From the podium at Crawfraud, Texas [View All]

Today’s SF Chronicle front page story reported on Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri’s threats on the U.S. and the presidentimable response from the vacationing Bush.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/08/05/MNG1ME3JJE1.DTL

Side by side photos of the two accompanied the article. Following is the one of Ayman al-Zawahiri-- online, the photo of Bush was missing... perhaps because of the mexed missages that were being sent. However, this one captures the sense, if not the setting.



TO MARK THE START OF HIS 5 WEEK VACATION, MR. BUSH LAUNCHES THE PRESIDENTIAL CATAPULT.
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The photo of al-Zawahiri showed a defiant man with his back up against a wall, against which leaned a high-powered automatic weapon. He is shaking his index finger at the American people (and you know how they hate that).


“Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said on a tape televised by Al-Jazeera that more terrifying and deadly attacks will be launched if the United States and Britain do not withdraw from Iraq.”

“President Bush took the somewhat unusual step of responding to al- Zawahiri’s remarks, saying the United States’ resolve will not waver.”

In contrast, the photo of George Bush showed a man of leisure with his back up against the sky and the Texas brushland (waiting to be cleared) leaning on a presidential podium in the great out of doors.

One wondered if after his remarks, he told the press, “Now, watch this drive.”

Is it good for the country that Bush looked so bad, on a day that his poll numbers continue to swirl downward like a Texas tornado? Will the fact that Mr. Bush appeared so completely out of touch with reality be the indelible image in America’s dreams tonight, as out of the shadows of the collective unconscious, a man in a long white beard and stovepipe hat points a bony finger at the American heart and says,

“I. Want. You.”

Will American cry Uncle Sam, or roll over and keep snoozin'?

:bounce:


THREATS, DEFIANCE AND ANXIETY
A day of new warnings has London on edge -- and wondering when life will get back to normal

London -- The war on terrorism became a war of words and of nerves Thursday. Al Qaeda’s second-in-command, Ayman al-Zawahiri, said on a tape televised by Al-Jazeera that more terrifying and deadly attacks will be launched if the United States and Britain do not withdraw from Iraq.

President Bush took the somewhat unusual step of responding to al- Zawahiri’s remarks, saying the United States’ resolve will not waver. Meanwhile, tension was high in London, where blasts killed 56 people exactly four weeks ago and four more bombers acted exactly two weeks ago. Authorities feared another attack might have been planned for Thursday, and the police presence was strengthened..

<snip>

In the five-minute videotape delivered to Al-Jazeera on Thursday, al- Zawahiri talked about destruction and threatened Britain and the United States. "There is no exit from Iraq except in immediate withdrawal," he said.

At his ranch in Crawford, Texas, President Bush responded: "They're terrorists, and they're killers. ... We will stay the course; we will complete the job in Iraq."

“Now, watch this drive.”



Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/2005/politics/0508/04/index.htm


Bush's Texas five-week getaway to set a record
Still, his retreat in August is peppered with trips to seven states and visits from top White House officials.
By Jim VandeHei and Peter Baker / Washington Post

WACO, Texas -- 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.

The president this week begins his longest stretch yet away from the White House, spending time at his Crawford ranch for a stretch of clearing brush, visiting with family and friends, and tending to some outside-the-Beltway politics. By historical standards, it is the longest presidential retreat in at least 36 years.

The August getaway is Bush's 49th trip to his cherished ranch since taking office and the 319th day that Bush has spent, entirely or partially, in Crawford -- nearly 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.

<snip>

"Spending time outside of Washington always gives the president a fresh perspective of what's on the minds of the American people," White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Friday.