The Presidency: Away from Home

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Presidents, who used to be as solidly grounded in Washington as their monuments, are becoming increasingly peripatetic. Asked by a reporter to compare the days spent away from Washington by John Kennedy and Dwight Eisenhower during their first two years in office, the White House found that Kennedy was out of the capital 215 days, compared with 195 for Eisenhower.

Most of Eisenhower's days away were spent at Augusta or at his Camp David retreat. Kennedy put in vacation time at Hyannisport, Palm Beach. Newport and Glen Ora. Eisenhower, who did most of his official traveling toward the end of his tenure, left the country only on brief trips to Ottawa, Bermuda, and a dam dedication in Mexico during his first two years. Kennedy made state visits to England, France, Mexico, Canada and South America, went to Vienna to meet with Khrushchev, and attended conferences in the Bahamas and Bermuda. The difference in total miles traveled: 124,299 for Kennedy; 69,553 for Eisenhower.