This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2005, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
In August 2005 President Bush left Washington for the relative solitude of his ranch in Texas. Polls showed that Americans were tiring of two and a half years of worsening, seemingly endless, war. The president said, “I think the people want a president to be in a position to make good, crisp decisions and to stay healthy. And, part of my being is to be outside exercising. So I'm mindful of what goes on around me. On the other hand, I'm also mindful that I've got a life to live and will do so.”
In March 1917 Czar Nicholas II of Russia left his palace near Petrograd for the relative solitude of his military headquarters at Mogilev. Revolution, then imminent, showed that Russians were tiring of two and a half years of worsening, seemingly endless, war. The czar said, “I shall take up dominoes again in my spare time.”
William Vogel
Salt Lake City
