"To date, the president has devoted far more time to golf (15 rounds) than to solo news conferences (six). "
Bush by the Numbers, as Told by a Diligent Scorekeeper
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A27592-2002Sep2.html
By Dana Milbank Tuesday, September 3, 2002; Page A15
President Bush's trip to Pittsburgh yesterday was his 13th to Pennsylvania since taking office, his third to the Pittsburgh area, his second Labor Day appearance with the carpenters union and his 72nd domestic trip overall.
How do we know this? There is only one source: Mark Knoller, the leading collector of modern presidential arcana.
How many foreign leaders has Bush met with? Knoller's got it: 136.
How many states has Bush visited so far? Knoller's got it: 43.
How long did Bush's round of golf last on July 6? Knoller's got it: 2 1/2 hours.
The 50-year-old CBS News radio correspondent, who has been covering the White House on-and-off since the Ford administration and every day for the past 11 years, collects data about presidential activities as if it were baseball trivia. The bearded, often curmudgeonly Knoller can be found in the press filing center on most every presidential trip, his stentorian voice booming out 35-second takes for radio -- as many as 20 a day -- and shaping the day's news for dozens of journalists who can't help but hear him.
When he's not recording one of the more than 10,000 radio spots he's done over the past decade, he spends hours a week updating his famous statistical logs. Other reporters -- academics, too -- rely on them. The Clinton White House even asked Knoller for his logs; turns out the newsman kept better track of President Bill Clinton's travel than the president's aides did.
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