Apparently Bush is going to spend his vacation at Crawford, Texas without access to the most important daily intelligence briefings. Why do I say that? Because Bush has made clear that it's nigh impossible to give such briefings when the recipient is outside of Washington, DC, at least when the recipient is John Kerry. Read on...
1. Bush aides say it's nearly impossible logistically to give the necessary presidential-level intelligence briefings to Kerry since he'll be OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON, DC. Allegedly, it's a considerable drain on our intelligence resources, during this time of high threat, to have them travel outside of DC to give presidential-level intell briefings:
Aides to President Bush and John F. Kerry are sparring over the terms for intelligence briefings for the Democratic presidential nominee, delaying the post-convention overview typically given to the challenger....2. Bush is getting ready to go on a week-long vacation to his ranch at Crawford, Texas. Will he not be getting intelligence briefings during his time away from DC "in light of the current threat"? Or is Bush going to require the DCI and Homeland Security director to trudge across the country and waste valuable time that could be spent preventing the next 9/11 attack, simply because Bush wanted YET ANOTHER vacation, a vacation that mattered more to him than jeopardizing the war on terror? Or if they are simply going to "beam" the briefers in via video or something, then why can't they beam them in to Kerry on the campaign trail? The White House will probably argue that the "beaming" equipment is only at the White House, Crawford Ranch, and on Air Force One.
A GOP source close to the negotiations said that "the briefing hasn't occurred because Kerry has insisted he doesn't have time for it unless it is done outside of D.C., which is logistically a nightmare for the DCI [director of central intelligence] and [Homeland Security Secretary Tom] Ridge in light of the current threat."
Ah, but no. The president did a campaign stop in Cleveland last month and stayed at a hotel in the city according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer: "campaign and White House officials said Bush was expected to spend the night at a downtown Cleveland hotel." Certainly that downtown hotel isn't wired for classified briefings, so is Bush forsaking those briefings for the campaign trail, or is he forcing senior officials to endure a wasteful "logistical nightmare" to give him briefings while on the campaign trail?
You decide.
