Which President has taken more vacation time? Obama or Bush

[Mustang]

I hear a lot of grumbling (that's putting it mildly) on the right about the amount of vacation time Obama is taking. But I remember Bush taking a LOT of time off at his so-called Crawford ranch and taking a lot of long uninterrupted vacations (not coming back to Washington) which Obama doesn't really do.

Additionally, I recall Bush taking quite a few days off at Camp David as well as at his father's luxury home in Kennebunkport, Maine as opposed to Obama who just seems to take a few days off here and there while he pretty much stays in Washington. But apparently the right has a very short memory since they're constantly insinuating that Obama is being derelict in his duties and also implying that Obama is a lazy chief executive who's more interesting in playing than working.

So how do the two presidents' vacation time stack up? Luckily for us, someone has actually bothered to tabulate the time.

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.


FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course.

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010, at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation, and at the same point in Bush’s president, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

– Lori Robertson

Sources
Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed. 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “Five myths about presidential vacations.” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch. Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “President Obama’s Vacation Days.” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch.” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation.‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson).” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington.” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

Presidential Vacations

When Obama takes a vacation it's a vacation, with bike riding and golf. When Bush was at his ranch he almost always was either taking care of the property or working. He just didn't like being trapped in the White House. Obama picks some pretty exotic locations to vacation, Marth's Vinyard rentals, Hawaiian compounds, millions of dollars of security. The 7th Fleet stationed off the coast of Oahu. When Bush went to his ranch it was pretty bare-bones security. He didn't have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a rental complex like Obama.

LOL! Boy, oh boy, have you been buffaloed. Bush was NEVER a rancher. For cryin' out loud, there were NO animals on his 'ranch.' He was even afraid of horses.

To make it even more plain, I don't think Bush did anything resembling physical work since he was probably a teenager, and only then, grudgingly. When Bush was supposedly 'clearing land' ala Reagan, it was nothing but a photo op, no doubt orchestrated by Rove to remind people of Reagan. At LEAST Reagan could make a valid claim to have cleared land and installed fence posts around his CA property prior to ever running for office. Bush's activities in that regard were a complete and utter sham. In fact, I remember a photo op a few years ago where Bush was supposedly volunteering to do some framing for a house being built. Bush had this itty bitty hammer and was choked up on the handle to such an extent that I just KNEW that he had never swung a hammer and pounded nails before in his life like a lot of boys and young men who learn their way around home improvement chores as they come of age.

 

[Mustng]

I hear a lot of grumbling (that's putting it mildly) on the right about the amount of vacation time Obama is taking. But I remember Bush taking a LOT of time off at his so-called Crawford ranch and taking a lot of long uninterrupted vacations (not coming back to Washington) which Obama doesn't really do.

Additionally, I recall Bush taking quite a few days off at Camp David as well as at his father's luxury home in Kennebunkport, Maine as opposed to Obama who just seems to take a few days off here and there while he pretty much stays in Washington. But apparently the right has a very short memory since they're constantly insinuating that Obama is being derelict in his duties and also implying that Obama is a lazy chief executive who's more interesting in playing than working.

So how do the two presidents' vacation time stack up? Luckily for us, someone has actually bothered to tabulate the time.

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.


FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course.

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010, at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation, and at the same point in Bush’s president, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

– Lori Robertson

Sources
Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed. 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “Five myths about presidential vacations.” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch. Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “President Obama’s Vacation Days.” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch.” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation.‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson).” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington.” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

Presidential Vacations

There you are Mustang...I was just told about your name/avatar.
It was said that we are the same...but we are different.

 

[mudwhistle]

I hear a lot of grumbling (that's putting it mildly) on the right about the amount of vacation time Obama is taking. But I remember Bush taking a LOT of time off at his so-called Crawford ranch and taking a lot of long uninterrupted vacations (not coming back to Washington) which Obama doesn't really do.

