George Bu$h, the Occupant of our Oval Office, and the Leader of the Free World™ is out of town on the Labor Day weekend.

En route to an economic summit in Australia,

The president was spirited out of the White House late Sunday and driven to Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. Sixteen hours before he was scheduled to leave for the summit, Bush boarded Air Force One as it sat in a hanger and the aircraft departed after dark.

I can’t get out of my mind the image of the man sneaking onto an airplane in a hangar so no one would see him, and slipping out of town in the dark like some fugitive two steps ahead of the Sheriff.

White House press secretary Tony Snow said a false schedule released for the news media on Monday was part of the security plan for the trip.

I guess when you’re the most hated man on the planet, not even your devoted and faithful enablers in the media can be trusted. I’m sure they don’t care they’re lied to. They’re too busy enjoying the glamour and spotlight of being among the privileged few enjoying access.

And in light of the recent reported difficulties with traffic control at Baghdad International Airport,

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A military cargo plane carrying Florida Sen. Mel Martinez, two other senators and a House member was forced to take evasive maneuvers and dispatch flares to avoid ground fire after taking off from Baghdad.

The lawmakers said their plane, a C-130, was under fire Thursday night from three rocket-propelled grenades over the course of several minutes as they left for Amman, Jordan.

Mr Bu$h of course avoided something as risky as BIA.

Air Force One touched down under the blazing sun at Asad air base in Anbar province. The White House said the base was chosen because of the "remarkable turnaround" in the province.

A knowledgeable and cynical observer would think that was considered the safest air base to sneak the man into country. Hard cheese for all those who had to travel there to kiss the ring, although one might think GEN Petraeus would have crawled there over broken glass for the chance to meet his hero, and coordinate the lies to Congress about alleged progress in Iraq, even as they plan the overthrow of yet another sovereign government.

By the way, Mr Bu$h is on his way to Sydney, Australia for an economic summit to plan the future of – something or other – maybe Asian sweatshops, because there are still some blue-collar Americans earning a decent living in their own country. Sydney is where the freedom-loving Australians are a bit rattled by the security provisions required to protect Mr Bu$h.

A significant portion of downtown Sydney, including the area surrounding the world-famous Sydney Opera House is being closed down, hidden behind 9-foot tall steel fences.

3 of the busiest train stations in Australia ? Closed for 3 days.

The busiest ferry terminal in Australia ? Closed for 3 days.

The world famous Opera House ? Sorry, come back next week

The Queen of England visited Sydney last year. dKos diarist oznick has photos of that beautiful building, showing how it looked than, and how it will look during Mr Bu$h’s visit.

About that steel fence: people are not permitted to photograph it.

NSW Transport Minister John Watkins said that, while requiring tourists to delete photos of the APEC security fence running through Sydney's CBD might be "over the top", it is necessary.

He was responding today to reports that three German tourists were asked by police to delete digital photographs of the newly built fence, which stretches five kilometers through Sydney's CBD.

Of course, the Queen is a well-known and beloved head of state, unlike – you know.