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.
Never a fan of Washington’s more cosmopolitan pleasures, Bush will be in Central Texas for about two weeks, with an overnight trip to Ottawa to meet with the leaders of Canada and Mexico.
All in all, Bush has visited his Crawford ranch 65 times.
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.
To put this into perspective:
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.
38 x 6.5 = 247.
Not much compared to Bush’s 418 days.
The average French worker takes less days off per year than the president of the United States. That should silence Bush supporters who criticize the attitude of the French (workers). In the end, French workers do not get paid by the government: they get their money from the corporations they work for.
Cross posted at my own blog.
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2 Responses to “Vacation President”
The average French worker also doesn’t have to do any work at all on his vacation. The President of the United States, however, is never really “on vacation.” He has aides and staff with him every where he goes. He has communication equipment which he uses regularly to keep in touch with whatever is going on in Washington. It’s not exactly a 9-to-5 job. When he goes on “vacation,” he’s lightening his load slightly and doing it in another location, that’s all.
More simply put, people who are really on vacation don’t have to have official meetings with foreign heads of state. Meeting with another President is working, not playing, no matter where it may happen.