vacation," Reader Commentary at BuzzFlash, August 23, 2003.
• "Bush winds down Vacation in Crawford," AP, August 29, 2003: "He's spent the month clearing brush on his secluded ranch, jogging in 100-degree heat and watching lightning streak across the Texas sky. But come Saturday, President Bush trades wide-open, grassy pastures for the confines of the White House. ... Bush's monthlong stay at what he calls the Western White House was interrupted by the bombing of the U.N. headquarters in Baghdad, violence in the Middle East, continuing battles in Iraq and trips to seven states. He also raised $6.6 million for his campaign and talked about national parks, wildfires, saving Pacific salmon and the war in Iraq. ... 'While at the ranch, the president is able to conduct all the official business that he would conduct in Washington,' White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Thursday. 'But he's also able to spend time with Mrs. Bush, other family and friends and work on the land at his ranch.'"
• David Jackson, "Bush has put Crawford on the map," Dallas Morning News, August 31, 2003.
• Jeffrey Walz, "Presidential vacation," Daily Illini, September 3, 2003.
• "Bush-Putin Camp David Summit," Center for Strategic and International Studies, September 25, 2003.
• "Dear Yahoo!: How many vacation days has George W. Bush taken to date as president?," October 1, 2003: "According to an August 2003 article in the Washington Post, President Bush has spent all or part of 166 days during his presidency at his Crawford, Texas, ranch or en route. Add the time spent at or en route to the presidential retreat of Camp David and at the Bush family estate in Kennebunkport, Maine, and Bush has taken 250 days off as of August 2003. That's 27% of his presidency spent on vacation. Although to be fair, much of this time is classified as a 'working vacation.'"
• "Bush Spends a Quiet Christmas with Family at Camp David," AP, December 25, 2003.
• Scott Lindlaw, "Bush Arrives in Texas for Vacation," AP, December 26, 2003. "Bush arrives in Texas for 2nd week of vacation."

2004

• "Wait, Where Were You, Mr. President?" Quotes from Tim Russert's interview with President Bush on Meet the Press, February 8, 2004.
• "Bush Donors Stay The Night," CBS News, March 10, 2004: "In all, Mr. Bush and first lady Laura Bush have invited at least 270 people to stay at the White House and at least the same number to overnight at the Camp David retreat since moving to Washington in January 2001, according to lists the White House provided The Associated Press."
• "Beddy-Bye With Bush: Big Donations Get Camp David Getaways," INTL News, March 10, 2004.
• David Paul Kuhn, "Vacation Politics," CBS News, March 18, 2004.
• Jeremy Pelofsky, "Hunters, Conservationists Get Tour of Bush Ranch," Reuters, April 8, 2004.
• Matt Bivens, "Nero Fiddles," The Nation, April 9, 2004: "A 'war-time president' wouldn't skip town just as the combat situation soured."
• Scott Lindlaw, "Bush Discusses Iraq With Foreign Leaders,", AP, April 10, 2004: Bush spoke with Italian, Polish, and El Salvadoran leaders via telephone and with his top advisers via videophone. "Rice was to arrive at Bush's ranch Friday, where the Bush family was gathering for the Easter weekend. ... The president's parents, mother-in-law, daughters and Rice planned to attend church together Sunday at Fort Hood, Texas. ... On Saturday, Bush and his father were to go fishing at the ranch's bass pond with a crew from the Outdoor Life Network's 'Fishing with Roland Martin.' ... The White House approached the network about coming to film Bush, who is eager to cultivate an image as a sportsman with the millions of voters who hunt and fish. The crew was to bring its own boat for the shoot on the small pond."
• Dana Milbank and Mike Allen, "Bush Gave No Sign of Worry In August 2001," Washington Post, April 11, 2004.
• "The Silent President,", New York Times, April 12, 2004.
• Joel Brinkley, "On Easter Sunday in Texas, Bush Awards Purple Hearts," New York Times, April 12, 2004: "This is Mr. Bush's 33rd visit to his ranch since he became president; all told he has spent almost eight months of his presidency here. ... Also on Thursday, American forces in Iraq pushed south to retake control of several Shiite towns held by insurgents, and three Japanese civilians taken as hostages appeared in a video broadcast blindfolded, while their captors threatened them with guns, knives and swords. ... Mr. Bush spent that afternoon leading representatives of 22 hunting, fishing and wildlife organizations on a tour of his 1,600-acre ranch. Among his guests were leaders of the National Rifle Association, the Ruffed Grouse Society, Ducks Unlimited and the National Wild Turkey Federation. He also gave an interview to Ladies' Home Journal. ... On Friday, as Americans worked to put a cease-fire in place in Iraq, Mr. Bush fished in the bass pond on his ranch with Roland Martin, host of the Outdoor Life Network cable show 'Fishing with Roland Martin.' ... Mr. Bush 'took the biggest one of the day' -- a four-pound bass, Mr. Martin told The Associated Press. ... 'The president was very relaxed,' he added. 'He didn't really talk about politics at all.' ... The White House said Mr. Bush had to cancel another fishing trip scheduled for Saturday because of meetings with his advisers on Iraq. ... Mr. Martin said the president told him, 'I've been busy, all these crises.'"
• Marie Cocco, "Bush was out of White House loop," Newsday.com, April 13, 2004: "Through all the hours of testimony, through all the days of television spin, through the mountain of documents, an incontrovertible fact emerges: Bush was largely absent from his own government in the spring and summer of 2001. ... Now it appears Bush is out of his own White House loop. Or at least he was in 2001. There is no meeting, no directive, no debate in which he played a role in developing a policy on terrorism."
• Fred Kaplan, "The Out-of-Towner. While Bush vacationed, 9/11 warnings went unheard," Slate, April 14, 2004.
• Alan Bisbort, "Asleep at the Wheel. Add dereliction of duty to the charges against Bush and Co.," Hartford Advocate, April 22, 2004.

2005

• John Nichols, "The President's Vacation from Reality," The Nation, August 11, 2005.
• Bob Herbert, "Blood Runs Red, Not Blue," New York Times, August 18, 2005.

2006

• Dana Milbank, "At the Capitol, VIP Roll Call Has Many No-Shows," Washington Post, December 31, 2006. re Gerald R. Ford