Although the president returned to the White House last Thursday, many contend he only sat at his desk for a few minutes, shuffled some papers around and then split to Camp David for the Labor Day weekend.

"It's hard to gets back to work," he said over the holiday recess, "but there's much that needs to be done. I might even have to put in a few five-hour days to gets back up to speed."

The president faces many challenges in the days ahead, as he expects Congress to mire him down with debates over the budget, a shrinking surplus, energy policies and education reform.

Bush has already tried to head off Democratic criticism of his controversial tax relief package. Tied to a slowing economy, the refund checks may force Washington to dip into Social Security savings, something Bush had claimed would never happen under his plan.

Speaking with the public over his vacation, Bush repeatedly claimed that not having enough cash to pay for things was a "good thing, because it will keeps the Democrats from spending all that money. Otherwise it would've been sittin' there paying off the national debt and making peoples feel secure about the economy and stuff."

"Well I hope he's happy with that," claimed an anonymous source within Congress, "because when he asks for more money for the Pentagon we're going to tell him 'sorry, you already spent it'. Then we'll see how he feels."

"The problem with (the president's) plan was that the economy was already slowing down," claims Cire Nodgorb of the Institute for Advanced Economics, "and when that's happening, spending what you have left over isn't a real bright idea. It's sort of like a man contemplating personal bankruptcy deciding to go out and buy a new Jaguar to drive back and forth to court with."

Bush has also tried to turn public sentiment against those who warned of the dire consequences of his actions. "If they are againsts tax relief, then they must be for raisings your taxes," he claimed to unenthusiastic crowds, "and by association, they musts also be for promiscuous sex with animals and the molestation of childrens."