Bush, Armstrong take 2-hour ride

[sabra]

http://www.dentonrc.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/082105dntswbush.18de264.html

Bush, Armstrong take 2-hour ride

Associated Press

WACO, Texas - It's no yellow jersey, but President Bush on Saturday presented Lance Armstrong with another shirt to show off his biking experiences – a red, white and blue T-shirt emblazoned "Tour de Crawford."

The leader of the free world and the world's biking master rode for 17 miles on Bush's ranch for about two hours at midmorning. Bush showed Armstrong the sites of the ranch that he calls "a little slice of heaven," including a stop at a waterfall midway through the ride.

Neither Bush nor Armstrong spoke to reporters, although White House spokesman Trent Duffy said the president was impressed with the seven-time champ's skills.

"Recognizing what the world has known for years, the president said, 'He's a good rider,"' Duffy said.


President Bush (left) and Lance Armstrong share a ride on Saturday.

[Kagemusha]

1. As you can see, Lance is allowing the President to ride ahead.

Apparently that's an iron rule.

[geckosfeet]

19. I'd keep the stupid bastard in my sights too. nt

[Contrary1]

42. I would rather be in front , if I was Lance...

It would be a much safer spot, considering how many "falls" Smirk has.

[Rex]

61. Bull! Our Glorious leader is overtaking Lance!

He is the mightiest of meeses! Even Lance Armstrong cannot compete against our Wondrous Gift from Heaven(tm).

[FredScuttle]

81. For Christ's sake

I think even Kim Jong Il would recognize the reality of the situation and let a SEVEN-TIME TOUR CHAMPION ride in front of him.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. showing Lance the sights

of course couldn't include stopping to talk to Americans who have questions that need answers.

[fooj]

3. This helps explain his callous, insensitive behavior...

The Unfeeling President
http://evilqueen.demesnes.net/mp3/e_l_doctorow.mp3 Audio Version

The audio version is very powerful!

Peace.

[54anickel]

48. Thanks Fooj, made me cry and grit my teeth in anger at the same time. n/t

[uppityperson]

4. I like this line "recognizing what the world has known for years"

Maybe the trend will continue.

[yorkiemommie1]

41. what keen insight

fearless leader has !

[graywarrior]

5. He's lucky he has legs to ride

I know of some people who came back from Iraq without any.

[The_Casual_Observer]

6. chimp is like some kind of royal wank. Holding some kind of half assed

court where his minions serve at his pleasure.

[marylanddem]

15. Thank you

You put it so well, just what I was thinking - these court jesters for his royal entertainment. grrrrr

[Skittles]

7. I have lost all respect for Mr. Armstrong

he knew bush refused to meet with Cindy yet went ahead and rode with the chimp.....disgusting

[Nite Owl]

9. Me too

he should have refused the invitation until he saw her so to me he's just like him.

[Catrina]

10. I agree

I wonder how many soldiers died today, while they rode around on their bikes ~

Lance Armstrong should have told Bush he'd like to give his time to Cindy, because he knows how busy the president is (vacationing is hard work too).

[ignatius 2]

36. Amen,that would have been something wouldn't it? What a beautiful

gesture that could have been. sorry Mr. President,I am meeting with a true American patriot instead.

Now,he seems to be just a trivial person in yeat another photo-op.

Fuck you Lance and the bike you rode in on!

[Pretty_in_CodePink]

80. Especially since he is on the home page of One Million Reasons.

The web site where people list the reasons they want US out of Iraq. His is because of the money that is being spent there that could be used for other things - like Cancer research.

www.onemillionreasons.org

If you haven't been there yet. Go add your reason to the list.

[Fovea]

11. As a politician in training

you meet with the president when ever you get his ear.

I know where Armstrong's priorities are, and I doubt the president had a got to brush off the subject of the Healthcare system and Cancer research.

[AuntieM1957]

20. I think you're right

What a golden opportunity - all alone on an hours long bikeride.

No Rove, no Condi, no Rummy - and definitely the lung strength to talk and ride.

Wanna bet that by the end of it George was longing to meet with Cindy?

[Prodemsouth]

27. I hope you said that in jest. God I sure hope so!!!! Otherwise we

have some around here who are very very gullible.

[leesa]

29. Dream on...

[City Lights]

34. You forgot no talking.

Armstrong is impressed with how seriously Bush takes the sport: "I know people who have ridden with him. I can tell you he's one very competitive guy. Very competitive, there's no talking. A few minutes of warm-up time, a little chitchat, then you go."

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-13-bush-bike_x.htm

[Skittles]

21. and I bet

Mr. Armstrong was carefully screened to ensure he was simply a photo-op

[Aviation Pro]

25. Agree....

...even the saintly - and the future Secretary General of the United Nations - Bono met with the complete waste of a zygote.

