And The President Played On....

Undoubtedly, some readers have seen the photograph of President Bush strumming a guitar in San Diego just 24 hours ago while New Orleans and the surrounding area descended deeper into chaos. The link is here.

At this point, a few things are clear. First, this president has either completely lost his "politician's six sense" about what do to when the spotlight is on, or he's getting some utterly gawd-awful advice from his handlers. Maybe it's both. Second, this is the latest chapter of strange behavior---bordering on the bizarre---when this president is under pressure (remember the antics during the first debate with Kerry, and the inexplicable silence for days after the tsunami in Asia?). One can't look at that photo and feel anything but deep concern that this is the man currently steering the ship during a war. It's extremely worrying, folks.

Over at The Corner, they're getting a little worried as well. Byron York wonders why Bush needs to spend so much time in Crawford:

Even given the wonders of modern communications which allow him to stay in touch with virtually everyone virtually all the time, does the president really need to spend five weeks of the summer based at his home in Crawford? What would be wrong with a two-week vacation? After all, he goes to Crawford at other times of the year, and, of course, he can spend all the time he wants there when he is no longer president.

According to a White House pool report, press secretary Scott McClellan was asked today whether, given the events of August, the president needs a vacation after his vacation. McClellan said, "This is not what you would call a vacation. This is the president's home. He always enjoys coming here. But when you're president, you're president 24/7." That last part is certainly true, but while he is president, shouldn't George W. Bush spend more time at the White House?

This month began with the deaths of 21 U.S. Marines in Iraq, continued through the Cindy Sheehan protest/media circus, and ended with Hurricane Katrina. There is no doubt that, if only from a political and communications perspective, the president would have been in a better position to deal with those issues if he had been based in Washington for much of the month. For one thing, he would have had the stage to himself, given the traditional absence of Congress. For another, he would have been better placed to make those more substantive comments about the war that David Frum and others have called on him to make. And lastly, his message would not have been subject to the distractions of all the vacation/nonvacation talk that inevitably comes up when he spends an extended period of time in Crawford.

There is a proper time for a president to leave Washington, but five weeks is just too much.

Perhaps the answer to all this lies in the following question: Do George Bush's actions demonstrate that he even wants to be president at this point? Wouldn't the nation be better served---particularly during a war and one of the nation's worst natural catastrophes---if he simply stayed on the ranch he so clearly loves, and let someone else formally take over the job he so manifestly dislikes?