Before a new round of severe thunderstorms hits the area & finally cools off this week-long heat wave, I'll provide this entry about a subject that makes me simply shake my head.
I am not normally politically motivated by any stretch. However, anyone who has watched TV knows about the Middle East and the recent 3-week stretch of fighting, which some commentators have linked to being the end of the world as we know it. Now, I don't think it stretches to that extreme, but certain sections of the world are really going through a rough stretch, and need guidance from world leaders to keep it from escalating.
And now our President has decided to retreat to his Texas ranch for a breather? The timing could not possibly be worse.
I once held a job where I was in charge. Being a full-time employee, I was granted an annual 2-week vacation which I always looked forward to. At that time, however, my department was undergoing the first of three location changeovers in the span of a year. The sitting members of the board had no technical clue about how or where to move things, and were helpless in day-to-day operations without me there.
As I had no alternate, I sacrificed the vacation time until I knew things could run normally. That meant a delay of three months, but the vacation time was still there, and I was able to enjoy the time off, even though it was later than what was hoped for.
I knew the job priorities; that's why I was being paid top dollar for it. This also should apply to the Chief Executive of the Country. When there's problems and guidance is needed from the top office, the world should not expect a leader to just retreat & do his own thing. It just doesn't sound right.
A record was set for vacation time spent at the ranch last year: almost six weeks. In six years in office, he's spent more time on retreat than Ronald Reagan did in eight years. It just makes me wonder if the president wants to even face the realities, let alone deal with them.
This is a man who needs no further blemishes on what has been a controversial presidency. The country has been criticized for not taking swift action in recent matters.
There is nothing swift about a poorly-timed decision at a time where we can ill-afford them.
