The Post Bleeds Yellow

Yesterday, the Washington Post revealed its yellow (as in journalism) side with its article on President Bush’s August plans. Here’s the lead:

WACO, Tex., Aug. 2 — President Bush is getting the kind of break most Americans can only dream of — nearly five weeks away from the office, loaded with vacation time. — by Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker

Maybe the ordinary Joe, Jim or Peter on the street doesn’t realize how hectic every day of any President of the United States is — but, the press certainly does. Any reporter with an ounce of grey matter in their heads (and there is certainly plenty doubt about some of them) would know that a “vacationing President” is an oxymoron. He must always be reachable by world leaders. He is given daily security briefing each and every morning. Actually, the President can never be on vacation in the same carefree, “toss the cell phone” way that we can. Day or night, in DC or Crawford — Bush is always on the job. Wherever he goes, so goes the White House. If these idiots, VandeHei and Baker, think that’s the kind of break “most Americans can only dream of,” they’re dumber than the Texas dirt under their feet. (No offense to Texas dirt intended.)

These sorry excuses for journalists don’t stop there with this “unbiased” new story:

The August getaway is Bush’s 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and Tuesday was the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford — roughly 20 percent of his presidency to date, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS Radio reporter known for keeping better records of the president’s travel than the White House itself. Weekends and holidays at Camp David or at his parents’ compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, bump up the proportion of Bush’s time away from Washington even further.

Is it just me, or is “his cherished ranch” so far over the top that a rescue mission must be launched by the space shuttle, Discovery, just to bring the story back to Earth? Surely these buffoons must know Camp David is a fully-functioning branch of the White House. After all, anyone that ever watched the left-slanting TV show West Wing knows it. The big question is: Can going home be considered a “vacation” at all?

One interesting piece of news in this paragraph shows us that CBS is once again trying to smear Bush. So much for the contention that the network’s interest over the debunked National Guard papers was solely in pursuit of a straight news story. So much for their contention that they report without bias.

Maybe Bill Clinton didn’t go “home” to New York . . . sorry, Arkansas. . . often. Perhaps he didn’t have a “cherished ranch” because he lived off the Arkansas and US taxpayers for most of his adult life and didn’t own a home until he left the office of President. Instead, the Clintons set records as the most traveled Presidential couple in history: 59 countries/territories, many they visited more than once. In fact, their trips to Chile, Africa and China in 1998 cost the taxpayers a whopping $72 million. If we could have kept the Clintons in the country a bit more, we may have solved the Social Security issue without a problem. They independently raised the standard of living in Africa by spending $42.8 million during the 12-day trip. For the mathematically challenged, that’s about $3.6 million a day! For most of us, Africa on $5,000 a day would be “the kind of break most Americans can only dream of.”

Finally, anyone who has ever lived near, reported about or visited Washington, DC knows that the entire political machine closes up shop and leaves town during the hot, humid, Congress-free August. Remember that these reporters (and I use that term loosely) are Washington Post staff writers. No, there’s no left-wing media bias. It’s all a plot perpetrated by that “vast right-wing conspiracy.”

UPDATE: This morning, the President and Mrs. Bush welcomed the Columbia president and his wife to their Crawford ranch for diplomatic talks. Some vacation!

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One Response to “The Post Bleeds Yellow”

  1. Big Dog says:

    Must be a great day because the reporters that travel with the president get a “Vacation” too.