[flyarm]

12. i thought lance was a dem..is he or isn't he??

i thought the dems were setting lance up to run for governor of texas...is * trying to coerse lance to run as a rethug?? whats going on here??

what am i missing??

[OKNancy]

17. He is ..

article linked here. Says he middle to left, against the war.

I think we need to realize that most people, especially people in the public eye are not quit as intense as we are on DU.

[leesa]

30. What does intensity have to do with right and wrong?

He sent a very bad message by riding with this murderer.

[Dervill Crow]

68. And that's why the world is so effed up. n/t

[alfredo]

14. Lance's first duty is to his foundation. He cannot show

partisanship. Doing so could cut donations and open the foundation to revenge by bush supporters. Fighting IRS audits can be costly.

[leesa]

31. So you're saying he HAD to ride with the murderer???

[alfredo]

39. He could have refused, we know he is not a fan of bush's war,

but a lot of people depend on him. He has a multimillion dollar organization to consider.

Lance has said he personally likes bush and Kerry. How much is genuine, and how much is diplomacy? Remember, his image appeared on the Code Pink website. I don't think he would have allowed it if he was opposed to their agenda.

So I am saying, considering everything, Lance could not refuse without doing damage to his Lance Armstrong Foundation. I don't blame him for playing his cards close to his chest.

[Lisa]

52. didn't he invite Kerry to the Tour de France celebration?

Maybe he invited Bush too, not to seem partisan -- only Georgie would rather roll around naked in the thorniest brush on the ranch, than go to Paris!

[alfredo]

59. Kerry rode in the chase car during the last time trial.

I don't know about the celebration.

[0007]

18. I'll take back all my cheers that I gave Lance Armstrong through the years

Lance knows which way the wind blows. Screw him.

Next up will be Tiger Woods where they'll play a round of golf.....

Then junior, with his elevated Kim Jong Il cowboy boots will have a photo opp with the steroid king, Rafael Palmeiro , whom doesn't know how steroids got into his body and junior believes him.

[Prodemsouth]

28. Tiger was rude to Clinton. He is a Colin Powell type -his dad even

looks like him. Tiger a Dem...eeuuuwww. People might think he is African American- or Black.
They would not let him play on many of these courses just 25 years ago. Tiger would be very happy to play with the monkey.

[acmavm]

24. You're absolutely right. He's just handing pResident AWOL another

cutesy photo op. This only helps the asshole.

But then, he says bush** is his 'friend'.

[Arugula Latte]

40. I'm surprised Cheryl puts up with this crap from Lance. n/t

[DS1]

54. *yawn*

Maybe you should offer to kick his ass, too

[Skittles]

74. not worth the f***ing time

nt

[nine30]

65. Don't be immature..

Lance is the only hope for freeing Texas from the steel grip of the fundy Republicans brought on by Karl Christian Rove. If Lance has his eyes on the big seat in TX he cannot afford to alienate the Bush Republicans...thats just a plain fact, like it or not. He could start off as a modertate "progressive minded" Republican and gradually lead the way... But there is no way Texas is going to vote Democrat at this point, after 2 terms of Bush as gov and then 2 terms as President.

The days of "Ma Richards" are long gone.

[Skittles]

73. F**** THAT

Lance could have met with that illegitimate piece of shit anywhere - to meet him AT HIS VACATION HIDEY HOLE, WHILE BUSH IS ON HIS LONGEST VACATION EVER, WHILE MS. SHEEHAN HAS STILL NOT BEEN GRANTED ANY OF BUSH'S TIME - it is DISGUSTING

[SiouxJ]

8. I can't make out Shrub's training wheels from the photo

Then again, he could have sent a stunt double. It's probably not really him.

[marylanddem]

13. Armstrong ought to be ashamed n/t

[osaMABUSh]

84. You know it's a sad commentary when one should be ashamed

of being seen with the President of the United States.

But it is true.

[oasis]

16. Good. President takes time out to bike with famous biker and ignores Gold

Star mother.

Let that sink in.

[shanti]

22. waterfall??

i thought crawford was FLAT. doesn't it take HILLS to make a waterfall?

[annabanana]

33. must've had it airlifted in. . . . . n/t

[Lisa]

70. apparently there's a kind of gully behind W's house

There's a creek that runs for at least part of the year.



(Read on, if you've got a strong stomach.)
http://www.time.com/time/poy2000/mag/ranch.html

I don't know if there's much water in it during the summer. But I guess "we went to look at the waterfall" sounds nicer than "Bush dry-gulched his visitor"!

