Bush's Texas-Sized Summer Vacation (And Your Rhode Island-Sized One)

George W. Bush may present himself as a down-home American, but when it comes to vacation time his tastes are decidedly European. This August the President is on leave from Washington for the whole month, in what will be the longest presidential vacation in 32 years. Combine that time off with the quarter of his presidency he has spent on his Crawford, Texas ranch and the 38 full or partial days at the Camp David retreat, and Mr. Bush will have spent 42 percent of his presidency at vacation spots or en route.

You might think this information comes from the National Democratic Committee or some lefty think tank out to undermine the presidency, but the number crunching was actually performed by the Washington Post. In an August 8 story the Post was less than subtle in indicating that Bush's 31-day break, or "working vacation" as it is being described, is resulting in an unusual form of damage control.

Why, you might ask? Hasn't every president spent significant time at a home away from the less-than-cozy White House compound? Didn't Reagan head out for Santa Barbara, Truman to Key West and Eisenhower to Augusta for some needed presidential R&R?

Sure. But no president in history has managed to build such a solid reputation as an entitled loafer. Bush's typical gubernatorial day in Texas reportedly consisted of no more than eight hours of work, an hour of which was dedicated to the treadmill and two hours of which he spent in photo ops.

Now the President is said to be working much harder, though the awkward ramblings of his aides might make you think otherwise. At a briefing on August 7, Scott McClellan, one of Bush's spokesmen, told the press: "The President, much like members of Congress -- although for a shorter period of time, I might add -- believes it's important to come back home. That's why we're spending the month in Crawford -- this is his home."

McClellan then underscored that Bush's aim in August is not to jog four hours a day through his dusty 1,583-acre ranch, but to flee the dreaded elitism of Washington. For seven of his 31 working days, said McClellan, he will conduct a "Home to the Heartland Tour," to listen "to the concerns of the people across America," so as "to highlight the values that bring America together."

"I hope he has a long, enjoyable vacation," said Terry McAuliffe, chairman of the Democratic National Committee on Fox News Sunday. "He's going to need it when he gets back."

Mr. Bush may well be rejuvenated when he flies back to D.C on September 3. But the majority of his fellow Americans will not. Once again, the U.S. has taken the lead as the most overworked nation in the world. According to a recent International Labor Organization study, the U.S. is beating out Japan with the highest average hours worked per annum -- just under 2,000 hours.

To make it a little plainer, that means Americans are now working two weeks longer than the Japanese and two whole months longer than the Germans. Eileen Appelbaum of the Economic Policy Institute reported last year that a typical husband-and-wife household worked 500 more hours in 2000 than they did in 1990.

Working more hours obviously equals taking less vacation time. And indeed vacation time has become one of the U.S.'s rarer national commodities. According to Joe Robinson, director of the Live to Work campaign, which advocates a nationwide three-week vacation for all salaried workers, employees of large U.S. companies eke out an average of 9.6 days of rest after one year. That number rises to 16 days a year after a decade working at the company. And at small U.S. businesses, it's eight days a year and 16 after 25 years. In other words, the average American takes 15 years to earn the vacation time that an Australian gets after one year.