‘I think he might run us over!’

January 31, 2007

There’s a metaphor for Bush’s presidency in here somewhere.

Does President Bush have it in for the press corps? Touring a Caterpillar factory in Peoria, Ill., the Commander in Chief got behind the wheel of a giant tractor and played chicken with a few wayward reporters. Wearing a pair of stylish safety glasses — at least more stylish than most safety glasses — Bush got a mini-tour of the factory before delivering remarks on the economy. “I would suggest moving back,” Bush said as he climbed into the cab of a massive D-10 tractor. “I’m about to crank this sucker up.”

As the engine roared to life, White House staffers tried to steer the press corps to safety, but when the tractor lurched forward, they too were forced to scramble for safety. “Get out of the way!” a news photographer yelled. “I think he might run us over!” said another. White House aides tried to herd the reporters the right way without getting run over themselves. Even the Secret Service got involved, as one agent began yelling at reporters to get clear of the tractor. Watching the chaos below, Bush looked out the tractor’s window and laughed, steering the massive machine into the spot where most of the press corps had been positioned. The episode lasted about a minute, and Bush was still laughing when he pulled to a stop. He gave reporters a thumbs-up.

“If you’ve never driven a D-10, it’s the coolest experience,” Bush said afterward. Yeah, almost as much fun as seeing your life flash before your eyes.

I know the president likes to try to intimidate reporters, but this is ridiculous.

“Watching the chaos below, Bush looked out the tractor’s window and laughed”? Why is that not comforting?

If he had killed a reporter would they have reported it right away or is it like shooting someone in the face. Would they have given him a breathalyzer within a few days? Would the reporter’s family apologize for all the trouble?

What an a-hole.

  • “If you’ve never driven a D-10, it’s the coolest experience,” Bush said afterward.

    I wonder if that will replace catching the fish as the best moment of Bush’s presidency.

  • Can the reporters sue him? Reckless endangerment, maybe even some type of assault. If someone is drunk or just generally an asshole and they “pretend” to “almost” hit someone with a car just for kicks, it still could be criminal even if they claim they knew the person could probably get out of the way in time.

    A total pipe dream, of course; it’ll happen about a week after he gets impeached. But damn, talk about being above the law.

  • I once got to drive Big Foot, you know, the monster truck. Just climbing behind its wheel made me giggle with joy and anticipation and when I finally stepped on the pedal, it moved forward with more power and force than anything I had ever driven before. I cackled with exhilaration as I piloted that behemoth around the yard, at one point even going onto the sidewalk and nearly smashing into a few bystanders. Finally, my dad stopped me and said I had to let one of the other children have a turn. I was eight. It belonged to the neighbors. Its wheels were about ten inches tall. It was pretty friggin’ sweet.

    Ahh, to be a kid again…. or, failing that, to be President someday….. Air Assault! Yippee!

  • I have no background in Psychiatry (unlike the esteemed Dr Sanity) but I did take some psychology courses in University. Shrub does seem to exhibit a lot of the classic symptoms of sociopathic behaviour.

  • Actually I think it’s pretty funny in a down to earth, human sort of way. For all that I can’t stand the dude, he is in some ways a ‘regular’ guy. Can you imagine John Kerry joking with the press this way? Or Hilary taking a foriegn head of state to Graceland?

  • Where in hell’s bells were the Cat safety people? They let this jerk climb into the cab of a D-10? Has he ever operated a D-10? Whoever came up with the idea of letting this clown operate a massive piece of equipment in the proximity of other “plant guests” ought to be consigned to the unemployment line—IMMEDIATELY!!!

  • This reminds me of my favorite picture from Bush’s entire reign. Given his well documented difficulties with far simpler vehicles (bicycles, Segways), I have to wonder if there’s a culpable negligence on the part of whatever handler allowed him to climb behind the wheel.

  • I think this is assault, if it’s not the president as defendant. I don’t know about other causes of action for a lawsuit (reckless endangerment or whatever).

