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08/13/2001
This Week the media demonstrated its own petty meanness by begrudging President Bush a working vacation on his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Silliness abounds in their complaints: Crawford, Texas is hot and dry (as in "no alcohol sales"). It doesn't offer the fun and comfort of a trip to Martha's Vineyard.

Here are some of the most obnoxious examples:

• NBC's David Gregory quoted the Washington Post's dubious statistics about the president spending 42% of his presidency on vacation, 8/6.
• Mark Shields, on CNN's Capital Gang, 8/4, went so far as to suggest that Bush may be "denied a second term" due to the "churlish" attitude "Dixie summers" could create in the press corp.
• Katie Couric of NBC's Today, 8/8, expressed concern that the president is "spending too much time away from the White House". She asked Time magazine's Howard Fineman, "Well, tell me about some of the trips he's taking and do they really add up to a working vacation?" As if the President can somehow escape his responsibilities by going on vacation!

Why, oh, why did he not consult the media on his vacation destination? It seems to many of us that the media has been boorish and rude toward President Bush since well before the election. If only a lovely vacation was all that was necessary to fix the problem!

It is my understanding that Washington, D.C. is unbearably hot and humid during August and that historically, everyone who possibly can tries to get away during that month. Certainly, all our other elected officials have headed home for the August recess. How obnoxious to begrudge the president time at home as well!

Yet there is a liberal agenda behind the griping: The media hopes to help the voting public forget that at this point in his presidency, George W. Bush has accomplished far more than Clinton had. They hope that we will not notice that since taking the oath of office, President Bush has gotten his tax cut bill through congress, developed a long term energy policy, turned the Patients Bill of Rights in a direction he believes the nation can live with, orchestrated the return of U.S. service personnel from captivity in China, and gained the respect and friendship of other world leaders. And he accomplished all this without the contempt for truth and justice that the last president exhibited.

The media is bewildered and confused by this turn of events. They are losing credibility as fast as President Bush's approval ratings are rising the the polls! It seems they have nothing left but to complain about his vacation arrangements.

Let's notify NBC that our support for President Bush continues even during his working vacation. Ask them why they quickly drop his accomplishments in the search for something negative to say about our president.

NBC News
30 Rockefeller Plaza
New York, New York 10112

Phone 212-664-4444
Fax 212-664-5705

E-mail Couric here.
E-mail Gregory here.

And let's also ask liberal pundit Mark Shields if he can tell us when the media has not been churlish toward President Bush. Would a different vacation spot make a difference? Let him know that we find that this reflects poorly on the media, not on the president.

CNN
P.O. Box 105366
One CNN Center
Atlanta, Georgia 30348

Phone 404-827-1500
Fax 404-681-6363

E-mail Shields here.

Read more here.

MRC CyberAlert, 08/07/2001
MRC CyberAlert, 08/09/2001