One Bush administration official who is heading to the Italian Alps explained the logic with precision in an e-mail: “1. I am out of a job on Jan 20 at noon, no better time to take a vacation. 2. I like skiing, and have not seen my whole family in almost a year, no better time to get home and ski for a week. 3. Why bunker up and be in this town for that week, when we all know that [the crowds] will be worse than [the] Cherry Blossom [Festival] or Memorial Day?”