Additionally, I recall Bush taking quite a few days off at Camp David as well as at his father's luxury home in Kennebunkport, Maine as opposed to Obama who just seems to take a few days off here and there while he pretty much stays in Washington. But apparently the right has a very short memory since they're constantly insinuating that Obama is being derelict in his duties and also implying that Obama is a lazy chief executive who's more interesting in playing than working.

So how do the two presidents' vacation time stack up? Luckily for us, someone has actually bothered to tabulate the time.

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.


FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course.

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010, at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation, and at the same point in Bush’s president, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

– Lori Robertson

Sources
Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed. 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “Five myths about presidential vacations.” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch. Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “President Obama’s Vacation Days.” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch.” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation.‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson).” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington.” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

Presidential Vacations

When Obama takes a vacation it's a vacation, with bike riding and golf. When Bush was at his ranch he almost always was either taking care of the property or working. He just didn't like being trapped in the White House. Obama picks some pretty exotic locations to vacation, Marth's Vinyard rentals, Hawaiian compounds, millions of dollars of security. The 7th Fleet stationed off the coast of Oahu. When Bush went to his ranch it was pretty bare-bones security. He didn't have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for a rental complex like Obama.

LOL! Boy, oh boy, have you been buffaloed. Bush was NEVER a rancher. For cryin' out loud, there were NO animals on his 'ranch.' He was even afraid of horses.

To make it even more plain, I don't think Bush did anything resembling physical work since he was probably a teenager, and only then, grudgingly. When Bush was supposedly 'clearing land' ala Reagan, it was nothing but a photo op, no doubt orchestrated by Rove to remind people of Reagan. At LEAST Reagan could make a valid claim to have cleared land and installed fence posts around his CA property prior to ever running for office. Bush's activities in that regard were a complete and utter sham. In fact, I remember a photo op a few years ago where Bush was supposedly volunteering to do some framing for a house being built. Bush had this itty bitty hammer and was choked up on the handle to such an extent that I just KNEW that he had never swung a hammer and pounded nails before in his life like a lot of boys and young men who learn their way around home improvement chores as they come of age.

You'd love it if any of that nonsense was true.

One thing is for sure. Obama has never worked a day in his life. He was one of those Senators that liked signing onto bills when the tough work was done. Ted Kennedy was working on a bill and at the eleventh hour in comes BO making suggestions and wanting to become part of it. Teddy yells at him "STFU asshole!!! We've already been over that bullshit months ago. Get the fuck out of here!!!"

Remember when Obama was too bored to study for the debates? No, of course not. When he was working at his law firm while everyone else was participating in the discussion Barry had his feet up on the table putting ideas about his book into his laptop. He's never been a hard worker. I wouldn't be surprised if his grades suffered because of his lazy attitude. Maybe that's why he's sealed his transcripts.

 

[healthmyths]

Obama promised:
As president-elect, Barack Obama proclaimed his Kennebunkport was Chicago's South Side and said he'd try to get back every six to eight weeks.
Instead he's unwound on ocean-splashed Oahu or Martha's Vineyard and has made it back to Chicago seven times, about half as often as he anticipated.
Obama s Chicago visits Mixed feelings on infrequency of trips home - Chicago Tribune
The above was written in 2011..
from 2009 to 2014 there are 292 weeks or 36 (every 8 week opportunities).
Just saying he has spent more time in hotels around the world then Bush spent in his home.
Bush spent 490 days or a total of 70 weeks at his home with no hotel expenses.

