A friend of mine just sent me a kind of random op-ed article on how much vacation President Bush has taken. Her point was that everyone else seems to be working more and pulling all nighters while he's slacking. I have no information or opinion on that. What I do have an opinion on is that a beach house in San Clemente trumps a ranch in Crawford Texas as a Western Whitehouse any day. I know it's a little odd that I grew up in a bastion of conservatism, and that one of my best friends states with pride that he's from the home of Nixon, but somehow the hometown aspect of it lends a certain degree of kitsch. Of course, a quick Google on the topic pointed out that Reagan had his ranch near Santa Barbara, and this got me thinking about how a notoriously liberal state like California has managed to produce two staunchly conservative presidents... I guess Reagan wasn't born there, but he might be considered a naturalized citizen. Oh well, here's to diversity...?