Midday Bike Rides and the Rest of Us

We will always remember where we were and what we were doing when that sinister Cessna bore down on DC last week. At least until maybe next week, anyway. And before that memory fades from our collective consciousness, let's not forget where President Bush was: blissfully ignorant of the elevated terror alert back at his house -- pedalling around the Patuxent Research Refuge.

That's 12,790 acres of wildlife and scenery.

Nice if you can take off in the middle of the day and motorcade out to it with a Secret Service detachment. But harder for the average working family.

Marc Fisher in the Washington Post writes:

"[D]on't expect to follow President Bush's example in the late afternoon or evening, or on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July or any other national holiday, because the same president who repairs to Patuxent for his recreation has saddled the refuge with budget cuts that have forced a sharp reduction in its public opening hours and other services."

If it's any reassurance that the President of the US is one of us -- the President of the Refuge Association says if he'd shown up at 4:00 pm, they would have slammed the gate in his face.

The cuts mean they have to cut back the number of hours they're open -- even if the leader of the free world feels like some free-wheeling bike ride.

Good thing there was no pressing business in the middle of that regular work day -- like Osama bin Laden on the loose or a war in Iraq. So President Bush could take off early and beat the gates' closing time. (WashPost)