 

[Vigilante]

Thanks Taxpayers! Obama Spends $44 Million On Vacations


I think this number is low, since Africa cost by some counts 100 million. Maybe this only counts the purely vacation, not the alleged trips for business that were really for vacation…
Via Daily Caller:
The Obamas have spent over 44 million dollars in taxpayer money on travel and vacations. Some are even calling him the “most well-trvaeled, expensive” president in our nation’s history.
As Americans head off for the long holiday weekend, let’s take a look back at some of the president’s holiday spending.
Our president vacations a lot — we’re talking $44,351,777.12 worth of “a lot,” with most expenses charged to the American taxpayer.
As of March 2014, Obama has spent more time traveling internationally than any other president, taking 31 trips since assuming office in 2009. The 119 days spent overseas have cost taxpayers millions of dollars.
At the same point in their respective presidencies, George W. Bush had spent 116 days on 28 trips, Bill Clinton had spent 113 days on 27 trips and Ronald Reagan had spent 73 days on just 14 trips.
In 2010, Obama flew aboard Air Force One 172 times, nearly every other day. Just the cost of flying aboard Air Force One to Obama’s hometown of Chicago reportedly hovers around $180,000 per hour.

 

[blackhawk]

This is the same argument the left tried to use when defending Obama's use of executive orders other's used more as was pointed out then it was not the number used but the intent and scope of them. As with the executive orders it's not the number of vacations taken it's the situations in the world and the timing of when he takes them every President needs vacations and takes them. But to come and talk about an American citizen being beheaded and having that shown all over the world and then 30 minutes later if that being back on the golf course does anyone really think any President Democrat or Republican who did that wouldn't and shouldn't get ripped over it?

 

[Billy000]

This is a great thread but unfortunately you wasted your time on the RWs on this board. They aren't real critics. They simply look for reasons to berate Obama because it is easier for them to feel secure about their warped, simple minded politics. It's all very disingenuous and pathetic.

 

[Oldstyle]

I hear a lot of grumbling (that's putting it mildly) on the right about the amount of vacation time Obama is taking. But I remember Bush taking a LOT of time off at his so-called Crawford ranch and taking a lot of long uninterrupted vacations (not coming back to Washington) which Obama doesn't really do.

Additionally, I recall Bush taking quite a few days off at Camp David as well as at his father's luxury home in Kennebunkport, Maine as opposed to Obama who just seems to take a few days off here and there while he pretty much stays in Washington. But apparently the right has a very short memory since they're constantly insinuating that Obama is being derelict in his duties and also implying that Obama is a lazy chief executive who's more interesting in playing than working.

So how do the two presidents' vacation time stack up? Luckily for us, someone has actually bothered to tabulate the time.

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.


FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course.

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010, at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation, and at the same point in Bush’s president, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

– Lori Robertson

Sources
Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed. 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “Five myths about presidential vacations.” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch. Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “President Obama’s Vacation Days.” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch.” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation.‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson).” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington.” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

Presidential Vacations

A far more pertinent question might be which President has done more fund raisers while in office? I ask that because Barry is off for another two tomorrow even though he has no plan to deal with ISIS in Syria and the Russians are invading the Ukraine.

 

[Vigilante]

Liberal subversives, living in suspended reality!

 

[SmarterThanTheAverageBear]

This thread is stupid, are you nincompooops really arguing about which POTUS is gone from the White House more often?

Get a job losers.

 

[Oldstyle]

The answer to that question of course is Bill Clinton who did an astounding 638. One wonders how he ever had time to diddle Monica!

 

[Oldstyle]

Just think how many fund raisers Barry would be doing if candidates running for tough seats dared to be seen in public with him!

 

[Skylar]

Remember when Obama was too bored to study for the debates? No, of course not. When he was working at his law firm while everyone else was participating in the discussion Barry had his feet up on the table putting ideas about his book into his laptop. He's never been a hard worker. I wouldn't be surprised if his grades suffered because of his lazy attitude. Maybe that's why he's sealed his transcripts.

And by 'sealed his transcripts', you mean had them treated like everyone else's?

 

[Skylar]

The answer to that question of course is Bill Clinton who did an astounding 638. One wonders how he ever had time to diddle Monica!

Says who? All the sources I've seen put Bill's total at slightly lower than Obama's. And if you're counting days at Camp David, that puts Bush's totals into the mid 800s.

 

[auditor0007]

George W. Bush's vacation time (grand total)

487 days at Camp David
490 days at Crawford Ranch
43 days at Kennebunkport Compound

Total: 1020 days, more than 1/3rd of his presidency. Bush set the record for most vacation time taken by president.

