Jonathan Martin of the Politico brings us the shocking news John McCain can't be bothered to work weekends. For the last five months, since wrapping up the Republican nomination, John McCain has held only a single public event on a weekend.
He's usually spending time at his homes in Arlington or Phoenix, or in his (plural) "vacation homes near Sedona, Ariz., and San Diego."
McCain would happily continue the Republican tradition of the Vacation Presidency. For all their talk of patriotism, hard work, and strong leadership in a dangerous world, Republican presidents have a long tradition of extravagant vacationing.
This is especially disturbing given that most Americans have seen their benefits continue to be cut. According to the American Prospect in 2007:
Last year, 25 percent of American workers got no paid vacation at all, while 43 percent didn't even take a solid week off. A third fewer American families take vacations together today than they did in 1970.
According to one 2007 study published in the LA Times, Americans receive an average of twelve paid vacation days, apart from holidays, and even worse:
In fact, 28 million Americans are no-vacation workers, receiving no paid time off, vacation or holidays.
To this day, the United States remains the only industrialized country in the world without a national law guaranteeing vacation time. Not that Republican presidents haven't always been generous with themselves.
George W. Bush
George W. Bush already holds the record for laziest president in American history. As of March, he'd spent 452 days at home on his ranch in Crawford. Combined, he's spent roughly a quarter of his time in office away from office, that's one year out of every four.
CIA Director George Tenet reported not seeing Bush at all in August 2001, as the president vacationed in Texas during the crucial months before September 11th. That vacation, from August 3rd to September 3rd, 2001, tied for the longest vacation by an American president in history --- a record Bush has since surpassed.
A Long Tradition
Not that Bush is alone in his affinity for months upon months of vacation:
Bush isn't the first president to get away from his work. George Bush Sr. took all or part of 543 vacation days at Camp David and in Kennebunkport. Ronald Reagan spent 335 days at or en route to his Santa Barbara, California, ranch during his eight years in office.
By contrast, recent Democratic presidents have set records for their hard work:
Jimmy Carter took the least days off -- only 79 days, which he usually spent at his home in Georgia. That's less than three weeks a year, which is closer to the average American's paid time off of 13 days per year.
What about Clinton? As of December 1999, President Bill Clinton had spent only 152 days on holiday during his two terms, according to CBS News. A former staffer noted Clinton was such a workaholic that "it almost killed Clinton to take one-week vacations during August." In 2000, Clinton cut his summer vacation short to just three days, so he and his wife could concentrate on her Senate race and fundraising for Democrats.
Something to keep in mind the next time McCain accuses Democrats of elitism. In the three weekends in June, Obama has already held seven public events. Will Americans have another reluctant, part-time president in John McCain --- who has already professed his lack of interest in domestic and economic policy? Can we afford to?