From the Sunday SEATTLE TIMES, via Charles Johnson at LGF. The President has taken up mountain biking and cycling with a passion. I, myself, have been known to do such things and I have the bikes hanging in my garage to prove it.
Just another reason I like this president...
Excerpt:
"We got thrills, spills — you name it," Bush quipped to an Associated Press reporter who accompanied him on a ride during which the president sailed over his handlebars, crashed to the ground, and then promptly hopped back on his bike.
For Secret Service agents and others who have ridden with Bush, it can be a perilous experience. At least one agent has broken several bones trailing the president.
It also can be demoralizing — he is famous for leaving stragglers behind — but seldom boring...
...But perhaps no president since Teddy Roosevelt, who combined harrowing horseback rides in Rock Creek Park with subzero skinny-dips, has relished so risky a hobby.
That may be why Bush likes it. (Copyright © 2005 The Seattle Times Company)
I've gone over the handle bars a time or two. He's right about the rush. Hour and a half ride up the mountain 10 minute ride down the mountain...very cool.
Makes me wonder if all the pundits out there are comparing Bush to the wrong Republican president. Maybe Theodore Roosevelt is a better match. Both are/were willing to take personal risks. Both have upset their own parties and sent the Democrats into fits of apolexy. Both have been advocates for a strong foreign policy to promote peace abroad. Both have pushed progressive domestic policies, none neccesarily in line with traditional Republican platforms. The morals of both are remarkably similar.
Posted by: Chris Van Dis | 24 February 2005 at 09:39 AM