Carter took 79 days in 4 years.
Clinton took 152 days in 8 years.

Reagan took 335 days in 8 years.
Bush Sr. took 543 days in 4 years!

So much for the mythological Republican hard worth ethic.

George W. Bush's vacation time (grand total)

Seriously, I'm sick of this stupid comparison. I'm tired of hearing stupid cons call Obama on this, and I'm sick of stupid libs calling Bush out on it. What, you goofballs all think when the President goes on vacation he stops working and just lounges around the pool drinking margaritas?

 

[rdean]

Then of course, there are the many Bush and Bush family trips and safari's in Africa that cost a hundred million dollars EACH at US Tax payer expense. Those links have been posted before, but alas, Right Wingnuts don't ever bother to read links unless it's Fox or Breitbart, or even then.

 

[Seawytch]

Hmm. What do Camp David, the Crawford Ranch and Kennebunkport all have in common? Right, they are owned by the president or the people and set up specifically for the president's needs when he's working
Contrast that to Obama who is jetting off the martha's vineyard, Hawaii, who knows where and spending his days at fundraisers and playing golf. Bush could work a few hours at his ranch and then cut wood or ride horses. Obama can't do much of anything else beyond raising money and playing golf.
Bush's vacations were working vacations. Obama's are just vacation.

And this is the straw they grasp onto...The Obama's don't have a vacation home. (Neglecting to mention that donors bought Reagan his vacation home for him)

So apparently what is needed is for wealthy donors to buy the Obama's a vacation home so the RW will STFU about the 50% fewer vacations he has taken than his predecessor (who get's a pass because he had a fake ranch)

 

[jknowgood]

I don't remember Bush taking separate jets to the same place two hours apart, then jetting the dog to the same place. Like the Obamas did, at tax payer expense. Also how many morning briefings did he miss in a row before bengazi?

 

[Seawytch]

I don't remember Bush taking separate jets to the same place two hours apart, then jetting the dog to the same place. Like the Obamas did, at tax payer expense. Also how many morning briefings did he miss in a row before bengazi?

You don't remember because you have selective memory...

Which First Lady Flies Highest? Michelle vs. Laura

You seem to know how many briefings the President missed. Can you provide a source and a number?

 

[Mustng]

I hear a lot of grumbling (that's putting it mildly) on the right about the amount of vacation time Obama is taking. But I remember Bush taking a LOT of time off at his so-called Crawford ranch and taking a lot of long uninterrupted vacations (not coming back to Washington) which Obama doesn't really do.

Additionally, I recall Bush taking quite a few days off at Camp David as well as at his father's luxury home in Kennebunkport, Maine as opposed to Obama who just seems to take a few days off here and there while he pretty much stays in Washington. But apparently the right has a very short memory since they're constantly insinuating that Obama is being derelict in his duties and also implying that Obama is a lazy chief executive who's more interesting in playing than working.

So how do the two presidents' vacation time stack up? Luckily for us, someone has actually bothered to tabulate the time.

Q: Is it true that George W. Bush took more vacation days than Barack Obama?

A: Yes. Before his two-week trip to Martha’s Vineyard in August, Obama’s count was 125 full or partial days and Bush’s total at the same point in his presidency was 407.


FULL ANSWER

Our inbox is chock full of questions about who took more vacation days, Obama or Bush. (The short answer: Bush. The long answer: There’s no such thing as a true non-working vacation for the president.)

The recent barrage from our readers coincides with Obama’s 15-day family vacation on Martha’s Vineyard — he returned to the White House on Aug. 24 – which occurred during major news events including the beheading of a U.S. journalist by Islamic militants and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, after a police officer shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. The vacation also occurred during the funeral of Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene, the only general officer killed in Afghanistan.

Obama faced criticism for being on vacation during these times, but those types of complaints are nothing new — either to Obama or presidents in general.

