Officials fleeing D.C. heat in droves
WASHINGTON (AP) – The secretary of state is sneaking off to the beach. The secretary of defense is breaking away just long enough to spend a few days at his New Mexico ranch, home to his horses, a donkey and a mule. The secretary of transportation may go sailing from his home near Annapolis, Md., but is “never far from his pager or cell phone,” an aide assures.
It is a steamier than usual August in Washington.
The president and vice president are away, the Congress and the Supreme Court are out of session, and, truth by told, most Cabinet members are finding a reason to get out of town.
But few dare call it vacation.
No, most members of the Cabinet say they’re able, at best, to steal a few days or a few hours of relaxation from busy schedules.
With taxpayers feeling economic pain and with a fight against terrorism nowhere near over, not a single Cabinet member admits to an old-fashioned, snoozing-in-the hammock, wake-me-when-it’s-September-type vacation.
Even President Bush, taking a nearly month-long “working vacation” of ranch time in Texas, won’t let more than a few days pass before he finds a need to put on a necktie and go some place.
Cabinet members vacation on the sly.
“Vacation is a misnomer,” says Rob Nichols, spokesman for Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. “He’ll be out of the office … (but) he’ll still be working.”
Recently back from economic talks in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, O’Neill joined the president and fellow Cabinet members at an economic forum in Waco, Texas, and was traveling through Western states, talking economic strategy with manufacturers, chambers of commerce and others.
O’Neill will spend time with his family at a beach at the end of August, said Nichols, yet he still hesitated to call it vacation.
On a working trip to Alaska, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson squeezed in a few hours of fishing and took a break in South Dakota to be inducted into a motorcycle riders hall of fame, said spokesman Bill Pierce.
There’s a strategy to Washington’s low-profile vacation, said Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union, a government watchdog group.
“It only makes good sense from a public relations standpoint,” Sepp said. “After all, who would want to be tagged as relaxing somewhere on a beach when continued fears about the economy and our national security plague the public?”
But even government critics seemed eager for the administration to take a load off.
“If there’s one thing people can understand, it’s taking a vacation,” said Bill Allison of the Center for Public Integrity, another watchdog group.
“Obviously there’s a lot going on, but I don’t know why you can’t be honest and either say that you’re going to be on vacation or you’re going to be working,” he said. “(It) seems to be a little bit oversensitive to the possibility of being criticized.”
During the city’s most sluggish month, Cabinet members’ plans – even some work schedules – have remained shrouded; guarded closely by staff amid looming security concerns.
Several aides refused to discuss details of how their bosses would use downtime, but every one said they’d be working while away.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was snaring a few days vacation late in the month for a trip to his ranch in Taos, N.M., where he keeps a donkey named Mo, and his mule, Herb, among other animals. Even though he’ll be gone through Labor Day, Rumsfeld plans to rally the troops in visits to a few military bases in California.
“We have a war going on,” said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, “so it’s not going to be a very quiet month for the Pentagon by any means.”
Secretary of State Colin Powell is expected to spend time at a beach resort in the mid-Atlantic region. The beginning of the month saw him making diplomatic trips around Southeast Asia and meeting in Washington with three Palestinian ministers.
Norman Mineta, secretary of transportation, will take a week off – spending time aboard his boat, most likely – at his home near Annapolis, Md., said department spokesman Chet Lunner.
But with a November deadline for arming the nation’s commercial airports with federal security screeners, added Lunner, “We’re going to be busy even though it’s the dog days of summer.”