The Cardinal, Amtrak's Chicago-to-New York passenger train, was a tad late getting into D.C. on Friday afternoon. Seems there was a delay in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va., because President Bush was lunching with House Republicans at their retreat at the Greenbrier Resort.
On instructions from the Secret Service, which stopped all traffic on the CSX freight line, Amtrak says it held the train -- and its 74 passengers -- not just while Bush's motorcade went by the sprawling resort's entrance, which is near the station, but also throughout his visit. That would be two hours and 10 minutes in all.
The station, according to hotel folks, is 339 yards from the hotel's front desk.
So a major rail line comes to a complete halt for 2 hours while the Emperor president has lunch — three football fields away! Nice. Yes, he must be thinking, "It's good to be king!"