[shanti]

71. thanks, lisa

is this common in texas, gulches? sorry for my ignorance.

oh, and the article... :puke: :puffpiece: :-(

[Lisa]

72. well, it's a sedimentary rock area

And with that kind of bedrock, even fairly arid locations tend to develop some interesting topography. Arroyos, canyons, and (if it's limestone or "karst" situation) cave systems. Please forgive my lack of precise info, since I've never visited Texas (which probably has a variety of landscape types since it's fairly big) -- and it's been years since my last geomorphology class!

[PurityOfEssence]

23. Bush, of course, won...

Kate O'Beirne swoons through her prissy pursed lips, and the Commander-in-Chief shows once again that he can do anything better than anyone.

[Yoda Yada]

26. Cnn... sense of humor

In the news crawl at the bottom of the CNN screen this morning.

...Lance Armstrong is following the 1st Principle of Bicycling...the President must go first....

(FLASHBACK: Bush as a little boy at the dinner table arguing with his brothers about who gets to leave FIRST!)

Bush isn't a leader, he's a little boy who likes to play, compete, and ALWAYS be FIRST!

[Thor_MN]

43. Unless it's something like, going to war, completing commitments, etc.

He's good at being first in running businesses, governments into the ground, turning everything he touches to shit in record time, but if it's being first in stepping up to the plate with personal responsibilty, well then, the buck stops over there.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

67. Yes, but poppy bush still likes Bill better!! n/t

[Prodemsouth]

32. Imagine if this were a Democrat or Clinton that was riding a bike.

as a ship was nearly sunk yesterday, gas prices, soliders dropping in Iraq. Imagine if this were Clinton!!!! What is wrong with the bulk of the American people- they are pigs! We say they are coming around I say too little to late - the White House should have been stormed by now and would have been if this were a Democrat doing this shit.

[anotherdrew]

57. yep. it's such an obvious double-standard that it MUST be intentional

the major media companies all need to be boycotted out of business. no one should care what they and their commentators have to say about anything. Especially now that it's just SO obvious who they serve. Must be a real pain for them when they can't totally ignore an unwelcome news story.

[jpgray]

35. 17 miles in 2 hours?

Wuss!

:D

[bnr65432]

45. just what i was thinking

and he says hes in shape

[anotherdrew]

58. georgie and his playmate had to spend time at the secret waterfall

thats what took so long.

[Tin Man]

63. actually, pretty respectable for an old neocon riding off-road

Forget what you see on TV, mountain biking ain't all kamikazee downhills and big-air. Once upon a time, I was a pretty good (amateur) racer, and I can tell you the sport is suprising slow. Here's an example: among my bag of tricks, I would often pass on uphills or technical stretches by picking-up the bike and running past my pedaling competitors.

[Cha]

37. I hope Sheryl Crow isn't

barfing like I am. It's not very pretty! re :puke:

[NurseLefty]

38. As I said in another thread re: Lance & the chimp

Hey Lance, did you ask chimpy about stem cell research?!
The ONLY way I can forgive Lance Armstrong for this is that this bike ride charade was an opportunity to pin down the lying chimp about various life-saving matters, especially stem cell research, which is critical for cancer research.
Otherwise, sorry Lance, you are a SELLOUT!

[opihimoimoi]

44. Did Bush have a FALL that they are hiding???

[ChairmanAgnostic]

47. my question as well

no skinned knees? no bloody face?

[opihimoimoi]

62. Damn, that boy don't ride.....Ever since the Fall from the mech pony

he never was the same....lol

[Bob3]

46. 2 hours 17 miles - that's 8.5 miles an hour

Wildebeast can do that.

[DoYouEverWonder]

51. Poor Lance

he must have had to peddle backwards just to keep up.

[CatholicEdHead]

56. That is really slow

I usually average 15-17mph on my road OR mountain bike over that long of a period. And that is taking it easy.

[Lisa]

49. Western White House? Tour de Crawford?

Just goes to show that Bush is off in his own little world! I guess the real White House, and the Tour de France (I mean, Freedom) just aren't good enough for him

It would be funny, if it weren't so tragic.

[pfitz59]

50. " A 2 hour cruise, a 2 hour cruise..."

"The weather started getting rough, the tiny Chimp was lost. If not for the courage of the mighty Lance, 'lil Junior would be lost! Lil Junior would be lost!"

[DoYouEverWonder]

53. How did they manage to do 17 miles on the Pig Farm

they must have been riding in circles?

[anotherdrew]

55. how cute... little georgie had a playdate.

[ramapo]

60. His "little piece of heaven"?

He makes me so sick. This lazy, useless guy vacations for weeks on end in heaven while so many have their little piece of hell that they're living through.

Just unbelievable:(....

[Lisa]

69. isn't there a song in the recent animated "Home on the Range" movie ...

Which uses precisely that title?

