Posted on 07/01/2007 1:11:17 PM PDT by Wolfstar
PRESIDENTIAL NEWS OF THE DAY: Mixing work with some vacation time, President Bush meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin today at the Bush family home at Kennebunkport, Maine. The President’s great-grandfather built the Bush estate at Walker’s Point, a rocky strip of land that juts into the Atlantic Ocean.
Also vacationing with GWB are his daughter, Barbara, and his mother and father. The trio also got in some fishing, Barbara and her dad (who will turn 61 this month) each caught a fish.
Bush goes biking, fishing ahead of meeting with Russian president
By Deb Riechmann, Associated Press Writer, June 30, 2007KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine --President Bush's daughter Barbara hooked a slightly larger striped bass than her dad Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean off this tiny town that's gearing up for a visit from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
After a 90-minute morning bike ride, Bush hopped aboard his father's speedboat, Fidelity III, and sped out into the chilly waters on his second fishing excursion in two days. His dad, former President George H.W. Bush, was at the wheel.
Bush's fishing trips have attracted the attention of residents and tourists in Kennebunkport, where the president's father has spent his summers since he was a boy.
The town is buzzing with activity in advance of Putin's arrival on Sunday for what some have dubbed the "lobster summit."
A Russian flag flew alongside Old Glory at a home having a yard sale. Bartley's Dockside Restaurant posted a sign that said: "Kennebunkport is Putin on the Ritz." The menu at The Clam Shack is posted in both English and Russian.
On Saturday, though, Bush was the focus.
The president -- sporting a cap depicting a Scottish terrier like his dog, Barney -- used a bait fish to angle one of two fish caught by the group. Barbara cheered her father on as he leaned back and reeled it in.
Then, just as he reached down to pull the fish out of the water, Barbara got a nibble and began reeling in her fish, which was a little longer and fatter than dad's. The two smiled and posed with their bass.
Bush to ask Putin's help in pressuring Iran
By Caren Bohan, Reuters
Sun Jul 1, 12:37 AM ETKENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (Reuters) - President George W. Bush will seek Russian President Vladimir Putin's support for wider sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, during weekend talks in Maine where Bush hopes to rekindle a friendship with the Russian leader.
Six years after Bush said he trusted Putin because he had gotten "a sense of his soul," ties between their two countries have grown chilly over Russia's concerns about a U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe, U.S. concerns about a rollback of freedoms in Russia and Moscow's opposition to the Iraq war.
The two-day talks at the Bush family home in picturesque Kennebunkport will begin on Sunday. Officials have described the meeting as informal and have played down any prospects of a breakthrough on issues like the missile shield.
But a senior U.S. official, who briefed reporters about the visit earlier this week, said there has been "an increasing convergence in U.S.-Russian views" on concerns over Iran's nuclear program.
"I do think we see the threat very much the same," said the official, adding that there would be discussion of a new U.N. Security Council resolution against Iran.
According to The New York Times, one proposal floated on Friday with Russian officials and other members of the U.N. Security Council would require inspections of cargo heading to or from Iran to see if it contained illicit nuclear-related shipments or arms. The Times said the inspections are cast as a preventive measure but could slow Iran's economy.
As President Bush looks forward to celebrating his 61st birthday this month, the First Lady gave an interview to the Chicago Tribune during her flight home from Africa yesterday. She said that her husband will look back on his time as President with no regrets.
Laura Bush: President will look back with 'no regrets'
By Mark Silva, Tribune national correspondent
Published July 1, 2007KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine -- George W. Bush campaigned for the presidency with a promise of compassion, a decidedly domestic agenda pledging to reform public schools, offer illegal immigrants a chance at a permanent home, enlist churches in the delivery of social services and cut taxes for Americans.
During his two terms as president, Bush has carried that voice of compassion to another continent, pledging more than any of his predecessors to aid impoverished and disease-stricken regions of Africa. Yet much of his compassion agenda has been obscured by a war that has consumed his presidency. All the president's hopes for a lasting domestic legacy essentially ended on Sept. 11, 2001. Even now, as he struggles to save an apparently doomed immigration bill, the biggest domestic accomplishments of his administration can be traced largely to his first year in office.
First Lady Laura Bush returned Saturday from her third trip to Africa. She suggested that her husband -- who will be meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday and Monday in Kennebunkport -- is likely to make another trip to Africa next year and said in an interview with the Tribune during her flight home that neither she nor her husband has any regrets about "the hand we were dealt" on 9/11.
"It's a philosophy of no regrets," Laura Bush said. "In one sense, [it] is that whatever happens happens, and you have to keep moving on and do the best you can with whatever it is. But it's also a philosophy of moving forward ... a realistic view of life."
The first lady was asked whether she and her husband ever wonder what his presidency would have been like had terrorists not struck the United States less than nine months into his first term.
"Neither George or I are the kind to look back and think, 'Oh, what if? Why did this happen when I was president?' " she said. "I think it's because he is a realist. ... And it's just that this is what's happened, this is the hand we were dealt, and you just have to move on and do the very best you can with that hand."
THE WEEK AHEAD:
— July 1, the First Lady joins the family in Kennebunkport, where the President will host a dinner for Russian President Vladimir Putin.— July 2, President Bush holds a closed meeting with Russian President Putin. The two presidents will make brief remarks to the press between their meeting and lunch. The lunch will be a social event. Later in the day, the President and Mrs. Bush return to Washington.
— July 3, No public events are scheduled.
— July 4, in what has become a tradition for President Bush, he will spend part of the holiday in West Virginia. He delivers remarks to the West Virginia Air National Guard, 167th Airlift Wing, Martinsburg, W.Va. He returns to Washington in the afternoon.
— July 5, No public events are scheduled.
— July 6, the president leaves for Camp David, returning to the White House on Sunday.
You are not the only one. I would vote for him again too in a heartbeat.
I think it’s cute that they have matching jackets.
It is a mob mentality and Rush/Talk Radio has become the mob bosses. Sad but true. You can no longer debate with the mob since they are pure emotion/hatred.
Even the Sunday thread is polluted so this is the only one that is sane.
Pray for W and Our Troops
Thank you for the ping
Today, I was getting a car inspected. Got into a conversation with I found to be an idiot. Oh yes, I support our troops but not....I stopped her flat...I told her if you do not support the mission...YOU DO NOT SUPPORT THE TROOPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good for you. Time to stand up for the truth.
Pray for W and Our Troops
My daughter is a civilian however she has her masters in education and works for the DOD at Ft. Bragg. The military loves President Bush....so yes I pray for both daily.
God bless your family for their service to our great country. Please let each of them know how very much they are appreciated. I am grateful to them, you and your family members for the sacrifices you all make to help keep the rest of us safe.
We must see to it that the Left does not take over the White House, and we must get the Congress back. We owe our armed forces at least as much as providing them the best leadership possible. Thank you and your family for your tremendous service to the nation and the world.
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