Citizen Bush Goes Fishing but Catches Only Reporters’ Queries

It is not proving easy, but this is a battle vacationing George Bush is determined to wage: the fight not to be trapped by the encumbrances of his new office.

On Saturday, for the second day in a row, Bush, his government motorcade and his entourage snaked out of the family’s private compound here so the new President-elect could make another stab at living like a normal citizen.

This time he chose fishing on the Kennebunk River for sea run trout.

The excursion followed a five-store shopping trip a day earlier in the village of Kennebunkport.

But saying that Bush went fishing or shopping is like calling the space shuttle a mere cargo vehicle. When he moves, people scatter, cars stop, necks swivel, reporters take flight like sea gulls hunting for dinner at low tide--and Bush seems delighted with himself.

During this five-day vacation, Bush and his aides have ignored the increasing news media speculation about the new Administration’s appointees and policies.

“Hey, look, you guys are scaring the fish away. There aren’t any here anyway, and the more you talk the further away they go,” Bush said Saturday when reporters caught him between fishing casts with questions.

Will he appoint former Sen. John Tower as secretary of defense?

“As I said, I’m going to give some thought to that when I get back.”

A Bush aide also refused substantive comment on a Washington Post report quoting sources saying the President-elect is preparing to launch a full review of the U.S. defense posture as a first step toward a defense budget cut of $8 billion to $10 billion.

“Speculative,” said press aide Steve Hart. He said Bush anticipated such “discussions of a wide variety of options both on people and policy. . . . (But) simply because options are being given to him or being discussed or raised--that doesn’t mean he’s going to accept them.”

Back at the Kennebunk River, Bush flogged the water for 20 minutes with a couple of friends. But not a single nibble.

After the election, Bush took another try at fishing during a rest in Florida, also without result.

On Saturday, Bush seemed only half serious about catching anything anyway. His fishing spot was located on the nearby Cape Arundel golf course.

What do you usually catch here, he was asked?

“We usually catch nothing right in here, nothing at all.”

So why fish?

“Because I like casting and I like to fish.”