    The question would turn on whether this is related to his duties as president (he’s completely immune from suit for any actions taken in the course of his duties). I’m unaware of how the caselaw interprets that, if it has to do with an “exceeding the scope of official employment” thing like a S. 1983 suit, or if he basically gets out of trouble for anything he does on the job. It seems like there shouldn’t be much of an argument that this was a necessary part of public relations so I think it would turn more on whether there was a blanket rule for whether the president committed the acts while working or not. I think you would probably be referred to impeachment by an (unlikely) candid court- “If the president is incompetent, congress can answer that question,” or something along those lines.

  • “Wearing a pair of stylish safety glasses”

    Stylish safety glasses? Is that like the Ralph Lauren “rugged outdoor” collection?

    Jeezus, if you want to pretend to be rough and tumble, at least get your gear from Tractor Suppy and try to look the part.

  • It seems like there shouldn’t be much of an argument that this was a necessary part of public relations

    That is, if the president argued this was part of relating to the press, a sane judge would say he doesn’t have to climb into the cab of a tractor and aim it at the press to do that and any immunity for performing a specific duty shouldn’t extend to that. So what would make the difference is whether the rule is that the president gets off for anything he does while on the job (seems the more likely rule, if you think about it) or if the rule is, judges get to say whether, even if the president was working on the clock at the time of the alleged tort, the specific act was closely bound enough within what the president was supposed to be doing such that it should be considered immune.

  • Heh, heh, heh. I’ve never been a war preznent before. Yuck, yuck. I’ve never even been in war. Heh. Ooo-whee this D-10 is big. Wish I had my codpiece. Have I got my Carhartt jacket and my crash helmet (safety hat?) on right? Dang, these glasses make me look good. Heckuva a job, Deerie (get it? wink, wink). What’re y’all worried about? I know what I’m doin’. I’ve killed many morre people than you, and that was when I was only guv’nerator.

  • My ruling would be modified version of the second rule that I said was more sensible: the president is immune from suit for tort when he’s on the job, but when the conduct alleged is A) so clearly within the established prohibitions of tort law as the people and our system of justice have come to know it that in the courts of the states the case could expect to be disposed of in favor of the plaintiff if the plaintiff proved the conduct alleged (no significant conflict on whether the conduct alleged is tortious among states’ courts) and B) a judge could say that there is no real question the conduct was not related to fulfilling the president’s duties,

    then the president can be held liable for a tort.

    This way, a president can’t, say, strangle his subordinates to try to intimidate them into following his orders, or commit other assaults to pick on them, and say that the actions were immune from tort because he’s the president. They’re not related to fulfilling his duties any more than sexual harassment or other torts would be related to the duties of other supervisors.

    So if I were a Justice I would hold the president could be liable for assault for this conduct.

  • First of all only a complete idiot would get near Bush and a big machine. Especially if you are a reporter.

    The other thing is what are a few more bodies under his belt. Probably less reporters there then deaths in Iraq. It’s not like a flattened out reporter is going make him lose any sleep.

    My guess he his dumb ass couldn’t find 2nd gear or Gregory would have been squashed like Guantanamo Bay nutsack.

  • Swan, what’s even *better* is that it’s Bush’s own supporters and attitude about labor law that would trap him, because no conservative or conservative-leaning court is going to let an employee argue, “Oh, I had to try to run over a few reporters as part of my job,” because conservatives don’t even believe that stuff that *is* part of someone’s job should count as their job if there’s a legal question that might protect them.

  • Shorter Bush (to reporters): “Don’t fuck with me, or I will crush you! MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

    When does the twenty-fifth amendment kick in?

  • ***Oh, if only there were video……***
    ————zmulls

    So—how much does anyone want to wager on the Cat’ boys “mysteriously losing” the plant security videotapes that would’ve shown this thing—courtesy of a sticky-fingered Bush handler?

  • I’ve had upclose personal experience before with Caterpillar stuff and it wasn’t all that pleasant.

    In my early days as an engineer, I worked as a soil density tech on a runway construction project. There was one particular driver of an earth mover who loved to scare the shit out of us techs by driving real close to us. I got sick of running away and held my ground. Being in my early 20s and not too damn bright, I dared that asshole to hit me. As I am here typing this, you can safely assume he did not. Later, I got a call from my supervisor saying that the Driver complained about me being the Psycho (I guess I was a bit)! I told my supervisor about the number of times he tried to make me and others into hamburger.

