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Facebook WASHINGTON  Since he has been president, George W. Bush has traveled overseas from Afghanistan to Vietnam. Closer to home, Rhode Island and Vermont haven't rated a presidential trip. The two deep blue Democratic enclaves, which both gave John Kerry 59% of the vote in 2004, are the only states Bush has not visited since becoming president, according to White House records. A Bush spokeswoman said it's no snub, adding there is plenty of time for him to reach all 50 states, as his father and Bill Clinton did before him. "We have 20 months left in office," spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said. "And the weather is really nice up there in the summer." Clinton didn't complete his U.S. tour until his final month in office, when he stopped in Nebraska. The elder Bush visited all 50 states in his four years in office. Ronald Reagan skipped Vermont and Rhode Island while president, as well as Delaware and Maine, according to Mike Duggan of the Reagan Library. Reagan won all four states in 1984. Though Vermont is a reliable Democratic vote for president, it used to favor Republicans. In 1936, Vermont was one of two states to vote for Alf Landon in his landslide loss to Franklin Roosevelt. Today, Vermont Gov. Jim Douglas is a moderate Republican. Still, there is no denying the liberalism in the home state of Ben & Jerry's ice cream, which touts "progressive values." Vermont is the only state represented in the U.S. Senate by a self-described socialist, Bernie Sanders. State legislators recently debated whether to recommend to Congress that Bush be impeached for the Iraq war. (That push failed.) "Obviously, Bush is not popular in the state of Vermont," said Sanders, who extended an invitation to Bush to visit. The state has one of the nation's highest death rates of U.S. soldiers serving in Iraq. "He is president of 50 states," Sanders said. "We'd love to hear what he has to say. We'd love him to listen to what other people have to say." Rhode Island's politics are less reliably Democratic. Reagan carried the state twice. Republican John Chafee and his son, Lincoln, held one of the state's U.S. Senate seats for 30 years until Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse beat the younger Chafee in November. The Iraq war and Bush's leadership were key issues in the race. Whitehouse said Bush's absence "comes as no surprise." He said the president often relies on "handpicked audiences so he doesn't get any adverse feedback." As a result, he said, Rhode Island is "not a happy place for him to visit." Not that folks wouldn't be nice, Whitehouse said. "Well, we always want to be courteous to the president," he said. Share this story: Digg del.icio.us Newsvine Reddit Facebook Enlarge By Jack Gruber, USA TODAY Doyle Canning, 26, of Burlington, Vt., wears a T-shirt promoting "Turn Your Back on Bush." Students and young activists in the state have been vocal against the president's policies and the Iraq War. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.