Bush ends non-vacation early, heads for higher ground

So after more than a month of insisting that being in Texas wasn't really a vacation, and that the President could do everything there he could do at the White House, it fell to Scott McClellan, Bush's spokesman, to explain to reporters today why Bush needed to go back to DC to handle the hurricane.

This from the press gaggle, via Wonkette:

Q This is more -- this is more symbolic. Cutting short his vacation is more symbolic because he can do all this from the ranch, right?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think -- no, I disagree. Like I said, this is one of the most devastating storms in our nation's history, and the President, after receiving a further update this morning, made the decision that he wanted to get back to D.C. and oversee the response efforts from there. This is going to -- there are many agencies involved in this -- in this response effort, and it's going to require a long and sustained effort on behalf of all the federal agencies working closely with state and local officials to help people recover from the destruction and devastation.

Q What is he unable to -- what is he unable to do in Crawford he could do --

MR. McCLELLAN: We'll talk to you all later. We've got to go. Thank you.