[Jeff In Milwaukee]

64. Lance gets two hours and all he lost was a friggin' testicle...

Cindy lost every part of her son and she can't get ten minutes of his time.

[tinfoilinfor2005]

66. Lance isn't the first...

Some great athletes pandered to Adolph during the Olympics in Germany.

[SoCalDem]

75. "...a 2 hour ride..." ....Why is this song playing in my head?

http://music.daresay.com/oddities/Gilligans_Island.mp3





Theme Song Lyrics:

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale,
A tale of a fateful trip
That started from this tropic port
Aboard this tiny ship.

The mate was a mighty sailing man,
The skipper brave and sure.
Five passengers set sail that day
For a three hour tour, a three hour tour.

The weather started getting rough,
The tiny ship was tossed,
If not for the courage of the fearless crew
The Minnow would be lost, the Minnow would be lost.

The ship set ground on the shore of this uncharted desert isle
With Gilligan, The Skipper too,
The millionaire and his wife,
The movie star
The professor and Mary Ann,
Here on Gilligan's Isle.

* Note: During the 1st season, the 2nd to last line was "and the rest" - this was because Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells didn't have it specified in their contracts that they would be credited up front with the rest of the cast. ----

(closing credits)

So this is the tale of the castaways,
They're here for a long, long time,
They'll have to make the best of things,
It's an uphill climb.

The first mate and the Skipper too,
Will do their very best,
To make the others comfortable,
In the tropic island nest.

No phone, no lights no motor cars,
Not a single luxury,
Like Robinson Crusoe,
As primitive as can be.

So join us here each week my friends,
You're sure to get a smile,
From seven stranded castaways,
Here on "Gilligan's Isle."

[LeftHander]

76. Promoting cycling is okay in my book...

Getting more people off thier fat asses and on a bike is perfectly fine. It is the ONLY thing about shrub I can tolerate.

Armstrong is the greatest athlete (IMHO) America has produced in many years. What better way to promote his achievments to the population that will ask "Who the darn heck is Lance Armstrong?" than to show him with thier hero idiot frat boy?

[ozone_man]

77. Darn straight.

We have become a nation of sedentary couch potatos watching TV sports intead of getting outdoors and excersizing.

Environmentally speaking, any image that might promote bicycling over driving SUVs and pickup trucks is a good thing. If Bush rides a bicycle, it must be macho or OK for Republicans to take part in, or something like that.

[defiant1]

78. BFD....

I wonder if Chicken George "stayed" the course, or if they veered off into uncharted territory.

[soboko]

79. Latest press release from Bizarro Earth...

Crawford, TX - Earlier today, President Bush and Lance Armstrong jointly announced the cornerstone of the administration's new energy campaign - a massive campaign to promote the use of bicycles throughout the country. The two appeared together on their mountain bikes after a two-hour ride around President Bush's ranch.

Addressing reporters, Bush said that "the best way to fight the war on high gas prices is to not buy gas". Armstrong, in turn, said, "riding a bike to work instead of driving will make you healthier and stronger". Bush then said that the government would be launching an advertising campaign in early fall to promote the initiative.

Bush also announced that he wanted Congress to create a new tax incentive for people to buy bicycles made in America, and that legislation would be introduced soon to this end. He suggested that Congress repeal the tax incentive for large trucks and SUVs as a means of keeping the legislation revenue-neutral.

He also hinted that a significant increase in federal funding for bike lanes, paths, and trails was in the works. "If people don't drive as much, they won't wear down the roads as fast, and we won't have to spend as much to fix them. This will pay for the new bike lanes," he explained.

Executives at oil companies were less than pleased with Bush's new campaign, warning that if people reduce their gas consumption, it could burst the oil bubble, triggering a major recession. Auto executives also expressed concern that if the campaign took off, people would drive fewer miles and might not replace their cars as often, which would have a devastating effect on the already-fragile domestic auto industry.

Senator Kerry expressed guarded approval for the President's new initiative, but doubted that it would come to much. "It sounds like a great idea, but it's too good to be true," he said.

[Redstone]

82. Oh, I hear that we're not supposed to criticize ol' Lance,

because he's actually USING this bidness of hanging out with bushyboy to raise awareness, blah, blah, blah...like anyone could actually get bushyboy to care about anything.

Hey, Lance? Fuck you. And the bike you rode in on.

Redstone

[osaMABUSh]

83. So is this like golfing with Tiger Woods?

What the fuck did they talk about? So what is LiveStrong up to? Is he pulling a Bono (U2) by sucking up to Bush to support his cause? Or is e preparing to take the plunge and run for an office?

Kerry was onboard with yellow bracelet before they were ubiquitous so I am not sure of Lance's political persuasion.