A Shorter Vacation for Bush

This parched Texas cattle town, population 705, has been a haven for President Bush every August, an escape from the buttoned-down confines of Washington. Here, Mr. Bush can clear brush, ride his mountain bike along scrubby trails, curl up with a book or kick up his feet for an afternoon siesta. But this year reality - in the form of the November midterm elections, the peace activist Cindy Sheehan and the legacy of Hurricane Katrina - has intruded on the president's summer vacation, cutting short his time at his 1,600-acre ranch.