Readers may recall the criticism directed at Bush for the August weeks spent at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. Others may remember Democrats chastising President Dwight Eisenhower for spending time on the golf course.

We last dealt with the who-took-more-vacation question in January 2010, at which point Obama had spent 26 days on “vacation” during his first year in office, fewer than the first year totals for Presidents Bush, George H.W. Bush or Ronald Reagan. Our numbers are all courtesy of CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller, who has covered every president since Gerald Ford and tracks the commander in chief’s travel.

But, as we noted then, presidents never fully escape from the job. Knoller told us he doesn’t consider these days away from the White House real “vacation” days. He said then in an email: “I have long held the view that a US president is never really on vacation. The job — and its awesome powers and responsibilities — is his wherever he is and whatever he’s doing.”

Bush officials called the Crawford ranch the “Western White House” to emphasize the days there involved plenty of official business, and Obama’s recent Martha’s Vineyard break included several presidential statements and two days spent back at the White House in the middle of the “vacation.” Presidents may clear brush or hit the links, but they are never actually off the clock.

Still, much is made of these presidential vacation days — and how to count them. Knoller doesn’t include visits to Camp David, the presidential retreat in Maryland often used to host foreign leaders. On Aug. 8, the day before Obama left for Martha’s Vineyard, Knoller tweeted that Obama had spent 125 full or partial days on vacation, and at the same point in Bush’s president, he had spent 381 days at his Texas ranch plus 26 days at his parents’ home in Kennebunkport, Maine, for a total of 407.

When we emailed Knoller on Aug. 26, Obama was up to 140 days by his count. Bush’s total for his two terms in office is 533 days, which includes 490 at the ranch and the rest at Kennebunkport. For comparison’s sake, President Bill Clinton’s total is 174 days, and Reagan hit 390 (349 at his ranch and 41 in Palm Springs), according to Knoller.

Adding in Camp David visits would bring Obama’s total to date to 223 (that’s 83 days at Camp David) and Bush’s total for his entire time in office to 1,024 (491 days at the presidential retreat). Note that Obama still has more than two years in office to narrow the gap.

Deciding how to count these “vacation” days can create some confusion. CNN recently listed a count of 879 days for Bush and 150 for Obama, numbers that came from a Washington Post “Outlook” piece on “Five myths on presidential vacations.” (Myth No. 1: “Presidents get vacations.”) The 879 figure, it turns out, is from March 3, 2008, at which point Bush had spent that many days at the ranch and Camp David (but it doesn’t include days in Kennebunkport). The numbers are in a 2008 Washington Post piece and attributed to Knoller.

If readers want to make an apples-to-apples comparison, the best solution is to use Knoller’s figures as of August 8, cited above: Bush, 407; Obama, 125. But the numbers say more about how many days the presidents spent away from the White House than they do about how much time the presidents spent not working.

– Lori Robertson

Sources
Knoller, Mark. Email interview with FactCheck.org. 26 Aug 2014.

Knoller, Mark. Twitter feed. 8 Aug 2014.

Farris, Scott. “Five myths about presidential vacations.” Washington Post. 15 Aug 2014.

Froomkin, Dan. White House Watch. Washington Post. 4 Mar 2008.

Gore, D’Angelo. “President Obama’s Vacation Days.” FactCheck.org. 11 Jan 2010.

Mason, Julie. “Bush says it’s no vacation at his Crawford ranch.” Houston Chronicle. 7 Aug 2005.

Superville, Darlene. “Obama Back at White House After Summer ‘Vacation.‘ ” Associated Press. 24 Aug 2014.

Jackson, David. “Obama’s golf: Not like Ike (or Wilson).” USA Today. 30 Dec 2011.

Lin, C.J. “Maj. Gen. Harold Greene receives full burial honors at Arlington.” Stars and Stripes. 14 Aug 2014.

Presidential Vacations

There you are Mustang...I was just told about your name/avatar.
It was said that we are the same...but we are different.

My horse is better looking