The West Wing and extended vacations...

I am slightly, no, more than slightly obsessed with the West Wing (the TV show that is). I think I have said this before, but damn, that is one good show. What’s worse, is that now I think I’ve gotten my roommate, and the SO hooked on it as well. I say this because last night, or well, every Monday night, there is a West Wing marathon on Bravo. I tune in, every Monday, starting at 7:00PM, and sometimes, I watch the whole marathon, which of course runs until 2AM. I can’t help myself, it’s like a disease, or crack even. It hooks you, or well, it has hooked me. I think there is something about the writing, something about the acting, it is all so well done, and even though I know it’s a fictional show, with fictional characters, I would like to hope that the way that they portray the White House, and the President, is the way that it really is, or, the way that I would hope that it is. I have a distinct feeling though that the way they show things on the show has no direct relation, at least to the current administration sitting in the White House, to the real thing. I see Martin Sheen playing the President, and think that hey, he might actually be a good President in real life. It wouldn’t be the first time we put an actor into the White House, and in real life, Martin Sheen seems a lot more intelligent than the other actor that was President, because let’s face it, that man was not a smart man at all, at least from the things that I’ve read about him (in case you were wondering I’m talking about Regan). But the show, it’s awesome. I couldn’t recommend it more really. I’ve gotten more and more into politics over the last few years, and I don’t see that abating anytime soon, so maybe that’s why this show appeals to me at all levels. I’m just into it, and that’s not a bad thing. Maybe I should go back to school for political science or something like that. That might be worth my time. I don’t think I could get work to pay for something like that though.

It’s pouring rain here again today, so the new regime change that was supposed to take place on Monday afternoon, is probably going to have to get postponed again for another day. And that’s OK. I’m in no rush actually, because it’s going to be a long and slow process getting back into good physical condition that I was even just a month ago, but that’s OK. I like a challenge such as that. Not a bad thing, nope, but a challenge, and maybe, just maybe, I’ll be ready to race again by the start of next season in March of 2006. I’m still thinking I’ll throw some cyclocross in there somewhere this fall, just for shits and giggles. Might be fun to go out and get muddy again in the fields of North Carolina where they normally hold such races.

Think about, for most of us, where we spend a great amount of our time during the week. For me, 9 hours per day at work, plus 1.5 hours of commute time. 10.5 hours per day either on the road to work, at work, or driving back from work in the afternoon. Add into that, 8 hours of sleep per day. So that leaves what? 5.5 hours per day of so-called free time. Within this 5.5 hours, you can easily take out say, an hour for eating and or getting of food for breakfast and dinner. 4.5 hours left in the day to do with what you please. That’s not a whole lot really. Is it? For me, take out another 2 hours or more for riding of the bike. That leaves 2.5 hours per day of actual free time where I’m not doing anything. That’s not a lot, not at all. I say this because looking at our President’s schedule, I see that he’s taking the whole MONTH of August in Texas to kick back and relax at his ranch in Crawford. Seems like every single time I hear something about Bush, he’s talking from his ranch in Texas. Would it surprise you to know that right now, as far as vacation time goes, Bush is number 2 all time right behind Regan? And it is almost a foregone conclusion that he will pass Regan’s time off allowances before he leaves office. Do I believe that Bush is working whilst he’s in Texas? Yeah, maybe some. I see he’s got some trips planned, and he has meetings scheduled every morning, but damn, this guy is not what I would call an overachiever, or a workaholic by any stretch of the good old imagination. He won’t work past 5:00PM, he doesn’t work on weekends, and he takes 2 hours in the middle of the day to have lunch, and do some exercise. He is a notorious slacker I might add. And hey, he only helped to bankrupt 3 different large corporations before he started in politics, so why worry? Yeah, worry. In comparison, just the one that I remember the most, Clinton was an avid workaholic. Putting in really long hours, staying in Washington, doing the business that needed to be done, and not going to bed early because he was tired. He worked long and hard day in and day out, and in comparison, his time on vacation will be nearly 1/5 of what Bush is taking by the time he leaves office. So if Bush is gone all the time. Who is minding the store? I’d like to have my President in Washington, working with Congress, working with his staff, and getting things done. This criticism is not only leveled at Bush, but at any President who would seemingly shirk his duties as he has been doing. Think about it this way. Over 8 years in his job, he will have taken, officially, over 500 days of vacation. That’s an entire 1.4 years! 1.4 years of vacation during his time in office as leader of the free world. Doesn’t that dismay you more than a little bit? It does me. Let’s look at my vacation time in comparison. So in the current job that I have, for the first 3 years, you get 10 days off per year. Over 3 years, that makes 30 days of vacation. Years 4-10 at my current employer, you get 3 weeks of vacation, which is 15 days per year. Years 4-8 would equal 75 days. Add the 75 days to the 30 days, and how many days did I get over 8 years? 105 days over 8 years. This is not too bad. Clinton took 152 days over 8 years total. That’s not a whole lot more than an average Joe like myself. And for someone who runs the most powerful country in the world, I’d expect some extra vacation time, but not 1.4 years for christsake! Then again, our leader should be working HARDER than the average Joe, because he’s got the whole of the free world more or less under his control. Bush, he just isn’t cutting it as far as even being on the job.