On Sunday night President Bush spent two hours watching a gala at Ford's Theater. On Wednesday he will spend an hour at a St. Patrick's Day lunch on Capitol Hill. On Tuesday he will spend something less than an hour with the prime minister of the Netherlands. And, of course, he will spend an hour each day in exercise.
Americans might surmise from at least some of these activities that the president of the United States has time to burn. That was certainly the point last week of Senator John Kerry, who slammed Mr. Bush for spending as much time with cows in Houston as the president had allotted for his testimony to the commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
(Or, for that matter, allotting as much time to testify before the commission investigating the worst attack on American soil, which occurred under his watch, as he allocates every day for exercise. Americans, get the feeling where you stand in the president's priorities?)
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But on Sunday, Condoleezza Rice, the national security adviser, fired a warning shot at the commission on behalf of her boss. "I would hope that they would recognize that he's president, and people would be judicious in the use of his time," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
(And, yes, that is why he has taken more vacation than any other president in the history of the United States, including a full month off immediately before the attacks on the World Trade Towers.)
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With vigilance, at least in the case of the 43rd president. As with so much else, Mr. Bush is the mirror opposite of Bill Clinton, who routinely ran late and let meetings turn into seminars. In Mr. Bush's world, if he is not on time, he is a half-hour early; his aides say he does everything fast, including eating meals.
(The mirror opposite of Clinton: Clinton worked hard and late and loved his job. Bush, well, let's just say he's the opposite.)
To his supporters, Bush Time reflects the president's discipline and focus. To his critics, it reflects rigidity and a lack of curiosity. Either way, meetings are over fast.
"There's a little joking around, but he gets right to it," said a Republican supporter who meets with Mr. Bush but did not want to be named because White House aides get angry when people talk about their closeness to the president. "He also knows how to keep others on the topic. When they veer off, he'll move them quickly back to the subject. There's not a lot of intellectual wandering going on, because he's busy. He knows what he wants to get out of a meeting."
(Nothing the American people more admire in a "War President" than knowing he wants to get out of a meeting.)
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...The teetotaling president retires around 9 p.m., even when he has guests, and takes to bed a giant briefing book to read as preparation for the following day. Lights are out at 10.
And this is not uncommon behavior for alcoholics. They can only go so long without a drink. Guests out by nine. President alone by ten. Sometimes he's attacked by pretzels. Sometimes, he gets cut up by brush. Also, he doesn't like to answer questions in the morning. He prefers a good workout to clear his head. You know, sweat it out.
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