Names in the News : Bush Gets Stamp of Approval for Keeping Mail Carriers Busy

WASHINGTON —  Postmaster General Anthony M. Frank presented President Bush with a letter carrier’s cap and bag today as a tribute to Bush’s prolific letter-writing, then delivered a jesting notice about the bill to taxpayers for the postage.

“One of the traits for which you’ve become well-known is writing brief congratulatory thank-you messages,” Frank told Bush after the President gave opening remarks to an international postal gathering.

“In fact, during your first year as the nation’s chief executive, you’ve generated more personal correspondence than many other Presidents during their entire administrations,” Frank added.

“I’d like to point out that every one of those has been franked,” said the postmaster general. A postal frank is free postage provided by the taxpayers for the President and for members of Congress.

Bush, in his speech to the Universal Postal Union, noted that “every week, I receive up to 60,000 letters from every state in the union and from nearly every country in the world. You can get a lot of free advice in this job.”