Bush goes on vacation for ten days at his reach in Crawford, Texas

Washington, Aug 4: US President George W Bush began a ten-day vacation at his ranch in Crawford last night -- his longest planned period away from Washington.

Mr Bush's scheduled week and a half in Texas this time is a far cry from last year's working vacation, which was shaping up as the longest presidential retreat in more than three decades before it was rudely cut short by Hurricane Katrina after nearly a month. He had to face a lot of criticism for prolonging his vacation while Katrina had hit and left thousands homeless. He then went on an aerial survey and ordered relief measures which helped in damage control.

Last year's vacation also caused a major embarrassment to Mr Bush as it was marked by the anti-Iraq-war protests led by Cindy Sheehan, the peace activist whose son was killed in Iraq.

Sheehan camped out on the road leading to Bush's ranch last year promising not to leave until he agreed to meet her, drawing international news coverage and large numbers of supporters to Crawford, while helping to galvanise opposition to the war.

She recently bought five acres near Crawford, which she plans to use as a base for future protests while Bush is in town.

To avoid any major damage to his political image, the president's schedulers shrunk his vacation time in view of the crisis in the West Asia, the continued carnage in Iraq besides the first hurricane of the year brewing in the Caribbean.

Over the weekend, Mr Bush is scheduled to meet with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and National Security Advisor Steven Hadley at his reach.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said yesterday that "while everybody recogniSes what happened with Katrina" the president's vacation schedule this year is "driven by sheer necessity."

With a large number of Republican congressional seats up for grabs, Mr Bush does not want to leave anything to chance. So he would be on the road to help raise money and get his message out in the hope of improving his approval ratings, which have been abysmal for much of the past year. Mr Bush has been criticised for spending more time away from Washington, but he is not the first president to do so. More than a century ago, Ulysses S Grant was pilloried for his retreats to the Jersey Shore.

President Bill Clinton often spent vacations at friends' homes in places such as Martha's Vineyard and twice vacationed in Jackson Hole, Wyo., a locale his political handlers said would play well among swing voters.

President Lyndon B Johnson spent 474 days at his Texas spread during his five-plus years as president, far surpassing the 370 days that Mr Bush has spent in Texas since his election, according to U.S. News&World Report.

White House aides say Mr Bush remains in command even when he is far away from the Oval Office. As a routine, he receives his normal security briefings and holds meetings with top aides and foreign leaders during his working vacations. The president also likes to use his free time to ride a bike around his 1,500-acre ranch and to do chores such as clearing brush.

While Mr Bush has decided not to spend much time away from Washington this year, he still has plans to spend some time with his family. He will spend long weekends at Camp David and the Bush family compound in Kennebunkport, Maine, for August, before returning to Texas before the Labor Day weekend.

UNI