    Nothing happened out of this and the driver was later reprimanded when he tried to “scare” another guy who freaked out on him.

    The fact that W takes great joy in trying to scare the shit out of people he feels are beneath him just reinforces what I’ve long suspected about his personality (Dr Sanity notwithstanding.)

  • Re #10 – Interesting question, what if a Dem had done this?
    Congressional hearings? Oh, the Dems are back in control, so no, not that.m But you could bet that Sean (hand-job) Hannidy, Rush (drug addict) Limbaugh, Bill (falafel) O’Reilly, and Charles (Asshole Hack) Krauthammer would be livid. Sanity would be questioned, lawsuits hreatened, websites started. The Right Wing noise machie would crank up, and ordinary citizens would shake their heads wondering what was wrong with that Dem.
    Nada with Commander Codpiece. As mentioned, what’s a few more bodies to this psycho?

  • “If you’ve never driven a D-10, it’s the coolest experience,”

    The man thinks a tractor is cooler than a fighter jet? What a wimp. Of course his “skill” with the D10 makes me wonder if he ever went to NG training and if he did, why o why couldn’t he have been as clumsy when he was in the cockpit of an F16?

  • If you wrote that scene in a novel, you’d be criticized for being too heavy-handed with your metaphor. Out-of-control President at the controls of powerful machinery, laughing as underlings try desperately to clear people out of his way, though they themselves aren’t completely clear which way he’s going or how fast? Come on! A little bit obvious, isn’t it? Beat the reader with a hammer, why don’t you?

  • To paraphrase Forrest Gump, “A**hole is as a**hole does.”

    The only thing that separates this from being a Dukakis moment is the stylish pair of sunglasses.

  • Hey, I’d like to try driving one of those things too. Difference is, I’d get someone to show me how first.

  • Reminds me of a certain Mel Brooks joke wit ha certain king…

    “I am kind to my peasents….PULL!”

    BANG

    Damn, drifted to the left….”

  • Here is a picture of Bush on the Actual machine

    from First Draft Blog

    http://first-draft-blog.typepad.com/first_draft/2007/01/attempted_vehic.html

    btw I work around these machines and they are freakin massive

    They have 650 HP engines are 14 feet high, 23 feet in length
    and weigh 74 TONS!!!!!!

    specs if you care

    http://www.cat.com/cda/layout?m=111782&x=7

    So yeah the guy is an asshole with a penchant for frat boy hijinks coupled with an obsession to destroy things….but we all knew that….why didnt the press corps…

  • The little boy who liked to put cherry bombs in frogs has just surfaced again. The complete immaturity of this halfwitted psychpath is beyond belief.

  • Rege—you’re showing me a conveyor. Moses, your pic of the D-10 is coming through nicely.

    Specs on the D-10 say it went out of production in the ’80s. Either Cat trusted this moron with a museum piece—or they let him drive a shiny new D-11 (which is what the cab-view of lib4’s pic looks like)—and the “11” is big enough to squash an Abrams tank….

  • Yes, Pesident Toad of Toad Hall fame is alive and well. The original character was conceited, irresponsible and self absorbed..what’s changed.

  • Well, this *almost* answered my question of “Could George W. Bush kill someone on tape and get away with it?”

    (clamor ensues)

    No, I mean, just killing one person, and doing it directly. I *know* he can kill vast numbers of Iraqis for kicks – and thousands of American soldiers, though I realize it’s a little less direct when he orders them into Iraq for lies, keeps them there to save his pride, and insists that he’s the only one who can protect the country from terrorism… like people who’d kill thousands of Americans for political purposes.

  • Am I insensitive for momentarily wishing that he would have killed one of the reporters? I’m sure there was some useless stenographer there who nobody would have missed, and can you just imagine the fallout? Bush in the slammer for negligent manslaughter would be like Capone in the slammer for tax evasion, but whatever works…

  • Thanks and i must say i found your post, – The Carpetbagger Report , interesting – I was actually looking for information on tractors but i was directed to your page , anyway i wish you all success

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